An Encounter With The Naga King Chillies

Chicken Preparation with Naga King Chillie

All trades & hobbies naturally have their pitfalls for a novice. By happenstance I cook as a hobby & am also an admin for a Facebook group about food for the city of Jaipur. When a member procured some Naga King Chillies & offered to share some with the group members I naturally also asked for some. He kindly brought some over when he visited the Guesthouse for dinner one evening.

You can imagine my apprehension when I saw that the jar in which the chillies came was pasted with a write up and also instructions on how to use them safely.

Anyway I decided to use them in a very simple recipe of Junglee Maans. This recipe is from the book “Cooking Delights of Maharajas” by Maharaja Digvijay Singh ji of the princely house of Sailana.

The recipe was intended for the use of the Shikari who would not have any measuring tools or the various comforts of the kitchen & would have very limited masalas at hand.

So he uses only 5 ingredients mutton,whole red chillies,salt,water & Desi ghee or Oil. The measures are also approximate only.

Instead of mutton I used 1/2 a Kg of Broiler & for the whole red chillies I put just ONE Whole Naga King Chilli in 250 gms of desighee with some salt.

Later on I added little water at regular intervals to ensure that the chicken did not fry nor boil till it was cooked.

When I tasted it the slight bite of the chillies came when I swallowed the chicken bite.

Even if I say so myself it was a tasty preparation.

Now, the trouble started because I underestimated the punch of the chillies( The Desighee had taken off the full bite of the chillies) & on the next day made the same preparation but with 3 Naga King Chillies & had the whole dish all by my self.

Everything was fine till I finished eating, I could not get enough. But once I was through eating, my outer mouth area started burning. I drank copious amounts of water & ate large quantities of icecream, before things settled down.

When I related my experience to my wife who had been away at an opening ceremony of a Spa at a famous hotel, she very kindly suggested for me to avoid taking any laxative that night!

Photos From A Day At Mehrangarh Fort

Mehrangarh Fort Logo

Some pictures of the view from the Mehrangarh Fort,Jodhpur.

Mehrangarh Fort

Mehrangarh Fort

Mehrangarh Fort

Clock Tower

Carving in Stone

Jaswant Thada

Cannon

Umaid Bhavan Palace

Cannon

Do you take a camera with you on your holiday?

A Lomo Camera La Sardina

Do you take a camera with you on your holiday?

This would seem like a no brainer question to most of us. Cameras are every where.The mobiles cameras get better & better. The digital cameras get cheaper & cheaper. Film cameras are quite cheap too. And who can resist the urge to own one? And what holiday is complete without pictures from the trip gracing your mantlepiece & your Facebook page. Of course you need to take a camera with you on your holiday. Only piece of obvious advice though is to enjoy the holiday first & record it later. Take in the whole picture & not just what you see thru the viewfinder.

What gear to take with you on a trip?

If you are not a professional photographer a simple point & shoot digital camera with spare memory cards, a USB drive, ready to use rechargeable battery, battery charger & flash light with its batteries will do. You will also need a waterproof bag which can be tied around the waist or which you can hang from your shoulder or neck. This way  you can keep your hands free while you operate the camera & keep all the photography stuff is in one place. If you are going abroad do not forget to take along a power adapter too for the battery charger.

If you are planing to take pics by a mobile phone then it would be a good idea to open an account with websites like FaceBook.com, Twitter.com & Flickr.com to share the pics as & when you click them. You will also need an internet account on your mobile phone. If you are a twitter fiend you already know you can attach pics to your status updates. You should also familiarize yourself with the FAQs of the website. You do want everything to work properly once you are on the holiday.

What pictures should you take?

As taking digital pictures is relatively cheaper give flight to your imagination. Click what ever looks interesting to you, including you!

Please make sure that you have the necessary permissions from the relevant authorities to take pictures & that you have paid the relevant fees by buying a ticket for the camera. Do not assume that it is OK to take pictures wherever you are. Make sure by asking.

When you get back home, copy the pictures to your computer hard drive make a back up on a DVD or a CD & have a holiday album/ holiday photo book made professionally by somebody like  snapfish.in & gift a copy to all who went with you on the trip. If you shared your pics from a mobile on facebook.com or filckr.com, snapfish.in can print these pics too.

Guldaudi Is All Set To Bloom Again!

Guldaudi

Mums, Chrysanthemums, Guldaudi, Sevanti… Call it what you like but it is the first week of November and Guldaudi plants are in the process of budding. The Sevanti will bloom  in a riot of colors, shapes & sizes within a month. That is when the Rajasthan University Nursery is planning its yearly Mum Exhibition.This year there will be about 4000 potted Guldaudi plants of about 215 different varieties. This 3 day exhibition concludes in a sale of these potted plants. This year the authorities are going to sell these pots of Guldaudi for 50 Rupees each to the Jaipur populace.

Guldaudi Sevanti Mum Chrysanthemum

Musical Fountain At The Jawahar Circle, Jaipur

Musical Water Fountain Jawahar Circle,Jaipur

Have you been to the Jawahar Circle Garden Lately?

No, no. What I mean to ask is, have you been to the Jawahar Circle Garden between 7pm & 7.30pm lately? If you have not then it is time you went?

That is when the Musical Fountain Show is performed!

If you are going to say that you have seen musical fountains,before. Then you would be wrong! Because you have not seen musical fountains like this before. Not in Jaipur, anyway.

JDA has spent 170 lacs for the development of this circle. The money has been judiciously spent on a Jogging tracks, Walk way, Parking,Landscaping, Benches & a Musical Fountain.

The Fountain has been installed in a water-body in the center of the park. Every evening at 7 pm a show is held for 30 minutes, when the water sprays dance to the music & are illuminated by colored lights all adding up to a rare experience. Taking a hint from the Si-Fi world they even show music video’s on a wall of spray. And after the show you can have some chaat or Saras Lassi or Custard Kulfi in the Chaat Bazaar.

Radius of the water body is 47 mts. There are 290 effects. Height of the fountain is 25 mts. Water screen size is 27mts wide by 9 mts height.  There are 316 colored lights. The video  projector is 15000 lumens.

A fact worth appreciating here  is that Rajasthan is a desert state & to maintain such big gardens & fountains with drinking water would be foolhardy so the government is using re-cycled water which though safe for the garden & the fountain is definitely not safe for drinking or for bathing with. So it is a good idea to stay away from the water in the fountain.

Musical Water Fountain Jawahar Circle,Jaipur

Unique Restaurants Of Jaipur

Steam-The Lounge, At The Rambagh Palace

Today I read an article about 10 unusual restaurants of India. A facebook  friend had shared the link. Being on facebook has its uses, you know! Jaipur did not feature in the list. So naturally I had to make a list of restaurants unique to Jaipur.

1.The Dining Hall, Swarn Mahal, at the Rambah Palace, with its painted ceiling

is unique.

2. Steam, the Lounge Bar, at the Rambagh Palace, with restored Stem Engine & Victorian Station is very unique.

3. Polo Bar, at the Rambagh Palace, is unique.

4.Revolving restaurant at the OM Tower on M.I.Road is unique.

5.Chokhi Dhani, an recreated  ethic village restaurant is unique.

6.Pink Pepper, a restaurant in a bus which goes across Jaipur while the diners eat.

7. Durg Cafeteria at Nahargarh Fort is unique with stunning view of the city of Jaipur.

8. The Dinning Rooms in the RTDC’s Royal Trains are unique.

9. 1135 AD, A Resturant on the ramparts of the fort of Amber is unique.

10. The ancient India Coffee House at the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) & on the M.I.Road are unique for being hot bed of intellectualism in Jaipur.

And

11. Tapri, the tea house.

These are all I can think of. If you think I have missed a Restaurant please feel free to add it to the comments.

A Recipe To Cook Raan At Home

Cooked leg piece-Raan

How To Cook A Raan At Home

Serves 4 persons

Marinade

Ginger Paste 2 Tea Spoons Heaping

Garlic Paste  2 Tea Spoons Heaping

Curd 400 gms Strained ( with as little water in it as possible)

Rum 1 large peg

Kachri Powder 2 Tea Spoons

2 Tea Spoons Red Chillie Powder

Salt ½ Tea Spoon or to taste

Masala

Ghee 150 gms

Oil     150 gms

Saabut Garam Masala ( 4 Doda, 1 ½ inch Dal chini, 5 Big Tej Patta, 20 Kali Mirch,

10 Cloves, 4 Small Ilaichi)

Oninons 4 large minced

Red  chillie powder 2 tea spoons heaping ( or to taste)

Corriender Powder 2 tea spoons heaping( or same proportion as the red chillies)

Turmeric ½ Tea Spoon

Salt -One Tea Spoon (Not heaping) or to taste.

Sour Curd 200 gms ( or lesser in proportion to the red chillies as this much curd is needed to take the bite out of the red chillies)

Garlic Paste 2 Tea Spoons

Ginger Paste 2 Tea Spoons

2 green chillies minced

1 leg piece Mutton ( 750 gms. to 1 Kg)

Wash the leg piece and prick it with knife thoroughly. Mix the marinade ingredients & apply them to the raan. Put it in your fridge overnight.

When preparing the mixture for the marinade make sure that it is not watery. You should  get rid of the water in the curd by tying it in a thin muslin cloth.

Heat the oil in a cooker till it is smoking & add the ghee. Add all the Saabut Gram Masala fry in oil for on low heat for a moment. Add the onions & fry the onions till they are brown.

Add red chillies, dhania, turmeric & salt with some water & fry till oil sepatrates.

While adding the curd ensure to stir the mixture on high flame till the masala comes to a boil. Keep the flame on low heat and keep frying the curry till it takes the color of deep oily red chillies.

Add the Garlic paste and the ginger paste & green chillies to the curry and cook some more.

Pre heat the oven at 300 Degrees and assemble the marinated leg piece and the masala in the oven tray & put it the oven.

Once the oil starts bubbling set the temperature to 150 degrees and cook till done. If you wish you can turn the leg piece a couple of times as the oil will settle at the bottom of the tray & may not cover the leg piece.

It can also be cooked in a Cooker on a slow fire.

Serve with hot  chapaties.

Why Love Jaipur?

Teej Festival

Living in Jaipur is as difficult or as easy as living any where else but here are some reasons why you will fall in love with Jaipur.

In the twelve months of a year you get to experience a whole gamut of  weather in Jaipur. There is hot summer, cold winter, hot & humid monsoons & the season when the winter just drifts in. Just when you are thinking I have had enough of this heat or cold or the rains the seasons change, and life goes on.

And with the change of season the eating habits also change. What food! In the monsoons you eat choorma dal baati in some picnic spot in the lap of the Aravali’s which are covered with solid green because of the rains. If you do not have time for a picnic a spot of rain & people are flocking the sweet shops for their favourite snack like samosa, pyaz ki kachri or mirchi bara or if they are watching their weight then they are sipping a hot cup of tea or a cup of coffee at the CCD. In the winters they are eating lal mans or khichda or drinking hot rabri. In summers they drink lassi & eat different varieties of mangoes which keep changing as the summer progresses.

Jaipur is a heaven for the photography enthusiast. Jaipur has it all. Besides the concrete jungle it also has monuments,huge forts, mountains, an artificially maintained fresh water lake, ancient havelies, temples, bazars, palaces, festivals, friendly people, flowers,birds & photography accessory shops.

Jaipur is doing its best to catch up with the four metropolitan cities of New Delhi,Mumbai,Kolkata & Chennai but life is still laid back & the distances are not what they are in the other metros. You can still drop by a friend for a drink or dinner an evening.

The festivals Jaipur celebrate around the year make sure that there is no ennui in the life of the people of Jaipur. Some major festivals are, holi, deepawali, raakhi,teej,gangaur and makkar sankranti.

If you thought all of the above would keep the people of Jaipur busy enough around the year, you would be wrong, because there are the Jaipur weddings! Some people just go to court to get married but others have such weddings that people from all corner of the world come to Jaipur to get married in a Jaipuri wedding.

These are some of the top reasons to love Jaipur. If you think otherwise please list your choices here below.

Revamped Official Website Of Karan’s Guesthouse

Karan's Guest house,Jaipur

Recently we launched the revamped official website of Karan’s Guest House, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. A budget guest house we provide Air-conditioned rooms in a homely atmosphere with personalized service.

Please visit us at the web address www.karans.info Karan’s Guesthouse

e. mail: kgh@karans.info  m.+91-9828284433

Karan's Guesthouse Facade

Photo of A room at the Karans guesthouse,jaipur

A room at the karans guesthouse,jaipur,rajasthan,india

A couple of comments from the guests…

Venkatesh Chittarvu “[I am ]  At C Scheme, Karan’s Guest House,Jaipur.I am enjoying my brief stint with Indian tourism.Excellent Facilities and Perfect Indian Hospitality.Weather is perfect for a short sojourn.”

Anshu Banerjee
“It was a pleasant stay at the Karan’s Guesthouse , though away from home but it was as if we were at home. Mr Lokendra was very helpful with his guidance and assistance about all the tourist places and especially the food joints. I would recommend visitors/tourists to give it a try.”

A To Do List For When You Are In Jaipur

You made it to Jaipur! Now what?

From the autowallah who brought you from the station to your hotel to the friendly staff of the hotel all have plans for you. Somebody wants to take you shopping somebody else wants you to go out for dinner. But you want to know your options.  How best to manage with limited time, money & energy you have at your disposal.

This is the list of options you have when in Jaipur…

When you reach a new town the first thing you ask is’ yahan dekne ko kya hai?’

Jaipur has forts, palaces, temples, gardens, museums & an artificially maintained recycled  fresh water lake among other things.

Let us begin with the forts. The three forts protecting Jaipur, built atop the Aravali Mountains are Amber, Jaigarh & Nahargarh. These forts are especially worth a visit during the monsoons as the Aravalies are covered in a solid green of vegetation freshly washed by the yearly monsoon.

Jaipur is also known as Choti Kashi because of the number of new & old temples it has. Some of the main ones are Shilla Devi at Amber, Ganesh Temple & Birla Mandir at Moti Doongri, Govind Devji at the City Palace of Jaipur & the Galtaji.

There are museums in the City Palace Complex,  Jaigarh Fort, Albert Hall, Dolls museum, Alice Garg Sea Shells Museum and the Alankar Museum at the Jawahar Kala Kendra on JLN Marg.

There are scores of gardens in Jaipur but the main ones are Sisodia Rani Ka Baagh, Kanak Vrindavan Garden, Central Park, Ram Niwas Garden & Jawahar Circle with its world class fountain & Rose Garden.

If you are visiting during the festival time, fly kites, play holi or see the Jaipur markets decorated to welcome the Goddess Laxshmi.

The newly refurbished Jal Mahal Palace in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake is definitely worth a visit. They take you to the palace in boats.

The palace section of the Amber fort with the imposing entrance gate is not to be missed, either.

An early morning walk in the Central Park or on the shore of the Man Sagar Lake.

You can go birding in the Central Park, Man Sagar Lake Or the KCK Simriti Ban on JLN Marg.

Take pictures of the monuments of Jaipur at different hours of the day like sunrise or sunset.

During the winters Hot Air Balloon rides are being provided by  SKYWALTZ in the picturesque areas around Jaipur.

Take a packed meal & go for a picnic in the hills around Jaipur.

Have Dal-Baati-Choorma at Natraj resturant on M.I.Road.

Have Laal Maans at Niros resturant on the M.I. Road.

Have rajasthani vegetarian meal at the LMB in Johri Bazar or at Chokhi Dhani.

Have barbeque at the Talk Of The Town,M.I.Road

Sample Heritage liquor/ buy some to take home.

Have Chaat at Link Road next to Saraogi Mansion Or in one of the Kanah Restruants

Buy Ghewar & Mishri Mawa at LMB to take back home with you.

Buy mawa ki kachori from Rawat near Polo Victory Complex, to take back home with you.

Have piyaz ki kacori & mirchi badas at Rawat.

Have Methi Lassi on M.I.Road from the Lassiwalla next to the Charmica.

When on a fast have Falahar at the Falahar counter at the Saraogi Mansion Counter or the Ahimsa Circle counter or at the Raja Park Counter.

Take in a Bollywood Movie at the Raj Mandir Cinema Hall, a single screen movie Hall.

Have a date with ‘heavenly bodies’ & visit the Planetarium at the Science Park in Shastri Nagar or at the Statue Circle.

When visiting Jaigarh Fort hire a guide to learn how cannons were built there because it is also the home of the biggest cannon of the world, the Jaibaan. The Jaibaan was built here and is housed here presently.

Take in a light & sound show at the Amber or at the Amar Jawan Jyoti out side the SMS stadium.

Have your pictures clicked at the Birla Mandir in a traditional costumes

or have a black & white picture taken from an antique camera outside the Hawamahal Palace.

Buy & learn to tie a Saree or a Dhoti or A Turban.

Ride in Jaipur Bus

Buy & read A Princess Remembers by Maharani Gayatri Devi

Pay a token sum to JDA and plant trees in remembrance of a loved one or to mark an occasion.

Read local news-papers one morning. You will realize that the Jaipur folks concerns are more or less the same as yours.

Take a walk in the walled city and see the numerous wares on sale.

Take a walk in Amber.

Buy a puppet to take back home.

Buy Gotta.

Buy Pabu ji ki Paad painting & find out its stories.

Go shopping for Lac Bangles or other stuff made of lac.

Buy stuff made of terracotta & blue pottery.

Buy a bhandej or laheriya Saari.

Buy Jaipuri Razaais(quilts).

Buy choorans & sooparis from Link Road near Sarawgi Mansion.

Spend an evening at the JKK visiting an art exhibition or a play & have a cup of coffee at the India Coffee House counter there.

Have cakes & pastries at the Bake Hut off M.I. Road or Hot Breads on Sarojni Marg or Bakewell in Raja Park.

Have Gulabjamun & rasmalai at the Natraj resturant, M.I.Road.

Visit the  stamps museum in the Jaipur GPO on M.I.Road.

Have Dosa at the Garden Cafe near Statue Circle or Sankalp off M.I.Road opp. Tanishq.

Have “kangan” at Gangaur Sweets near Bagdia Bhawan Market.

Visit the Samode Palace Hotel in Samode  for lunch.

Buy marble statues from Khazanewalon ka rasta.

If you have the time and the inclination visit Pushkar( Brahma Temple) or Bhangarh (ruins of a haunted town) or Abhaneri ( a huge stepwell) near Jaipur.

This list could have missed your pet past time in Jaipur so please feel free to share it with others in the comments section of this post.