Chicken tomato masala

Serves: 2 Persons

Ingredients:

500gms Boneless Chicken

Fresh tomato puree* of 5 medium tomatoes

2  Paste of two Medium raw  onions

oil

2 Tsp (Heaping) Red chili powder

1 Tsp (Not Heaping) Dhania Powder

1/4 Tsp Haldi Powder

1 Tsp Salt

3 heaping Table spoons Curd

2 Table Spoons Garlic Paste

2 Table spoon Ginger paste

3 Table spoon Cashew Nuts

Method:

* To make fresh tomato puree boil water in a pan and put 5 tomatoes in it after scooping their eyes out and making a plus sign with a knife on the bottom of the tomatoes. after 5 minutes throw out the hot water and rinse  the tomatoes in cold water. Now peel off the skins and blend the tomatoes in a mixer.

Heat some oil in a cooker and add the fresh tomato puree. Cook till oil separates. Add the onion paste cook till oil separates. Add all the dry masalas with some water and cook till oil separates. Add curd and mix it well in hi-flame till oil separates.

Add the chicken pieces and cook on low flame for about 30 minutes.

(Take the specified amount of ginger, garlic and cashew nuts and make a paste in a mixer. Add a little water so that there are no lumps.)

Add this paste to the masala in the cooker and fry well till oil separates and the white color of the cashew paste is gone.

By now the chicken should be done. Serve hot with fresh chapaties.

 

A home for the butterflies in Jaipur

Butterfly Valley

In an ambitious project, JDA has developed a 3800 Sq. Mts.( buffer area is 5 acres)  valley in Simriti Ban on JLN Marg, Jaipur as a habitat for 46 species of commonly found butterflies. The area, some 100 mts below JLN Marg,  has been planted with 80 varieties of big and small host plants. The area has some 900 trees and treated waste  water is regularly sprayed on them to keep the moisture in the area high.They have developed waterfalls and ponds decorated with stones brought in from Nathdwara and Haridwar. So come February you need to visit the Butterfly Valley with your camera for a date with the fast vanishing delicate creatures.

 

Butterfly valley in Simriti Ban,JLN Marg,Jaipur

Jaipuri Razai-A Quilt Like None Other

There are quilts and there are Jaipuri Razais.All sorts of quilts are made in Jaipur but the quilts which have earned the jaipuri razai sobriquet are around 700 to 800 gram in weight with  outer covering  made of very soft cotton cloth which is hand block printed in vegetable dyes in pastel colours and the filling is of finely carded cotton evenly spread in the covering and stitched by hand. The borders are sewen by machine to make them last longer.These quilts come in all sizes.They are filled with the best cotton money can buy brought  from Punjab,Haryana and Ganganagar. They are mostly manufactured in Chardarwaza,Idgah and Shastrinagar and sold mostly in the bazars of the walled city.In keeping with the demands and tastes of the customers the outer coverings are also made of silk and velvet.

Like every thing else in our lives making of the Jaipuri Razais has not remained untouched by the advent of technology.Instead of hand block printing  screens are also used to print the outer covering to keep the cost of the finished product down.That is why a single quilt can cost from couple of hundred rupees to more than a couple of thousand rupees.

These quilts are in demand all around the year by the local populace and domestic and foreign tourists alike.But in the winter months you can not miss these quilts as they are prominently displayed in most  of the walled city shops selling textile goods.These quilts are also exported to the developed world to the tune of  approximately 100 crore rupees.

A journalist from Sweden,Ms.Christina and Dr.Chandramani Dixit from  Jawahar Kala kendra are writing a scholarly work on Jaipuri Quilts.

A Village For The Elephants Of Amber

Elephants have been around Jaipur even before the foundation stone of Jaipur was laid.They were being used in the Royal armies and in the Royal shikars.They also helped to build Jaipur.
Now a days they are a very popular mode of transport up the Amer hill. The ride is much in demand by the foreign and indian tourists alike.They are also used in the groom’s wedding procession and for playing elephant Polo and in Bollywood films.In a case of Indian ingenuity a local entrepreneur runs a thriving business making hand made paper from Elephant dung.
RTDC organizes an Elephant festival around Holi in which Elephant beauty pageants and Elephant Polo and other events related to elephants are organized for the tourists visiting Jaipur and local residents alike.

India’s first and the world’s third elephant village( Budget Rs.5 Crores)- the other two are in Kegalla, Sri Lanka and Pattya,Thailand- is almost ready for occupation by its residents. 2km from Amber in the village Kunda off Jaipur-Delhi highway 51 quarters for the elephants, mahawats and their families have been made.Provision has been kept to house all of the about 95 elephants in Amber here at a later date.An elephant veterinary hospital, a cafe,a riding track,large water bodies, a museum and a shilp gram are also proposed.RTDC proposes to develop the village in a tourist spot so that visitors can watch the elephants going about their daily lives.

In Remembrance

On 21 st October 1959 a unit of  Indian Police Force martyred itself defending the Indian soil against the Chinese in Ladhak.  Pt.Jawahar Lal Nehru,the then Prime Minister, decided to honour their ultimate sacrifice by declaring 21 st October as Indian Police Force’s Martyrs Day.  Smt.Usha Rani Hooja was commissioned with the task of casting a  sutiable bronze statue for the memorial. She did every body proud by casting the Trimurty sculpture  which was installed at the Narain Singh Circle on the Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg.This memorial was inagurated by the Prime Minister on 5th November 1963.This year also on Shaheed Diwas, a function was organised at the Rajasthan Police Academy and every police line in every district of Rajasthan. Homage was also paid at the Shaheed Samark on JLN Marg.

An Animal Fair With A Difference

Every year in the month of October, for the past 500 years, a four day animal fair  is held in Bhawgarh Bandhya, near jaipur, in the Looniyawas village. Held in honour of the Sri KhalKhani Mata-this fair showcases the best of Donkeys money can buy.There is sale and purchase of donkeys,race featuring donkeys,poem recitals in praise of donkeys, prizes for the best bred donkey of the marwari or kathiawari breed,beauty pageant to find the Ms. Donkey & Mr.Donkey among other events.The owners name their donkeys after the bollywood stars to enhance their charms in the eyes of the buyers.Even so the organisers have a difficult time every year to find VVIPs to do the honours at the fair.

As people are preferring to buy horses instead of donkeys or mules for their use these days  a lot of horses turn up at the fair every year also.For example this year there were only 300 donkeys and 50 mules but about 1200 horses at the mela.Also on display was a white colored Shyam Karan Horse  worth 31 lacs.According to the scriptures Lord Ram set loose a Shyam Karan horse when he performed the Ashwa medh yagh.

Legend has it that Sri Khalkhani mata performed a miracle for her devotee in distress by turning a bag of stones into gold coins.Since then this fair is held every year.

‘Khama Ghani Ajmal ji Ra Kanwara’

The Title of this post is how one of the Bhajans, in rajasthani dialect,  devotees of Bhagwan Ramdeoji Maharaj sing in his praise goes.A folk deity, born a tanwar rajput in village Ranuja, son of Raja Ajmal Dev,believed to be incarnation of lord Krishna,he was revered by the high and the low castes of the society- the rich and the poor-hindus and muslims- alike. He performed miracles for poor. According to the lore 5 pirs from Mecca came to test  his miraculous powers.They paid homage to him when convinced as Ramapir.Ramdeoji took samadhi in 1459 in Ramdeora a village 10 kms from Pokaran where a tomb was built and in 1931A.D. a temple was built by Maharaja Ganga Singh Ji of Bikaner.Devotees offer him wooden horses covered with cloth to please him.He has devotees in Rajasthan,Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and every year in August-September melas are held all across these states and in Ramdeora devotees throng the village in a 10 day mela  in his praise and remembrance.There are several temples devoted to Baba Ramdeo ji in Jaipur also( like in Hasanpura, Khatipura, Sirsi Road etc )and every year they hold melas and shobha yatras and do special poojas with great entusiasm and devotion.

Pabu ji

The life and times of the warrior Saint of Rathores,Pabu ji, are stuff legends are made of.It is believed that he sacrificed his life to honour his word given to a Charan woman from whom he had borrowed a horse when he was on his way to his marriage. On her plea, true to his word he left his marriage halfway to protect her cattle from a neighboring clan. As fate would have it he paid with ultimate sacrifice. The bards all across rajasthan have sung of his life and legend for generations.He inspired the local artists to paint the tales of his life and legend in the form of a scroll of canvas which is treated with wheat starch and painted upon in red,green,blue,brown and black. With these five colors the artist boldly sketches the folk tales of Pabu ji and the local bards use these paintings known as, Pabuji ki Phad ,to help narrate the tales.These paintings are sold all over Rajasthan now a days and made in Chittaurgarh and Shahpura near Bhilwara.Only one family is engaged in this art form now a days in Shahpura(Bhilwara).

Grace in Gait-The Thar Marwari Horse

In a guest Post Arvind Chawdhary Polo Player,Marwari Horse enthusiast and team leader for The Thar Marwari Horse Safari, Jaipur writes about The Marwari Horse.

As much a mystery as a legend, the Marwari horse instantly evokes reminiscence of the valorous Chetak. The loyal horse of Maharana Pratap of Mewar is alive even today in the annals of history in Rajasthan synonymous for valour, speed and stamina.

The elegant and brave, intelligent and graceful, strong and high in performance, proud and athletic, the horse has been long enshrined in the bardic literature of Medieval Rajasthan. One of the finest horse breeds in the world today, the elegant Marwari comes from an ancient Arab-Turkmeni mix lineage that evolved in the harsh desert climate of the Marwar Region in India.

The horse has since time immemorial had a symbiotic relationship with the desert and the soldiers. The Marwari horse was an awe-inspiring sight on the battlefield with the soldier, who unmindful of the dangers was battling between – victory and death. His resolve helped in no small measure by the confidence he had in his steed – a magnificent horse rearing on its hind legs over the din of clashing swords and warriors’ curses. The Marwari was truly a hero’s horse. Maharana Pratap rode one, the peerless Chetak. Amar Singh Rathore rode Udal and Pabu ji rode Kesar Kalmi . As did most of the heroes whose deeds light up Rajasthan’s embattled history.

By traditional accounts, the Marwari horse has been bred in Rajasthan since at least 1212 C.E. It was originally developed to be a war horse. Bred by the Rathores, the traditional rulers of Marwar, the valiant Rajputs developed a policy of strict selective breeding.

Graceful in his gait the Marwari horses are born with a “rehwal” or “revaal”, a quick, four-beat lateral gait, which is smoother and more comfortable than a trot, used in the desert to cover long distances with greater comfort.

The horse is distinctive with a long head with a broad forehead, wide-set large and alert eyes, a roman nose with full nostrils, and a well-shaped mouth. The most distinctive feature of the Marwari horse is its lyre-shaped ears, which curve inwards and meet at the tips. The ears capable of rotating through an angle of 180 degrees apart from providing the horse with an extremely acute hearing also protect it in sand-storms.The average height of a Marwari Horse is 62-66 inches.And when he leaps, he spans 12 feet!

Apart from their undoubted use in battle, Marwaris were excellent horses for hunting and racing. Albino Marwaris were considered priceless and were used in religious ceremonies. Today, the horse is used for horse riding safaris, endurance competitions, religious ceremonies, and earlier were also in the Cavalry of the Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan Police.

The horse in recent years, has gained a strong following both inside and outside India. The Marwari horse is capable of adapting almost anywhere. Its undoubted beauty and courageous disposition along with the steadfast loyalty it shows towards its owners is making it very trendy with horse enthusiasts.The Marwari has also raced at The Meerut Race Club in May 2008 for the first time in the Indian racing history of  past 129 years.In March 2009 three Marwari horses will be show cased at the EQUITANA-2009 ( a biannual equestrian sports world fair)in Germany for the first time.

THE THAR MARWARI HORSE SAFARI

Karan’s Guest House

Karan’s Guest house,

D-76,Shiv Heera Path,Chomu House,C-scheme,Jaipur,302001,

Rajasthan ,India e.mail.  kgh@aol.in

M.91-9828284433 T.91-141-2363262 F.91-141-2372919

web. www.karans.info blog. www.karansguesthouse.wordpress.com

DELUXE COMFORTS AT BUDGET PRICES

Karan’s Guesthouse is a clean and comfortable guesthouse, centrally located in a Posh Colony of Jaipur just 2 kilometres from the main railway station,bus stand,Walled City,11km from the Jaipur Airport 1 km. from Major Conference Venue,Government Offices and The Statue Circle.The guesthouse has seven Spacious double bedrooms and one single bedroom, each room has a western style private bathroom. All rooms have a satellite colour TV, small fridge, cupboard, desk, chair, lamp, sofa, air-conditioning and a heater. Two rooms have private balconies.There is a guest dining/sitting room with colour satellite TV and a well equipped kitchen for breakfast. However for those guests that wish to eat out there are many shops and popular restaurants nearby offering good quality food at reasonable prices.There is a telephone, fax machine available for all guests. You are invited to enjoy the homely atmosphere at Karan’s Guesthouse.

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