VISIT TO ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

Last week our son took us to an Ethiopian restaurant for lunch. I was very hesitant because i was sure that i will not get any vegetarian food there. My son & daughter-in law were very confident that it will be there. Surprise of surprises!!! There was not only vegetarian food available, they even had a big vegetarian combo meal. The staple food of Ethiopia is Injera and Wat. Injera is a flat bread made of fermented grain which is indegenous of Ehiopia. It looks like a mixture of our Indian dosa & appam. Wat is their stew like side dish. A wat can be made of anything varying from vegetables, pulses & meat. I was really impressed by the selection they had in the vegetarian section. Most of the side dishes tasted very Indian. They had a wat made of pulses which tasted like our dal makhni. Then they had dishes made of dried peas, spinach, beans etc. Ethiopians believe in community eating. The plate is layered with a huge injera bread. All side dishes are served on top of it. Extra injera is served in a basket. Everybody sit in a circle & dip their hands in to the plate & eat. It was a wonderful experience & we all enjoyed it very much.

LONG HYBERNATION

It has been a long time since i made a posting in my blog. That's because i've been spending time in the USA for the last 5 months. Both my children are here. My daughter-in-law gave birth to a beautiful girl baby in December. She's my first grand child & i'm enjoying every moment of my stay with her. She's a cute little bundle of joy & keeps us entertained all the time. Right now i'm all attached to her & have no time for anything else. I'm planning to restart my blogging after coming back to India in May.

ASHTAMUDI LAKE

This week we took time off to go on a holiday. This time we chose to go to a lake resort near Kollam known as Ashtamudi Lake. Ashtamudi in Malayalam means 8 branches. This is a huge lake with eight branches or channels spreading over a vast expanse. This water body connects to all other backwaters in & around that place. Kollam is the most important city on its banks. We stayed in Mahindra Resorts which is right on the banks of the lake. It is in a beautiful setting & we had a wonderful time there. Monsoon also added to the beauty of the place. We opted to stay in the floating cottage there. Floating cottages are made using hollow concrete slabs as their base. Since the cottage is literally on the lake, the whole experience was wonderful. The banks are adorned with Chinese fishing nets which have over the years become the symbol of Kerala. The shore is dotted with coconut palms all around. The lake serves as the main waterway for the fishermen living in its proximity. So we can see them rowing around in their small canoe, doing their daily chores. It was raining most of the time & the whole atmosphere was very romantic. I would highly recommend this place for those who want to visit Kerala.