Highlights of India Design ID 2017

This year, India Design ID celebrate​d​ 5 years and I was invited by them to attend the same. Even though I am not a designer per se, any creative individual can benefit from attending such shows. A different perspective of things is what it takes to open up one’s “Creative eye”.

So this year, India Design ID 2017 was as usual showcasing a lot of decor brands, architects, interior/exterior designers along with ID symposium featuring eminent speakers from India and abroad. The latter was the most exciting part. I would have attended all 3 days of the talks, had the venue not been extremely far from my place.

Most brands at such shows have stalls which present a “vignette” of what a consumer’s space would look like. They can replicate that exact look if the consumer wants or one can buy a la carte as well. Established names such as Arttd’inox,  Antonio Lupi, Beyond Designs, K2India, Roca, BoConcept, The Pure Concept etc were present at the show. A few brands like Apartment9 gave a “complete experience” where one would enter a stall and get transported into a completely different world, which was a result of dim lighting, appropriate music, various vignettes along with mannequins performing their roles, snacks, champagne, attendants – the works!

There were a number of pop up cafes at the India design venue, Including Nomad cafe by Park Hotels, a pop up by Le Meridien and many others.

Without further ado, here are images of some of the things that caught my eye at India design.

 
“Images from India Design 2017”

From India Design ID 2017. Posted by “PSpective” – photography by Priyanka Sachar on 2/18/2017 (30 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher 2


I attended a couple of talks at the ID symposium. One of the most interesting was Humberto Campana’s furniture design with things as quirky as chairs made out of bubble wrap or stuffed toys! Have a look.

Chair made with bubble wrap!

Chair made with stuffed toys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He also likes using a lot of raw natural materials like cane and bamboo. One must check out more of the Campana brothers’ work here and here.

After the ID symposium got over, Asian Paints announced “Intense Ocean” as their Colour of the year. At the after party, the theme was clearly various shades of blue as we were served cocktails with a blue curacao base :). I had a good time, met a lot of creative people and it definitely gave me a few ideas for my own work as well.

 


Where to travel on long weekends of 2017 2

There are 14 long weekends in 2017, so it’s more than one long weekend every month! Even though one long weekend is already gone , there are still many others in 2017 to plan your travel for.

1. Republic Day – 26 jan weekend

Even though this long weekend has already gone, one can still visit relevant destinations that are enjoyable this time of the year. For eg. Dubai. Shop to your heart’s delight, try the grub, admire the man made islands, take a desert safari or just check out the souks.

 

2. Mahashivratri : Fri, 24 Feb

MahaShivratri is a holiday in most of India. Add to it the weekend of Sat, 25 Feb and Sun, 26 Feb and you have a long weekend. One can visit Agra (Taj Mahotsav) , Andaman Islands, Goa (Goa carnival) , Landsowne , Ooty. Wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan – check out  Jodhpur or Udaipur or Jaisalmer or Pushkar or Alwar for the lovely weather.

Udaipur : By: ivosandoval/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

 

3. Holi weekend: 11-13 Mar

11th and 12th are the weekend and Monday, 13th March is Holi. Celebrate Holi in Mathura, Visit Coorg to catch the white coffee flowers in bloom or again cities in Rajasthan (Jaipur , Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Pushkar, Alwar) before summer kicks in.

Jaisalmer : By: zedzap/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

 

4. Gudi Padwa : 28th Mar

25th, 26th is the weekend, Take leave on Monday, 27 March and add Gudi Padwa holiday on 28th – you get 4 days! You can visit Rishikesh for white water rafting or Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangkok.

Bangkok : By: stuckincustoms/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

 

5. Ram Navami : 4th Apr

The weekend is on 1st and 2nd April. Take leave on Monday, 3 Apr. Ram Navami is on 4th April. With 4 days, you can visit Cappadocia, Turkey for hot-air ballooning, Tokyo for cherry blossoms, Srinagar for tulips, or Hong Kong for family fun time in Disneyland.

Hongkong : By: sprengben/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

 

6. Baisakhi/Good Friday/Easter weekend

Thu, 13 Apr: Baisakhi
Fri, 14 Apr: Dr Ambedkar Jayanti, Good Friday
Sat, 15 Apr : weekend
Sun, 16 Apr: Easter weekend

IF you can take leave on Mon, Tues, Wed (10,11,12 apr) then it becomes a REALLY long weekend for international travel.
You can visit Amritsar for Baisakhi, for the food, Wagah border change of guard ceremony ; Phuket for the Phuket Bike Week (11–16 Apr) and Bangkok for Songkran Festival (13–17 Apr)

Bangkok : By: michaelsarver/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

 

7. Labour day : 1 May

29 Apr & 30 Apr is the weekend. Monday, 1 May is May Day or Labour day. Travel to the north east to get relief from the heat. You can visit Shillong, Mashobra or Landour to beat the heat; Tadoba or Ranthambore to spot wildlife; or take a quick break Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Colombo : By: nazly/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

 

8. Eid Weekend : 26 Jun

24th and 25th June is the weekend and Eid is on 26th Jun

Travel to Hyderabad/Lucknow/Delhi for Ramzan Eid; Munnar for the monsoon; Dharamshala for camping/trekking. Try a different kind of Goa in monsoon. It is very cheap and also very lovely. Or Visit Srinagar for the cool climate.

Srinagar : By: gulfu/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

9. Janmashtami/Independence Day weekend : 14 Aug/15 Aug

12 Aug, 13 Aug are the weekend, 14 Aug is Janmashtami, 15 Aug is Independence day, Take leave on 16 Aug & 18 Aug, 17 Aug is Parsi New year, and 19, 20 Aug is again the weekend. Now this is the LONGEST weekend ever for travel!

Travel to Ladakh for picturesque views, Uttarakhand for Valley of Flowers; Salzurg, Austria for the Salzburg Festival (21 Jul–30 Aug); Tanzania for the great migration.

Salzburg : By: beuel_sued/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

10. Ganesh Chaturthi : 25 Aug

Take the Ganesh Chaturthi holiday on a friday and add the weekend to it. Visit Pune or Bombay for Ganesh Chaturthi or Bali for a beach break or Cherrapunji to watch water falls!

Guwahati : By: rao_anirudh/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

11. Gandhi Jayanti : 2 OCt

Weekend + Gandhi Jayanti . One can have a quick visit to Munich for Oktoberfest (16 Sep–3 Oct); Bhutan for the Thimphu Tshechu festival (30 Sep–2 Oct); Bandhavgarh for wildlife season; Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh for the pleasant weather, Gangtok for clear views of the Kanchenjunga

Bhutan : By: jmhullot/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

12. Diwali holidays

14, 15 Oct are the weekend. 16 Oct is Dhanteras, 17 and 18 Oct are Chhoti and Badee Diwali, Take leave on 19 Oct, 20 Oct is Bhaiduj and 21, 22 Oct is again the weekend! 9 days are long enough to visit exotic locations far away!

Visit Sydney/Melbourne for summer on the beach; Vancouver/New York for fall, Bhutan for the perfect season.

Sydney : By: pedrosz/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

13. Eid Weekend  : 1 Dec

Along with Eid-e-Milad, you get the weekend of 2/3 Dec. Travel to Nagaland for Hornbill Festival or Bharatpur for spotting migratory birds.

Dimapur : By: abrinsky/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

14. Christmas Weekend : 25 Dec

This is the Holiday season! 23, 24 Dec are the weekend and 25 Dec is Xmas. If you can use all your remaining leaves of the year then you get Holidays till 1st Jan! One can travel to Maldives/Australia/Singapore/Goa for New year festivities or  Manali for the snow or Pondicherry for a winter break.

Sydney : By: clintsharp/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

So what are you waiting for? Get out your travel boots on and travel away!


 


 


Fight demonetisation woes with AxisPay UPI app

These days everyone is going through a tough time receiving money or sending money, thanks to the Vaahiyaat demonetisation rules imposed on us. Why vaahiyaat, is stuff for another post. However, till the time the instant removal of 86% of our cash flow is dealt with slowly and painfully, we can surely ease the pains we go through every day to pay for various services and goods.

Going Cashless can be done in many ways. Apart from paying through credit or debit cards and mobile wallets, one such option is UPI apps. UPI stands for Unified Payments Interface , a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund transfers & merchant payments – all into one. This system was launched by NPCI (National payments corporation of India) in April’16. Now all banks have started sharing their particular UPI enabled apps from August’16 onwards.

In this post, I will share some details about the Axis Bank UPI app, called AxisPay that I had the pleasure of using and experiencing lately. Axis bank was one of the earlier banks to come out with their app. It is very simple to use. Instant payments can be made vis this app, by using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA). One does not need to remember beneficiary details like account number, IFSC etc. Just Send money or Ask for money using a Virtual Payment Address. 

Here’s a very quick 20 second intro of what all Axis Bank’s Axis pay UPI app can do

And here’s how to do it.

 

 

As you can make out, the steps are really simple. No matter which bank account you have, using this app, you can send payments directly to any other bank account holder as long as they are using any UPI app (similar to withdrawing cash from any ATM irrespective of bank account). So here are the steps.

  1. Download the Axis Pay app from Google Play Store (iOS version coming out soon)
  2. Select your preferred bank account
  3. Create a unique ID (example – yourname@axisbank)
  4. Verify your account & set a PIN

 

To send money:

  • Select your & receiver’s unique ID
  • Enter amount
  • Send money by entering PIN

To receive money:

  • Select your & sender’s unique ID
  • Enter amount
  • Receive money when sender approves transaction on his app

The best thing about making payments through the Axis Pay UPI app is that the money doesn’t go to a wallet with an additional step (and some charges) to transfer it into your bank account. It also uses two factor authentication, keeping it absolutely secure. As compared to NEFT, RTGS etc, this mode of money transfer is instant and can be done 24X7X365 without any fees to use your own money. One app can be used to make payments to anyone anywhere, as long as they are using any UPI app. You don’t even need an axis bank account to be able to use the Axis bank UPI app. Besides, there’s no need to remember or fumble around for bank account numbers and IFSC codes. You can even pay merchants & even do online shopping using this app. In fact, Freecharge has partnered with Axis Bank to launch UPI enabled payment on its Android app!

So go ahead and download Axis Pay UPI app to make your life easier!

 

 


Neung Roi Review

neungroi-9

Recently I was invited by Radisson Blu plaza, Delhi, to try out Thai food at Neung Roi. I was actually supposed to try it exactly a year back when I had been invited to try out the spa experience. However the relaxing spa experience did not leave me any time for a leisurely 4-5 course lunch. So this year I went exclusively to try out the Thai food at Neung Roi. I really like Thai cuisine a lot and also make a lot of it myself. But then the stuff I make, mostly uses ready made pastes etc. So I was pretty excited to have “authentic” Thai home food prepared by Master Chef Yengai Suthiwaja.

Neung Roi means 100 in Thai and has been named after the 100oC East longitude, which runs through Thailand. Neung Roi is perhaps  the first Thai restaurant I have seen, that segregates its menu based on the major culinary regions. There are four major culinary regions listed – Isan, Lanna, South and the Central Plains. The menu has a preface that explains the specialty of each region. For example the Isan region has spicy flavours,  hot and salty dishes are from Lanna, seafood and fresh produce is from South, and mild, subtle and balanced flavours are from the Central Plains here. I like a menu that actually enlightens the consumer. It was only after a lifetime of eating Chinese or “Chindian” did I realise that Manchuria, Sichuan (misspelt as schezwan in India or even Sehejwan!), Hakka , Hunan, Shandong etc refer to various regions and hence different influences on Chinese food.

The ambience of the restaurant is very nice. Soothing tones, attractive lighting and spacious seats.

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So without much ado, here’s what all I tried from the iPad menu I was provided. Since I went alone for the review (instead of in a group), some of the portion sizes were customised for me and made smaller.

We started with something that was a mouth freshener sort of thing. It was made with a betel life like a paan but had typical Thai flavours like lemongrass, chili, peanuts etc.

Thai Paan

 

STARTERS & SALAD

Various starters and salad with small portions for me

Pla Phad Khing

Wok fried fish with black mushroom & crispy ginger. This was really tasty.

Gai Yang

Grilled chicken with coriander roots & roasted chilli sauce. The chicken tasted a bit chewy but that was because I realised that the skin was on. And although it felt and tasted like fried chicken, it had been grilled. It was flavourful.

Som Tum

Raw papaya salad with peanut, chilli & light soya sauce. The salad was light and refreshing and also used edamame beans – something I have never used myself while making this salad.

Chormuang

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Steamed Thai butterfly flower dumpling filled with vegetable

While going through the iPad menu my eyes stopped at “butterfly flower” and I was immediately curious about what this dish was. I wondered if it was made with something called “butterfly flower” or it looked like a “butterfly flower”. So I was told by the waiter that these are lavender coloured dumplings! Can you, dear reader, imagine anything like this? That piqued my curiosity even further and I ordered this dish. I must say it was quite a surprise when it came! Not only did it look spectacular, i tasted great. Later the chef met me and told me that the dough for the dumplings uses stock from dried purple flowers which give it this colour. And the filling was sweet potato, onions and peas!

SOUPS

Tom Yum Gai

neungroi-3

Spicy & sour chicken soup with lemongrass, kaffir lime & galangal. The soup was very flavourful and the individual flavours were distinctly standing out.

 

MAIN COURSE

Gaeng Kiew Wan Gai

Chicken green curry with Thai eggplant, basil, kaffir lime & coconut milk. The thai curry was quite tasty. I often make red and green curries at home and the wonderful new addition here was the crunchy Thai brinjal that looks more like capers.

Gai Kraprow

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Minced Chicken with long beans, hot basil & chilli. This was also quite tasty but perhaps best eaten with rice.

Pla Sam Rod

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Crisp fried fish in three flavor sauce. It was really tasty but felt more like a stand alone appetiser rather than a main course dish to be eaten as an accompaniment to other dishes.

Phad Thai Pak

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Flat rice noodle with bean sprout, chive, tamarind, chilli & peanut. I make rice noodles all the time at home. Nevertheless these were really tasty and actually had different flavours from the ones I am used to. Also, I’ve never used lemon juice on top of pad thai noodles! That was an interesting take.

 

DESSERT

Tub Tim Krob

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Water chestnut in coconut jasmine syrup. The water chestnuts had been soaked in a strawberry flavoured gelatinous syrup and resembled pomegranate seeds! It was quite tasty.

Kanom Tom

neungroi-12

Jaggery stuffed pandanus glutinous rice dumpling with coconut. This was the first time I had a sweet dumpling! That too with jaggery & coconut. It felt like I was eating an Indian sweet dish. But it is important to eat them while they are hot, else the jaggery solidifies a bit.

Fig & Honey Ice cream

neungroi-11

A non Thai dessert, but very tasty nevertheless.

 

After a very sumptuous meal I visited the washroom at Radisson Blu plaza and was completely floored by the gigantic drawing room that I entered in, which also happened to house toilets! So here are a few images of that lavish room too 🙂

neungroi-7 neungroi-8

After this I met Master Chef Yengai Suthiwaja for some chit chat where I discussed various preparations and she also showed me the flower that gave those gorgeous dumplings their colour. It is a dried flower imported from Thailand for this very purpose.

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And here’s Master Chef Yengai Suthiwaja who I thanked for a hearty meal which was flavourful and also very interesting at the same time.

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Here are some more details of Neung Roi. Reservations are recommended.

Phone number

011 33105576

Address

Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi, National Highway 8, Near IGI Airport, Mahipalpur, New Delhi

Cost

Average Rs 3,000 for two people (approx.) VAT & service charges extra
 



Cheesy Quinoa Quenelles with Mango Aioli

Recently I made these Cheesy Quinoa Quenelles with Mango Aioli 🙂 I have had Quinoa earlier but didn’t like it much then. But this particular dish is really really tasty and definitely in favour of quinoa. I had seen a lot of quinoa fritters recipes on the net and Aioli recipes as well .. I imbibed all these various recipes, added the king of fruits into it and thus came Cheesy Quinoa Quenelles with Mango Aioli !

They were the perfect accompaniment to the monsoon season. Crunchy, cheesy, full of texture, healthy star ingredient and that aioli was to die for! I will use it with other dishes too. Here’s the recipe:

Cheesy Quinoa Quenelles with Mango Aioli

Portion size : 2

Serves : 3-4

Cooking time : 30 minutes

Preparation time : 5 minutes

Ingredients

Mango Aioli

Half a pureed ripe mango (roughly 4 tbsp)
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tbsp fresh lemon rind
Some chopped red paprika (or any other chilly)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt

Quinoa Quenelles

2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed, drained (I used the red quinoa)
1/4 cup flour (maida)
1/4 cup crumbled or grated Mozzarella (or any other cheese)
3/4 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 chopped onion
1/4 cup coriander or mint (or whichever leafy herb u prefer)
1 large egg
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Method:

Mango Aioli

Blend mango puree, garlic, paprika, salt, lime juice and lemon rind in a mixer. Whisk in mayonnaise. Adjust salt/chilly if required. Cover and chill. (You can make this a day in advance also)

Quinoa-7Quinoa-9Quinoa-2

Cheesy Quinoa Quenelles

1. Heat a pan. Add quinoa, toast it, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. (White quinoa will become golden)

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2. Add 1 1/3 cups water to quinoa and boil it. After boiling, let it simmer on low heat till it is cooked and till quinoa has absorbed all the water. (~12 minutes)

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3. Remove from heat and keep covered for 15 minutes. Uncover and cool. Transfer to a large bowl (in which you will make quinoa dough).
4. Add flour, onions, coriander or mint, salt & pepper to quinoa and toss. Add cheese, mix well. Beat the egg separately and stir into this mix until a dough forms (mix gently to prevent quinoa from breaking so that it retains texture)

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5. Heat oil in a pan.
6. Take 2 large table spoons. Scoop dough in one spoon, use the second spoon to scoop this dough out of first spoon, repeat process till a smooth oval shape (like a rugby ball) has formed. (Congratulations you just made a quenelle!)
7. Fry these quenelles in oil, turn occasionally and transfer to a plate with a napkin or paper towel.

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8. Serve the cheesy Quinoa Quenelles warm with the Sweet & spicy Mango aioli .. Enjoy along with the monsoons

Quinoa-1 

 

Here’s the recipe in recipe card format as well

Cheesy Quinoa Quenelles with Mango Aioli
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Ingredients
  1. Mango Aioli
  2. Half a pureed ripe mango (roughly 4 tbsp)
  3. 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  4. 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  5. 1 tbsp fresh lemon rind
  6. Some chopped red paprika (or any other chilly)
  7. 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  8. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  9. Quinoa Quenelles
  10. 2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed, drained (I used the red quinoa)
  11. 1/4 cup flour (maida)
  12. 1/4 cup crumbled or grated Mozzarella (or any other cheese)
  13. 3/4 teaspoons salt
  14. Freshly ground black pepper
  15. 1 chopped onion
  16. 1/4 cup coriander or mint (or whichever leafy herb u prefer)
  17. 1 large egg
  18. Vegetable oil (for frying)
Method
  1. Mango Aioli
  2. Blend mango puree, garlic, paprika, salt, lime juice and lemon rind in a mixer. Whisk in mayonnaise. Adjust salt/chilly if required. Cover and chill. (You can make this a day in advance also)
  3. Cheesy Quinoa Quenelles
  4. 1. Heat a pan. Add quinoa, toast it, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. (White quinoa will become golden)
  5. 2. Add 1 1/3 cups water to quinoa and boil it. After boiling, let it simmer on low heat till it is cooked and till quinoa has absorbed all the water. (~12 minutes)
  6. 3. Remove from heat and keep covered for 15 minutes. Uncover and cool. Transfer to a large bowl (in which you will make quinoa dough).
  7. 4. Add flour, onions, coriander or mint, salt & pepper to quinoa and toss. Add cheese, mix well. Beat the egg separately and stir into this mix until a dough forms (mix gently to prevent quinoa from breaking so that it retains texture)
  8. 5. Heat oil in a pan.
  9. 6. Take 2 large table spoons. Scoop dough in one spoon, use the second spoon to scoop this dough out of first spoon, repeat process till a smooth oval shape (like a rugby ball) has formed. (Congratulations you just made a quenelle!)
  10. 7. Fry these quenelles in oil, turn occasionally and transfer to a plate with a napkin or paper towel.
  11. 8. Serve the cheesy Quinoa Quenelles warm with the Sweet & spicy Mango aioli .. Enjoy along with the monsoons
Twilight Fairy http://blog.twilightfairy.in/