Recipe of Chole - Batura

Chole bhature (Hindi: छोले भटूरे) is a combination of chole (spicy chick peas) and fried breads called bhature (made of maida flour). It is mainly eaten in North India and along with chole seems to be have originated in Punjab. It is a snack food often sold by vendors on the street, and is commonly eaten for breakfast. Chole is also known as channa masala or chole masala. Chole bhature are very popular in major urban cities.

Ingredients

400 g flour / Maida
25 g curd
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Oil for deep frying

Mix sugar, salt and curd. Add flour into it. Mix well and bind a soft dough. Keep aside, covered for 2- 3 hours ( recommending to keep in a Tupperware container / box ) . Knead the batura dough again and divide into small portions. Flatten them to form rounds ( just like puri). Fry batura one at a time till it puffs up. Turn over till both sides are golden brown. Serve with chole .

Chole

Ingredients

Kabuli channa / white channa – 250 g
Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon
Salt – 1 teaspoon

Masala ingredients
Ginger – garlic paste – 2 tablespoon
Red chilly powder – 1 ½ teaspoon
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder- ¼ teaspoon
Garam Masala ( spice powder ) – ½ teaspoon
Mix all the masala ingredients.

Tomato puree – 1 cup
Or
Home made tomato puree
Poke 4 tomatoes ( if you don’t poke the tomatoes; they may explode inside the microwave oven ), microwave high for 4 minutes; so that the skin of the tomatoes can be peeled off easily. Once the skin is off, blend it nicely with a blender / spoon. You will get thick tomato puree.

Onion – 3 , finely chopped
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 teaspoon

Method

Wash and soak Kabuli channa / white channa for 6-8 hours , add 1teaspoon turmeric powder and salt and pressure cook for 25 – 30 minutes.

Heat oil in Kadai / frying pan. Fry chopped onions till brown on slow flame. Add masala ingredients. Saute it slowly for 5 minutes. Add tomato puree, cooked channa and salt. Mix it well. Cook on a slow flame for 15 – 20 minutes till the gravy thickens. Serve with Batura. You can decorate with chopped onion , lemon wedges and coriander leaves.

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Home remedies for a beautiful skin

Normal skin

Mash one –fourth of a ripe banana. Apply on the face, taking care to avoid the area under the eyes. Leave it on for 10 minutes and wash off with cool water. Banana is excellent to do away with the dead skin that makes your skin look lifeless. Regular use gives your skin a healthy glow.

Dry skin

Add half a teaspoon of rose water to one teaspoon of honey and gently apply to the face. Leave for 15 to 20 minutes and then wash off with tepid water. Honey moisturise and soothes dry skin and it’s gentle enough for daily use. Massaging your face regularly with almond oil or olive oil works wonders for dry skin.

Oily skin

Splash cold water on your face three to four times a day. Cold water will not only leave you feeling refreshed but will also tighten the pores. Fuller’s earth or a clay mask is an excellent face pack for oily skin.

Combination skin

Take three to four tablespoons of ripe de- seeded papaya pulp. Mash well and cool in the refrigerator. Apply on the face and leave on for 10 to 15 minutes. Wash off with cool water. Papaya helps normalize combination skin and gives it a healthier glow.

Healthy balanced diet that includes fruits and green leafy vegetables daily, keeps the skin supple and young.

Think positive and keep smiling.... : ))))

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Calorie Content in Popcorn

A popular snack food, popcorn is a special variety that grows on a cob smaller than those of sweet corn. As the kernels are heated rapidly, the moisture inside them is converted to steam. When the steam pressure builds to a certain point, it bursts the outer shell and the interior turns into a fluffy mass of starch and fibre many times larger than the original kernel. A cup of air- popped plain popcorn has only 30 calories, making it an ideal, high – fibre snack. Popping the corn in oil and adding a tablespoon of butter, however, increases the calorie content more than fivefold, to about 155 per cup.

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Restaurant style Chicken Pepper Fry

You will need

Chicken pieces from the chicken curry - 1 plate

Onion- 1, thinly sliced

Dark green curry leaves- 2 springs

Pepper powder- 1 teaspoon / to taste

Salt - to taste

Cooing oil -1 teaspoon

Method

In a frying pan, heat oil. Add thinly sliced onions and fry on a medium flame till it get golden brown colour. Add curry leaves and fry for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, salt and pepper. Stir occasionally. Fry on a slow flame for 10 minutes / till the chicken pieces get dark colour and dry. Serve hot with Pulao / Chapati...

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Tips for soft Omelette

In a medium bowl, place eggs, 1 teaspoon milk ( 1teaspoon milk for 1 egg ), salt, and coarsely ground black pepper. With fork, beat 25 to 30 quick strokes to blend mixture without making it fluffy. (Over beating toughens the proteins in the whites.)

In 8-inch nonstick skillet, melt margarine / butter / cooking oil on medium. When margarine stops sizzling, pour or ladle 1/2 cup egg mixture into skillet.

After egg mixture begins to set around edges, about 25 to 30 seconds, with heat-safe spatula, carefully push cooked egg from side of skillet toward center, so uncooked egg can reach bottom of hot skillet. Repeat 8 to 10 times around skillet, tilting as necessary, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Cook until omelet is almost set but still creamy and moist on top. Place skillet handle facing you, and sprinkle cheese and other fillings on half of omelet.

With spatula, fold unfilled half over filling.

Shake pan gently to loosen any egg or filling from edge, then slide omelet to edge of skillet. Holding skillet above plate, tip skillet so omelet slides onto plate. Repeat with remaining margarine, egg mixture, and cheese.

Eggcellent omelette !!!!!

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JURONG BIRD PARK PHOTOS - SINGAPORE

Visit http://www.birdpark.com.sg/

The Jurong BirdPark (Chinese: 裕廊飞禽公园; Malay: Taman Burung Jurong), is a tourist attraction in Singapore managed by Widlife Reserves Singapore. It is a landscaped park, built on the western slope of Jurong Hill. It is located within the Boon Lay Planning Area of the Jurong district and has an area of 202,000 square metres.The idea of a permanent bird exhibit was first conceived by Dr Goh Keng Swee, the then Minister for Defence, in 1968. During a World Bank Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Dr Goh visited its zoological garden and was impressed with its free-flight aviary. He sought to see that Jurong would be more than an industrial zone that Singaporeans would have a place where they could escape from urban life, where people could relax with nature. On 3 January 1971, Jurong BirdPark, built at a cost of S$3.5 million, was opened to the public.

The Jurong BirdPark is now a world-famous bird zoo wherein there are specimens of magnificent bird life from around the world, including a flock of one thousand and one flamingos. It is currently the world's largest bird park in terms of number of birds and second largest in terms of land area after Germany's Vogelpark Walsrode. There are over 9,000 birds of 600 species in the Jurong BirdPark. Of those, 29 are of endangered species.

In 2006, the Jurong BirdPark completed its S$10-million makeover. With the upgrading, the park now boasts a new entrance plaza, new birds' n ' buddies bird show, an African wetlands exhibit, a park-owned and managed Bongo Burgers restaurant, a Ben & Jerry's ice cream parlour, a gift shop and a bird hospital.

Visit www.birdpark.com.sg

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GUIDELINES FOR DIABETIC DIET [ INDIAN DIET ]

FOODS TO BE AVOIDED

Roots and Tubers [ eg Potato, carrot ].

Banana, Mango and Grapes.

Sugar, Glucose, Honey, Jaggery, Jam, Cake, Chocolate, Ice cream, Kheer and Khoa.

Porridge, Maida, Rawa, Noodles, Semiya and Coconut

Horliks, Boost, Bournvita and Aerated drinks [ Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, Mirinda..].

Mutton, Beef and Pork.

Tinned or Canned foods and Dry fruits.

Fried oily foods- Samosa, Cutlet, Vadam, Pickles, Puri, Papad, Biriyani and Parotta.

Butter, Ghee, Vanaspati [ Dalda ] and Coconut oil.

Alcahol and Cigerette smoking.


FOODS THAT CAN BE INCLUDED

Green leafy vegetables [ spinach ]

Vegetables : Plantain stem, Turnip, Cucumber, Plantain flower, Radish, Cabbage, Ladies finger, Ridge gourd, White ash gourd, Brinjal, Bottle gourd, Beans, Onion, Drum stick, Tomato , Cauliflower, Pumpkin and Capsicum.

Whole wheat bread, Brown bread and oil less chapati [ phulka ]

Any one of the following fruit per day : 1 Apple, 1 Sweet lime, 3 Pieces of Papaya and 1 Guava.

Sunflower oil, Gingerly oil, Groundnut oil [ refined ] and Olive oil - use minimum amount.

Small and frequent meals with proper time intervals.

Drink more Clear soups and Butter milk.

High fibre food like vegetables, salads and sprouts.


Exersice for 30 minutes, five times in a week..... Walking is the best exercise.


************ Think positive ***********
*************************************

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SINGAPORE ZOO PHOTOS

Today, the zoo is a model of the 'open zoo' concept. The animals are kept in spacious, landscaped enclosures, separated from the visitors by either dry or wet moats. The moats are concealed with vegetation or dropped below the line of vision. In the case of dangerous animals which can climb very well, moat barriers are not used. Instead, these animals are housed in landscaped glass-fronted enclosures.

The zoo has not expanded beyond the original 28 hectares. However, 40 hectares of secondary forest were later developed into the Night Safari. The remaining undeveloped land has been kept as wooded land. This and the waters of Upper Seletar Reservoir contribute to the Zoo, giving it a sense of natural, unrestricted space.

Among various attractions that the zoo offers, a highlight is the "Breakfast with an Orangutan" programme which allow visitors to meet and interact closely with the orangutans in the zoo, including the famous primate Ah Meng who is an icon of the Singapore tourism industry. Animal shows, as well as token feedings coupled with live commentaries by keepers, are also the daily staple in the Singapore zoo.

Visit http://www.zoo.com.sg/

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GO...GENTING & PHOTOS OF AWANA GOLF RESORT

AWANA GENTING HIGHLANDS GOLF & COUNTRY RESORT

Visit http://www.genting.com/ for getting more information about Awana and other hotels.

Genting Highlands (Malay: Tanah Tinggi Genting ; Chinese: 雲頂高原) (1700m above sea level 3°24′6.51″N, 101°46′2.62″E) is a mountain peak within the Titiwangsa Mountains on the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor of Malaysia and is home to a famous mountain resort by the same name which can be reached by car from Kuala Lumpur in one hour. It is also accessible by the world's fastest and South East Asia's longest cable car called Genting Skyway (3.38km[1]). In 2006, the resort had 18.4 million visitors.[1] Genting Highlands was founded by the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong in the late 1960s.

It is sometimes informally known as the Las Vegas of Malaysia, dubbed the 'City of Entertainment' as it is the only legal land-based casino in Malaysia, run by Resorts World Bhd, a sub-company of Genting Group, and First World Hotel and Resort Sdn Bhd. The resort, Genting Highlands Resort, also features many hotels owned by Genting subsidiaries including Genting Hotel, Highlands Hotel, Resort Hotel, Theme Park Hotel and Awana Genting. First World Hotel has a total of 6,118 rooms, making it the largest hotel in the world.[2] It surpassed MGM Grand Las Vegas, the former largest hotel in the world with 5,690 rooms.

Other facilities in this resort include theme parks, a Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, a wind-turbine sky diving simulator, world-class golf course and shopping malls.

There is a computerised system outside First World Hotel which can automatically calculate the number of parking-bays left in four hotels; Genting Hotel, Highlands Hotel, First World Hotel and Resort Hotel.

Genting is also home to a 100 million year old forest..

HAVE FUN......ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAYS............

Visit http://www.genting.com.my/

http://www.awana.com.my/

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KOTA KINABALU PHOTOS

VIEWS FROM HOTEL SHANGRI-LA TANJUNG ARU RESORT & SPA

Visit http://www.shangri-la.com/





Kota Kinabalu is situated on the tropical island of Borneo and is the state capital of the Malaysian state Sabah, one of the two states of East Malysia. The location of the city is absolutely amazing, and from the airport it is just a short ride to mostly any hotel. You find a world class sailing marina and championship golf courses as well as both first class holiday resorts and good hotels for the budget traveler.

Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain of Borneo. It is located 70 miles from the northern tip of the island. It is an impressive flat-topped granite block, rising in isolation, thousands of feet above the gently sloping plain. It is a rugged, heavily eroded mountain, scarred by gullies, with jagged rocks and sharp pointed peaks surrounding the main terrace. The lower slopes are farmed, while the higher slopes are covered in thick jungle with rich biodiversity. The mountain's high peak is easily climbed, but all other peaks require rock climbing skills.


Kota Kinabalu is the provincial capital, and is the most important city in the area. It is just 35 miles southwest of the mountain, and is accessible by either air or boat from Singapore/ Malaysia.


Visit http://www.kotakinabalu.com/

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