Rajasthan - A Foodie's Heaven

Think Rajasthan!

Images of vast stretch of desert, majestic forts, havelis and palaces come to your mind right?

No doubt Rajasthan, the land of Maharajas, is famous for its majestic forts and desert scape. I totally agree.

But this time, the highlight of our trip to Rajasthan wasn't just the majestic forts we saw, or the desert scape we experienced ; but the exemplary Rajasthani Food we savoured. 

Despite the paucity of water and extreme climate conditions, Rajasthanis had churned their recipes to the finest taste. Not to mention the non availablity of varied vegetables in the Arid region, which also has a significant impact on the uniqueness in taste of Rajasthani food.

I am sure that Rajasthani cuisine will surely leave every food fanatic awestruck with its delicacies of authentic taste, which is unlike any other cuisine of India.

Ok! Enough of beating around the bush. Let me get you straight to the palatable food we had in our Rajasthan trip!

Dal Bhatti 
This signature dish of Rajasthan is not going to let you down in it's taste. It's nothing but Baati, wheat balls served along with Dal. It's a delicious breakfast. When in Jaipur, you should not miss to try this one.

Bajra Roti 
Rajasthanis love to have different varieties of roti. Unlike other rotis, this Bajra roti is made from Millet flour. This healthy roti served with curd and chutneys is a yummy breakfast you shouldn't miss.

Missi ki Roti 
Yet another variety of roti, made from gram flour, wheat flour and a handful of spices. This butter-topped,flavoured roti accompanied with a spicy curry is going to be one of the best highlights of your trip. Trust me!

Source : Google

Rajasthani Thali
For those of you who had seen the movie "Jodha Akbar", would easily know how the Royal Rajasthan Thali looks like. When the Thali we ordered, arrived at the table, I was reminded by the line how Rajasthan has a way of making every visitor feel like a royalty.

Boondi Raita 
Rajasthani Thali is incomplete without the famous Boondi Raita.

Lal Maas
Literally my mouth was on fire. Dont take me wrong. It is fiery hot meat cooked in red chilli sauce!

Pair it with roti or rice. It's such a scrumptious dish of Rajasthan that you cannot leave Rajasthan without relishing it.

Ker Sangri 
When draught struck Rajasthan years back, the vegetables like Ker Berry and Sagria bean(Two Unique Desert Vegetables), which grow abundant in extreme hot conditions of Rajasthan, came to their rescue.

A perfect amalgamation of beans and Berry, stir fried with local spices to offer you a delectable flavour

Shahi Ghatte 
Boiled besan dumplings are cooked with curd,tomato and masala to a rich thick gravy. Accompany it with Roti. It's such a tasty combo. (I tried it in home too!)

Source: Google

Kachori
Is there anyone out there, who doesn't like to have Kachori? Of course not. This famous snack is usually taken as a part of Rajasthani breakfast, but it can be taken any time a day.

Filled with onions, potatoes and spices, this tasty snack served with tomato sauce and green chilli chutney is such a spicy delight u will never forget.

You can find it in many shops in Rajasthan. Go on and try this if you are looking for something hot, spicy and crispy.

Mirchi Vada
Hey Mirchi lovers, here is something for you! When I was hearing mirchi vada as signature dish of Rajasthan, I was wondering what's so special about Rajasthan mirchi vada, when we can get mirchi vada in our place itself.

Guys! Trust me! It's totally different from whatever Mirchi Vada we usually get in South India. Even in my dreams, I could have never imagined a masala stuffing to be inside Mirchi before made into a Vada.

Bhang Lassi  
What? A Government approved Bhang Lassi shop? We gawked at the mere sight of the shop near Jaisalmer fort. This Lassi shop has Bhang Lassi in various levels like medium, strong. You can also try Bhang biscuits.

Kesar Kulfi 
Who wouldn't love a Kulfi? When we saw a Kesar Kulfi shop in Umaid Bhawan Palace after a hectic day, we had to relish it right? It was a delight in itself.

Bikaner Bhujia 
Bhujia is a popular traditional snack in Rajasthan, invented in Bikaner city. This crispy snack prepared using Moth beans, besan and spices, is indeed a perfect snack.

Source : Google

But what left us dumbfounded was that? Bhujia stuffed inside Pav! It's an interesting fusion dish we had in Jodhpur in a cafe named Cafe Royale. It was tasting Yummy. My two cents for the cafe too!

Jalebi 
This traditional dessert of Rajasthan is made by deep-frying a wheat or maida flour batter in circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup. You can find it in many places in Rajasthan. But the "Dhanraj Ranmal Bhatia" has the best of them. Ok! Thank me later guys😊

Dhokla 
Though it's a signature dish of Ahmedabad, Dhokla in Rajasthan is also quite famous that we ended up trying in Mehrangarh fort. To our disappointment, we didn't find it that good in Mehrangarh fort. Better luck next time in Ahmedabad.;-)

Pickles 
Traditional Rajsthani food has got varieties of pickles. Green chilly pickle is one of the different pickles we had during this trip. 

On my next trip to Rajasthan

Kairi ki Lounji
Mere looking at the photo of the dish makes me drooling.

Rabri 
It's a sweet dessert made by heating milk for an hour with nuts and Sugar. I am sure I would love this dessert. (Milk sweet lovers! Tada!!)

Rajasthani Kadhi 
It's a spiced Yogurt curry thickened by gram flour. Though Punjab has a variety of them, Rajasthani Kadhi is still special for it's flavour. 

Mutton Keema Baati
Omg! When I came across the picture of wheat balls with mutton keema stuffing in Instagram, I couldn't stop myself from adding it to the Bucket list. 

No doubt that Rajasthani cuisine had churned it's flavour from the Royal kitchens of Rajput and other kingdoms. 

At least after tasting it, I cannot deny it.

Your trip to Rajasthan is incomplete if you haven't experienced it's food

Rajasthan is indeed a Foodie's Heaven.

Happy Travelling! And Bon Appetite! 

Here's how we planned our trip to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Every girl on this planet is starry eyed when it comes to her Honeymoon destination.(Though our actual honeymoon was Meghalaya, this one we call it as our International Honeymoon)

Being our first International vacation, we wanted it to be the best. 

Hitting another continent was the target!! LOL!

After few considerations, we zeroed on to Switzerland over New Zealand. Well as u all know, Switzerland is not a cheap country. But there are ways to travel budget, only if u know where to look for it.(Drop in here for Budget travelling tips in Switzerland)

Let’s be honest that Switzerland is one beautiful country which is on everyone’s bucket-list, no matter how costly affair it is.

From the alluring beauty of the Snow clad mountains to Charmingly beautiful lakes to medieval towns, every place in Switzerland was impeccable.

Here’s a sneak peek into our 9 days itinerary.

Arrival in Zurich

As our flight landed in Zurich after 13 hours, long queue in Immigration awaited us. And myraid of questions popped in our mind! You know it's bit tough to avoid the uncertainty of being in a new country all by ourselves.(Being our first International travel experience added to the fire)

Despite all this, the excitement in us was impalpable. After we were done with immigration procedures, we headed to Railway station for buying our Swiss Travel pass.

We had booked our stay for next five days in a hostel with private room in Interlaken west(walkable distance from Rail station! Wink!), which means we can cook our meals whenever we want to in the hostel.

Off we went to Interlaken west which is going to be our base for all our mountain excursions.

 To Top of Europe, Jungfraujoch

Since the next few days seemed cloudy in Jungfraujoch, we set out to Top of Europe on the second day of our trip. There are two directions you can take to reach Jungfraujoch.

Option 1 : Interlaken Ost --> Lauterbrunnen --> Klein Scheidegg --> Jungfraujoch

Option 2 : Interlaken Ost-->Grindelwald-->Klein Scheidegg--> Jungfraujoch

We had taken both the options for our to and fro journeys.

On our way back via Grindelwald

Both the journeys were equally appealing with fantastic views at your window side. More than all that, the beauty of Aletsch glacier is all worth the penny u spend on this day excursion. 

Remember to plan this excursion on a clear day for the best views. Want to know nitty gritty details of how we planned our trip to Jungfraujoch? Head on over here.

Stay - Happy Inn Lodge, Interlaken.

Merry go round in Mt Titlis!

With Swiss cow bells ringing to the tune of wind below, just sit back and let your three level cable car takes you on a journey from green meadows to snow clad mountains with wonderful panaromic views. 

Spend your time by taking a ride in Ice glacier or braving yourself walking the highest elevation bridge in Mt Titlis. On your way back, don't miss to splurge yourself on a journey to the pretty city of Lucerne.

From it's antiquated Chapel bridge to stunning buildings of Lucerne, nothing will stop you from saying 'Wow' at every glimpses of it. Inquistive to know how we spent our day in Mt Titlis and Lucerne? Detailed blogpost is here.

Stay - Happy Inn Lodge, Interlaken.

Vevey and Montreux

The pretty little town, Vevey has got much to offer than u can imagine. Be it the narrow alleys or the Tuesday market, the time we spent in Vevey was quite interesting. 

Vevey Market

Boat ride from Vevey to Montreux Castle was surreal. We spent quite a lot of time in Vevey and Montreux Castle, that we had only little time to explore Montreux.

Nevertheless, we quickly walked the colourful lake promenade area studded with dazzling flowers. When we walked towards Railway station, we were awe struck by the colourful medieval buildings of Montruex.

Look how vibrant it stands!

Each place offers different things to different travelers right? Want to see what Vevey and Montreux has offered us? And how we spent our day in Vevey and Montreux? Check here!

Stay - Happy Inn Lodge, Interlaken.

Lose track of time in Brienz & Thun

From its Turquoise blue coloured lake to calmingly beautiful village, everything in Brienz was picture perfect.

A day in Brienz was not at all a part of my itinerary. But guess what??

This day turned out to be the best day in my Switzerland diary. Spending the evening in Thun was a cherry on top of the already beautiful day. 

Have a look at this picture!

Picturesque isn’t it? Here's a detailed blog on how we lost track of time in Brienz and Thun!

Stay - Happy Inn Lodge, Interlaken.

All set on Glacier Express from Brig to St Moritz

Having booked our reservation for Glacier express from Brig to St Moritz, we set out early to spend some time exploring Brig.

The pretty town, Brig won our hearts with its majestic buildings and its interesting facades. By 11:54 am, we boarded glacier express to experience one of the most picturesque train journey in the world.

When we were travelling in Glacier express, we were bit mystified whether this train journey is overrated. However our views got changed as we went past Disentis. Want to know how? Check out here.

We reached St Moritz in the evening and boarded bus to our stay 'Chesa Albris Bed & Breakfast'.

We refreshed and headed to spectacular Leaning tower of St Moritz and called it a day after treating ourselves with the candle lit dinner.

Stay - Chesa Albris Bed & Breakfast

Hiking to Morteratsch Glacier

An easy trail right from the Morteratsch Railway station lead you to Morteratsch glacier. The trail starts with picturesque pine trees on both sides of the way and a beautiful river flowing along the left side of the trail.

Lest we know that time how this beautiful trail is going to take us on a spine chilling journey of Climate change.

Head on over here to know how this hiking took us on a hair-raising experience of climate change!

We returned back to St Moritz, after hiking Morteratsch glacier, to board our train to the 6^th smallest country. Yey! Liechtenstein! We are coming.

Liechtenstein
Thanks to my friend who invited us to this happy valley and hosted us for the night.

Liechtenstein is a tiny principality snuggled between Austria and Switzerland with no army of it's own. This happy valley seemed to allure me even with just walking along the deserted streets.

I should again thank my friend only who took us to Feldkirch, Austria to buy chocolates. Believe me! The price of the same Lindt chocolate in Austria was less than half the price that of Switzerland.

Feldkirch,Austria

Next day morning, before setting our way to Zurich, we made a visit to Stunning Vaduz castle(Still an official royal residence) perched on a hilltop to make you feel like you are in the land of fairy tales. Want to know how we spent our one day in the happy valley? Head here!

Stay-Friend's house in Nendeln.

Off to Rhine falls

The Niagara falls of Switzerland, Rhine Falls welcomed us with all its awe. 

We were lucky to be in Rhine falls when they were hosting the vintage car show. It was splendid to watch the proud owners driving their vintage cars. 

We didn't take the boat ride to castle as it was super crowded. But the view of the falls was all worth a visit. Though we had planned to visit Stein Rhine(a small town near Rhine falls), we decided to drop it and have some good food in Malabar Restaurant.

Stay - Ibis Budget, Zurich.

Bidding Good bye to the wonderland

Next day morning, after a quick walk around our hotel, we boarded Tram to airport.

Day 1-Arrival in Zurich
Day 2-Jungfraujoch
Day 3-Mt Titlis and Lucerne
Day 4-Vevey & Montruex
Day 5-Brienz & Thun
Day 6-St Moritz
Day 7-Morteratsch glacier
Day 8-Liechtenstein
Day 9-Rhine falls, Zurich
Day 10-Departure from Zurich

And this sums up my Trip to the wonderland of Europe.

I am running in short of words to explain the beauty of Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

My visit to these places are an experience almost frozen in time.

I left a part of my heart in Europe this time and I can’t wait to get back there again. 

Month of Trip - End of Sep'17(23.09.17 to 01.10.17)

One day in the Happy Valley, Liechtenstein

Welcome to one of the tiniest and richest countries in the world!(Sixth smallest country to be precise)

This Happy valley(As fondly called by the people of Liechtenstein), which flaunt itself for having no army of its own, greeted us with all its reverence.

Liechtenstein, a tiny principality(Imagine just 160 square km) landlocked between Switzerland and Austria, is a pure fairytale comes to life.

This happy valley was a heaven on earth for the killing views it offered.

Thanks to the friend who invited us to Liechtenstein. We stayed in Nendeln at a friend’s place for the night. 

Nendeln

When such views are offered at your doorstep, why not spend a day in such a place?

The another best part about staying in her place was hearing those snippets of travel adventures she had all around world. How can I not mention about her tasty prawn curry and crispy dosas!?

Vaduz Castle – The icon of Liechtenstein

Seeing these well maintained roads to Vaduz castle in google, we carried our luggage to leave directly from Vaduz to Zurich.(Time saving idea of mine!)

As we reached the bus stop, we could see Vaduz castle standing atop the hill, amidst falls colours, giving the town a ‘fairy land’ feel. The castle can be pretty much seen from anywhere in the capital city, Vaduz.

When we enquired one lady in Vaduz about the way to reach castle, she looked at our luggage and asked whether we were planning to reach castle with these luggages in hand and said that we had to climb steep steps in the beginning of the trail.

Know what?

The royal roadway stretched with well-maintained lawn and trees on both sides, which we saw in google, were not accessible for walking. (That’s only for vehicles it seems)

Phew!You have to walk through the gravel path to reach the castle.

When you are in the sixth smallest country in the world, why not?

We climbed our way to castle with our luggages in hand. Here’s the proof! 

When we reached, we were offered some spell bounding views of both the city as well as the castle.

Castle is not open for tourists as it is still a royal residence. But the panoramic view was worth the climb.

When in Liechtenstein, you stumble upon a vineyard near bus stop too!

A private vineyard near bus stop!

Good to Know

Note that Liechtenstein shares border services with Switzerland and so if you have a Schengen visa for entry into Switzerland, then you can automatically enter Liechtenstein.

While people entering Liechtenstein from Austria needs a Schengen visa that allows entry into Switzerland or Liechtenstein.

Your Swiss travel pass is applicable in the buses of Liechtenstein.

I am not sure whether train journey in Liechtenstein is covered in Swiss travel pass. Though we boarded an Austrian train doubtfully, luckily no one came to check our tickets. LOL!

If you are entering from Switzerland, you can board your train to Sargans from where you can take a bus or train to Liechtenstein.

Our Lyca sim was not working in Liechtenstein. So a screenshot we took before reaching was our saviour.

Vevey and Montreux

Vevey 

We were lucky to be in Vevey for the popular Tuesday markets and spent our morning hopping from one shop to another looking at quirky stuffs being sold at the market. 

The stalls here sell everything. Cheese, Meats, Vegetables, Fruits, Flowers, honey, Snacks and many other items can be found in the market.

Guess what?
Even antiques were there!

The vendors were friendly. On interactions, we got to know that these markets are held every Tuesday and Saturday.

Interesting part of the vevey market was that we met two Indians!

One was selling Momos in an eatery in the market. On interacting with the guy, we got to know that he wass basically from North eastern part of India and was brought up in Bangalore(Namma Bangalore!).

Momo we ordered was a scrummy delight that we had ended up ordering one more plate.

Another person was selling fruits along with his Pakistani friend.(When you cross borders, borders don’t actually matter)

After hopping the shops of popular Vevey markets, we walked the cobble-stoned alleyways of Vevey looking for quintessential buildings.

While strolling along the alleys, we somehow landed ourselves on the lake side of Vevey and were awestruck at the view of great fork in the middle of the lake.

Who has put the Fork in the lake?!

We walked the lake promenade area to treat ourselves with some splendid views.

How I badly wished for a clear day?

Mountains basked in cloud

Montreux Castle

As the cruise moved towards the Montreux castle, the old yet majestic castle stood with all its might.

People were clicking photos of them with the backdrop of Castle. Even we too did the same. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt the majestic castle was waiting to unravel its nostalgic stories.

We quickly walked to the entrance to get our tickets.(Guess what the castle ticket is covered in Swiss Travel Pass! Yey!)

There were various rooms like grand halls, courtyards and bedrooms of officials.

Courtyard

When we were traversing from one hall to another, we entered dark room which was lit by a sodium vapour lamp.

In those darkest eras, inside the dark dungeon of the forbidden castle, lived the prisoners with just the ray of light passing through the small windows and the sound of rumbling waves dashing onto the castle walls hoping that their life would get better.

With the ray of light passing through small windows

The castle had seen the stories of so many prisoners who had been taken refuge. One such prisoner had turned to a writer.

Chillon Castle crypt which was used as prison

As the cruise drifted away from Montreux castle, I stood there looking at the castle reminiscing those dark times the prisoners would have had.

Montreux
And our next destination was Montreux.

By the time when we reached Montreux, weather became balmier just as it should be for the perfect lighting.

While strolling along the lake promenade area for a colourful treat of flowers, we were taken aback by the sun playing drama while setting in Lake Geneva!

The frame was so perfect that we decided to shoot a silhouette picture of both of us!

Picture perfect isn’t it?

When you admire how colourful the flowers are, you head towards the city to know that buildings are even more colourful than flowers itself.

Not able to believe? Have a look yourself guys!

We both loved this day(next to Brienz and Thun though) as it had a mix of varied experiences altogether in a day.

Good to know

Vevey markets are held every Tuesday and Saturday.

Montreux castle opening time is 9 am to 7 pm.

For night-owls, watch the Montreux Castle glow glee in night over the lake.