Yesterday the biggest festival of Bengalis have come to an end. After almost a week long excitement of Mahalaya and pujos the festivities ended by saying final good bye to Maa Durga. Last evening everyone gathered around the idol with tears in their eyes for the last time this year. Its the sending off ceremony of Maa and her kids to a faraway land called Kailash where she lives with her husband.
As I am sitting in my drawing room and writing this post I can hear the sound of dhak playing for the Sondhyaroti (evening divine light ceremony). Today is Mahashashti or the very first day of the 5 day long madness called Durga puja and the whole city is busy to welcome and worship the return of Mother Goddess to her paternal home on Earth. Its an overwhelming feeling to see Maa's face during this time of aarti through the emitting holy smoke of dhup and dhuno, the dancing lights of the Pancho prodip (Five oil lamps) and the chants of mantras. There is a palpable sense of divinity attached to it that often it brings tears in our eyes and we almost can see the Goddess coming into life.
Bread Paratha etc
Hing er Kochuri ar Dokaner Chola’r Daal (Asafoeida flavoured stuffed Indian fried bread and Bengal gram curry with potatoes)
11:49 AM
crav·ing
Noun
A powerful desire for something.
Synonyms
longing - desire - lust - thirst - hunger - eagerness
Craving is a simple word but can drive you to nuts if it
decides to settle in. Like my 4 and half year old it could be really nagging at times and refuses to give in if you don’t give it enough importance to satiate your
taste buds with what it is craving for. Trust me, Its not everyday that you
crave things but when you do its better to go that little extra mile to have
it.
God Bless the man who invented Microwave. I don't know about others but for me gone are the days when I only used it for re heating my leftover food. Now a days I use it constantly to cook, to steam, to boil, to broil, to bake, to roast and yes to re-heat as well. The bottom line is just cant think of my life without my microwave. If am in the kitchen its constantly in use to make my life super easy, efficient and time saving.
Antara Ray is the face behind the fun and charming blog Antipasti. If you have ever visited the Chef at large Facebook page, you must have seen her as an enthusiastic foodie and moderator. Recently as a part of Chef at Large: Bloggers table member, I met her on a personal level and found her as much bubbly and adventurous as her food blog.
By Profession she is an Environment consultant and juggles a hectic work schedule and recently married home front. She writes beautifully and all her write ups (which she calls banters) are backed by great in depth knowledge about food and culture. This pretty jovial woman is an excellent cook and experiments in her kitchen to whip up quick delicious meals on busy weeknights. I love her way of cooking which is quick, Delish and so full of flavour and taste.
Here is a small excerpt from our little chitchat. Hope you will enjoy reading about her food journey so far.






