Crazy fire - an awesome ride at the Dubai creek during DSF 2011 - 12!

Wow, what a thrilling ride!

This was recorded during the 2011 Dubai shopping festival at Dubai creek.
As you all know Dubai is a wonderful city and walking along the creek during the time of shopping festival is really fun!

For more info about this ride:
http://www.happyfun.ae

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Kozhukkatta - rice flour dumplings filled with sweet jaggery

Today's post is about a yummy Kerala dish called Kozhukkatta.

This is very similar to dumplings. The outer thick shell covering is prepared using rice flour. Rice flour is mixed with hot water until it assumes a paste-like form to make the shell and filled with jaggery mixed with grated coconut. Then these dumplings are steamed in a steamer. That's it!

Jaggery is the unrefined, concentrated product of cane sugar. The color varies from dark to a golden brown. The Jaggery that we use (shown in the picture) was bought during a natural farming product sale conducted some time ago by Mr. Hilal at Kochi, a natural farming proponent in Kerala. They are cultivating many varieties of rice by natural, organic methods in Kerala.

Kozhukkatta is easy to prepare, one of my favorite dishes. It is a cool breakfast dish😊
Yummy!

More info :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kozhukkattai

Yep, it is famous, it even has a Wikipedia page!!

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Arabian sea - coastline at Thalassery (Tellicherry), Kerala

These are the spectacular views of the Arabian sea from Thalassery (Tellicherry), Northern Kerala, South India.

All these pictures were taken at Overbury's folly, a viewpoint and at Sea view park, Court road, Thalassery.

Thalassery has a lot of historical importance. Being a strategic location geographically this place served as the administrative center during the British rule.

Thalassery is famous for its cuisine. Thalassery biriyani, a rice dish prepared with exotic ingredients and chicken or mutton, as the case may be, is a yummy dish.

Hermann Gundert, grandfather of Nobel laureate Herman Hesse lived in Thalassery for 20 years. He was a great scholar and authored the first dictionary in Malayalam, the native language.
William Logan, who served as district judge during the British era, wrote Logan's manual, an authoritative reference of North Malabar. Captain Edward Brennen, started the first educational Institution to give English education here and now this is known as the Government Brennen College.

The nearby Mahe was a french occupied colony in the olden days. Thalassery was nicknamed the 'Paris of Kerala', it being in close proximity to Mahe, the sole military base of France in this region.

Thalassery - a very important destination in North Kerala.

Check this post too :
http://magnificentdewdrops.blogspot.in/2013/04/muzhappilangad-drive-in-beach-hidden.html

Muzhappilangad beach is only a few kilometers away from Thalassery. It is the largest drive-in beach in the region.

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Vazhachal waterfalls...a famous tourist attraction in Kerala!

 Vazhachal waterfalls!

Kerala, a place of natural beauty and lush greenery is known as 'God's own country'. Vazhachal waterfalls is an important tourist spot in Kerala. This place with scenic beauty is simply amazing. It is about 5 km from Athirappilly waterfalls about which I have posted yesterday on my other blog. 

Vazhachal waterfalls is also in Chalakkudy river like Athirappilly. Cascading along the rocks this strip of the water column is a treat to the eyes. The surrounding forest is the habitat of hornbills that are actually endangered species of birds.

There is a herbal garden here. Clearly written descriptions of medicinal plants and trees...

 This is the Indian giant squirrel, or Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica).

 Just meditate sitting here listening to the lullaby of the flowing water😊 Nature in full bloom!

 A spot where one visit will not suffice! Wow...

Picture perfect, all throughout!

Peaceful...!

Vazhachal forest division is huge. From Vazhachal, we can travel through the forest to Valparai, the border region between Tamilnadu and Kerala. Hairpin bends, breathtaking views of the valleys, river, forest, and wildlife are the attractions of travel through this route, about which will post later😊

This forest is full of life...very lively!

When a sapling is planted...
A shade is planted...
A cool shade to lie down is planted!
And a flowerbed for a daytime nap is planted...

Mr. O. N. V. Kurup, a famous poet and the winner of the Jnanapeeth award has written these beautiful lines about the importance of planting trees. The picture above shows his beautiful lines.

Check this video of the waterfalls :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to8-WyZU1no

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Shawarma

Shawarma, an Arabic dish is very popular in the middle eastern countries.

Have you ever tried this dish?

Large chicken slices marinated in a mixture of special shawarma spices are arranged on the vertical rod of the shawarma maker grill intermingled with layers of fat. Sometimes lemon or big onion is hooked on top of the meat for more flavor. The metal rod with meat is slowly rotated in front of the gas flame to cook it evenly. The grilling takes place slowly. The juices together with spices percolate through the meat imparting a wonderful flavor to the dish. Pieces of meat are shaved off using a long knife and are mixed with tomato. The outer layer of Shawarma bread is peeled, a little garlic paste is smeared, chicken pieces with tomato is stuffed into it along with lettuce, french fries, and slices of marinated cucumber. Sometimes the outer surface of the bread is smeared with oily fat and the whole thing will be shown in front of the flame before wrapping.

The accompaniments include green chilly marinated in vinegar or red chilly paste, cucumber, radish or carrot marinated in vinegar.

There is a lot of variety in the preparation of Shawarma. Recipes also differ. Chicken or beef is used commonly to prepare it. It's quality, the spices used and the culinary expertise of the chef all matter in the yumminess of this wonderful dish!

                    

Bought this today from the mall. Yummy! Together with green chilly marinated in vinegar, it was simply delicious😊

I consider these shawarmas special. Tasted these while in Dubai last year. Enjoyed with red chilly paste and sulaimaani (black tea). Yummy!

If you ever visit Dubai you may try Shawarmas from the hotel in front of the Bur Dubai bus station. The bus to Dubai Global village comes in front of this hotel. Good hotel!

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