Ronti ( A crispy snack in Konkani / Saraswat Cuisine )

Ronti with jeera and ajwain


Ronti ( Crispy snack in Konkani / Saraswat Cuisine )

Ingredients

1 cup maida
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoon jeera ( cumin ) seeds or 2 teaspoon black til ( sesame )
1/2 teaspoon ajwain
Water for kneading ( approximately 1/2 cup )
Cooking oil for frying

Method

Mix maida, wheat flour , salt, red chilli powder, oil , turmeric powder , jeera / til , ajawain. Add water and knead into a stiff dough. Knead again for 5 minutes and make a perfect dough. Keep dough in an airtight container / Tupperware for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough and make 5 lemon sized balls.




Make thin chapati using dry maida. Cut it into 1 - inch width strips. You can make 5 long strips from 1 chapati. Then cut 1 - inch diamond shape pieces from each strips.

Heat oil in a kadai. Fry ‘’ Ronti’’ in batches till golden brown. Drain out from oil and spread on a kitchen paper for some time and store in an airtight container. It’ll last for more than a week. It’s a tasty tea time snack and kids ‘ll love it.

Dum Chicken ( without oil and extra water )

Dum Chicken ( without oil and extra water )

Ingredients

500 g chicken
1 cup ( 200 ml ) fresh curd ( enough curd to coat the quantity of the chicken )
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 - inch piece ginger roughly chopped
10 cloves of garlic ( as per your taste )
3 onions , roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
4 green chillies , slit lengthwise
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
2 teaspon chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Atta dough for sealing

Whole garam masalas

4 cloves
4 cardamom
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bay leaf

Atta dough

Mix 1/4 cup atta with 1 - 2 tablespoon water. Make soft dough.

Method

Coat chicken pieces with fresh dahi , garam masala and turmeric powder. Marinate for 1 hour.

Put in everything whole into handi.

Seal the handi with atta dough ( same produre of ‘’ dum biryani “ ) and let it cook in its juice for about 45 minutes on low heat . Seal the edges very tightly.

At the end you should have a soup consistency. Serve with phulkas / rice/ veg pulao.

I made this Dum chicken for lunch. Gravy is very delicious and as soon as we opened the seal of dum chicken , kitchen filled with a nice aroma...just like chicken biryani...!!!!

Recipe credit- Times of India ( 26 / 07 /09 ) , Times Life Page No. 2- Chennai Edition

See the photo below and click photo to view large.

Lankgawi Wildlife Park

Langkawi Wildlife Park

Langkawi Wildlife Park was formerly known as the Langkawi Bird Park. It features more than 2,500 birds from 150 exotic birds species.


At this wildlife park, you can see hundreds of exotic birds in the beautifuly-landscaped spacious enclosures.

Open Hour: Daily: 9.00am - 6.00pm

Entrance Fee: Adult - RM12.00
Child - RM6.00

Langkawi Wildlife Park
Lot 1485, Jalan Ayer Hangat
Kampung Belanga Pecah
07000 Langkawi
Kedah Darul Aman

Tel: 04-966 5855































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Upcoming shopping malls in Chennai - Ampa Skywalk & Express Avenue

Information & Photo credit - Times of India & Ramesh Nair , Chennai



AMPA SKYWALK

AMPA Skywalk is located on Poonamallee High Road (PH Road) at the intersection of Nelson Manickam Road and PH Road and will have a total leasable space of approximately 3,00,000 sq ft, making it the largest mall in west Chennai. When fully operational, the mall can house 90 stores, with anchor stores like Westside, Star India Bazaar (the first hyper-mart in Chennai), Landmark and PVR Cinemas. Retail names such as McDonald's, KFC, Giordano, Titan, Benetton, Levis, Baccarose, Nike, Dockers, Van Heusen, Wills Lifestyle, Bossini, Adidas, Reebok, Planet M, Bose, Biba, Mustard and Louis Philippe have already planned to open shop here. Along with familiar names, many international brands are making their Chennai entry in this mall and the consumer response to AMPA Skywalk is expected to be extremely positive given the strategic location and this tenancy mix.

In addition to the retail space, the current plans include a seven-screen multiplex on 50,000 sq ft operated by PVR Cinemas, who will make their Chennai entry with this mall, a large specialty food court, fine dining including names TGIF (the first in Chennai) and a family entertainment zone. The mall will have over 1,200 parking spaces across two basements and a multi-level car park (of 12 levels) and the terrace. In addition to this, the mall will also house a 20-room boutique hotel. Spread over three acres, AMPA Skywalk is expected to cater to the shopping needs of central and western Chennai. The mall has been developed by Ampa Housing and is designed by Cheralathan Architects. The mall is expected to open by Diwali 2009; retail levels of ground to third floor are expected to open by the first week of September.




Visit here for more details

Express Avenue

Express Avenue, which is located on Club House Road, off Anna Salai will have a total leasable retail space of approximately 9 lakh sq ft, thereby making it the largest mall not just in Chennai, but South India. The mall will be surrounded by roads on all four sides - Anna Salai, Pattulos Road, Woods Road and Whites Road - which makes it easily accessible. Spread over 11 acres, Express Avenue is expected to become the premier retail destination in Chennai.

On completion, it will surpass the previously largest mall in Chennai, Spencer Plaza in terms of size. When fully occupied and operational, the mall is slated to house around 200 retailers and will have anchor space taken up by the Future Group and the Landmark Group. With such a large size, Express Avenue enables itself to cater to the demand of all formats of shopping needed in Chennai.

The conceptual design of the mall is by SAA Architects of Singapore and the firm, Design Plus, the architect. The design incorporates green building features and promises to be a benchmark of class in Indian retail. The construction is being carried out by BL Kashyap. The mall is expected to show that with the right blend of good design, top brand names and a central location, a mall in Chennai can be highly successful. This mall is expected to open by end of 2009.

Highlights


Three levels of retail

A mix of 200 luxury, premium and popular brands

An exclusive entertainment zone

Eight-screen multiplex set across 70,000 sq ft

A 50,000-sq ft specialty food court

1 lakh sq ft boutique hotel

Parking to accommodate 1,700 cars across 3 levels

Ample two-wheeler parking