The White Ramekins

food & photography

A little travel post – Chail & Shimla

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It’s been a while since I blogged. Just got back from a small vacation with all my friends to mountains of Chail and Shimla in north. I had such an amazing time and seen so many beautiful sights that I kind of spent my whole time surrounded by clouds. All thanks to rainy season. I miss that all while I am back, but I am completely rejuvenated to be back on work.

We started on Saturday early morning at 5. It was a road trip which started with some little hiccups. Our poor car got broken down in the very beginning of our journey. By the time we got that fixed, we were delayed by 2 hours, as opposed to what we had planned.

But we didn’t let us our spirits go down because of that. And after driving for almost 8 hours with one food break in between, we managed to reach lush green beautiful town of Chail.

While we were entering the surrounds of this beautiful little town, we were almost floating in clouds, and that sight had such a divine and mesmerizing feeling attached to it which can’t be described in words.

After taking a quick refreshing tea break, we headed towards the main area of town, in search of the local market. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to capture it through my lens.

Next morning, I got up early and knocked at the door of hotel room adjacent to mine, in which my other friend was also getting ready for the early morning walk in the mountains. We do this every time, we go to hills.

The beautiful sounds of birds chirping with no other sound in backdrop has the power to calm your all inner turbulence. You can keep listening to that for hours for sure.

I shot flowers, insects, bees. I captured all the little wild flowers and vegetation that never get the chance to grow in hot and hotter Delhi.

After having lunch, we started for our next destination which was around 40 km from Chail. Shimla, as opposed to calm and less populated Chail, is a big city with old British heritage.

As a large and growing city, Shimla is home to many well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India. Shimla is also well noted for its buildings styled in neo-Gothic architecture dating from the colonial era.We soaked in the architectural aesthetics of the city for one full day. Did some shopping on the famous Mall road.

After spending 3 days in mountains, it was time to get back to home. It was an amazing trip. And all memories, I have tried to capture and keep them safe in these shots, to be refreshed and feel rejuvenated again for the day I am low.

Spicy Pumpkin Bundt Cake With White Chocolate Glaze

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These few rainfalls of the season have succeeded in baffling the scorching heat of summers and thus bringing down the temperature from 45 degrees to 35 degrees Celsius. It is still a respite. Thinking of rains, a few common yet quintessential things come to the mind.

The first and the foremost thing about rains is the sudden craving for Pakoras, the great Indian fritter like savory snack, along with a cup of hot and milky tea. It’s taste gets some magical transformation to it especially when it is raining {my mouth is watering, while I am writing this}.

And after your cravings are satisfied, next thing which comes to mind is the long drive. Again the feeling of cool silky breeze caressing you, right after it has rained, is simply divine. It just leaves you wanting more of this natural spa. The weather is so perfect, that you tend to enjoy the every bit of it. And when it comes to doing different things, I get a bit excited about trying out something different.

This time it was a warm spicy and ultra moist pumpkin cake which had smitten me. The aroma of spices infused through out of my house willfully complemented the coolness of weather. I know, it’s a bit early for this kind of warm and spicy recipe. It’s my attempt on baffling and taking advantage of this slight temperature decrease. No no, this isn’t really true.

Actually, my good friend had sent me these golden and sweet sugar pumpkins a month back. And at that time, it was so hot that I couldn’t dare to bake something out of them. And I had been procrastinating them, looking forward for a day when there is a slighter dip in the temperature. This weekend, it rained and I had decided, that I wouldn’t let them age more in my refrigerator.  This great recipe is from Joy Of  Baking. I topped it with a velvety white chocolate glaze which added to it’s moistness.  And I loved the sweet aroma of all those spices which accentuated it’s flavor.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cake

100 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup fresh pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

White Chocolate Glaze

50 gm good quality white chocolate
50 ml milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven at 180 degree C and grease a 12 cup bundt cake pan.
  2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  4. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
  6. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the pumpkin batter, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 25 – 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  8. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then invert and remove the cake from pan.
  9. For the glaze, melt chocolate and milk together in microwave for 10 seconds or on a double boiler.
  10. Drizzle over the cake, when it is still warm.