The magic of Dooars

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow."

I suffer from Wanderlust. I indeed do. For me, travelling is a must. It's a necessity. Away from the maddening crowd amidst the wilderness, I find peace and tranquility. 

It so happened that I wanted to explore my own state, the good old West Bengal with few like-minded people who also shared the same passion of travelling. So it was Dooars for us which is also known as the "The Land of Gateways" 

Although I have clicked a lot of photographs on this trip but for this post, I only selected 10 of them. According to me, those were best of the lot.

Take a look!

"Love is the answer, and you know that for sure; Love is a flower, you've got to let it grow."

"Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises."

"On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it."

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin."

“May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.” 

"Thy fate is the common fate of all; Into each life some rain must fall."

“What are men to rocks and mountains?” 

"You could not step twice into the same rivers; for other waters are ever flowing on to you."

“It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”

“Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.”

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eye Liner - Product Review

Writing about Beauty is something very new to me. Although I have been using beauty products for a long time now. In the past, I have also suggested which products to use and which products to stay away from. I found it quite imperative to inaugurate a new label for my Blog  under the name "Beauty" because I was running short of ideas.

I am known to wear Kajal, almost all the time when I am out. I like wearing it because it highlights my eyes in a better way each time. When I wanted to write something about Beauty, I thought let's start with a good brand of Gel Eye Liner.

Before I start with the review, I want to mention something about the company too. Maybelline India has been in the Indian beauty market for a long time now. The products are affordable and are of good quality. I have never been biased about any brands whatsoever. I like a product of one beauty brand and another beauty product of some other brand. It has never been consistent. But one thing is for sure, I was always biased to good quality stick Kajal. But there is a problem in using that as well. One kajal only for 2 months for me! Imagine a Kajal of Rs 650 only lasting for 2 months, pretty expensive, na?

I bought Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eye Liner because it was suggested to me by one of my colleagues. At the beginning I was a little skeptical about using a Gel Liner because I have always been more comfortable in using a Kajal. But when I started wearing it, trust me it was really worth it. It comes in a tiny box along with a brush. The brush is of good quality and has a good tip. The brush makes it very easy to apply the liner on both your upper and lower eyelid. The gel eye liner has a very smooth and soft texture which lasts upto 8 hours.The gel eye liner applies evenly at one go and gives an intense black finish. It's also very high on pigmentation so you don't have to do much touch up every now and then. 

I have already mentioned that Maybelline is one of the most affordable brands in the market. It really is. This gel liner comes at a very pocket-friendly price. It's priced at Rs 475. A small box can easily last upto 6 months. So it's cheap in a way. It's also way cheaper than it's counterparts.

So for women and girls who are looking out for a good eye liner, this is it. It gives you intense pigmentation. It has superb staying power and creamy texture and also which is easy on the pocket. The New Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner is here for you.  This is an awesome liner which works as an eyemakeup base, liner and kajal and it can withstand any weather too. 

Make one yours now!

Aloo Methi

I have hardly heard anyone who has said that he/she doesn’t like eating potatoes. Although the vegetable itself is tasteless, but there can be hardly anything which can match up to its versatility. Add anything and everything, it will taste awesome.

I have cooked this dish a couple of times in the past and then I completely forgot about it. It was only recently when I cooked it for lunch at work. The addition of fenugreek leaves adds a distinct flavor to it. The recipe is simple, yet tasty.

Here comes the recipe:

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 500 gms.

Onions – 200 gms.

Ginger – Garlic Paste – 100 gms.

Dry Chillies - 2.

Bay Leaves – 1.

Full Cream or Milk – ½ cup.

Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasoori Methi) – A bunch.

Green Chillies – 3- 4.

Turmeric Powder – 1 teaspoon.

Red Chilli Powder – 1 teaspoon.

Coriander Powder– 1 teaspoon.

Cumin Powder – 1 teaspoon.

Salt to taste.

Oil – 4 tablespoons.

Procedure:

Boil the potatoes with a little bit of salt. Peel and keep it aside.

Finely chop the onions. Keep aside.

Soak the fenugreek leaves in lukewarm water. Keep aside.

In a wok, heat oil. Add the dry chillies and bay leaves.

Now add the onions. Fry till translucent.

Add the ginger – garlic paste. Fry it for some more time.

Add the turmeric, red chilli , cumin and coriander powder.

Cook it for a while. Add a little bit of water.

Add the milk or the full cream now. This step can be easily skipped. This is only for extra taste.

Add the boiled potatoes. Add a little bit of water.

Cook it for some more time.

Remove it from fire.

Now add the green chillies and the fenugreek leaves.

Serve hot.

Upma - South Indian Style

Taste buds change over time. I am the biggest example of that. At one point in time, I used to wonder that how come people like South- Indian food, now give me anything that has curry leaves in it, I will wipe off the entire plate in just few seconds.

This specific recipe is my own which I learnt from people at home. Modifications are there though. People at my workplace absolutely love it.

 Here comes the recipe:

Ingredients:

Semolina (Sooji) - 200 gms.

Ginger-Garlic paste - 100 gms.

Onions - 100 gms, finely chopped.

Sweet Corn - 1/2 cup.

Frozen Peas - 1/2 cup.

Ghee - 2 teaspoons.

Tomato Sauce - According to your taste.
Dry chilli - 2.
Mustard seeds - Few.

Curry leaves - Few.

Salt to taste.

Oil- 5 tablespoons.

Water - 3 cups.

Procedure:

In a dry wok, add the semolina. Stir it continuously till it gets slightly brown in color. Add the salt according to the taste You can also add a little bit of oil. Keep it aside.

In a wok, heat oil. Add the dry chillies, few curry leaves and the mustard seeds. Let it flutter for a while. Make sure it doesn't get burnt.

Add the onions. Fry till it's translucent. 

Add the ginger-garlic paste. Fry it for some time.

Add the semolina. Now add water.

Cook it for some more time. 

Add the frozen peas and sweet corns.

Cook it for some more time.

Add the remaining curry leaves. Remove it from fire.

Add the ghee. This not only ensures extra taste, but it also prevents the semolina to get stuck when it gets cold.

Add the tomato sauce, only according to your preferences.

Enjoy!