Sweet Flames

An overall meal experience is incomplete without a delicious dessert. Generally the main dish is heaviest, heartiest, and most complex dish on a menu. Every individual likes some kind of dessert after the main course, to complete a meal. Mostly people preferred ice creams, pastries, soufflés, custard, etc. And people who have very good knowledge of food, like to have complex but really tasty dessert such flambé dishes. Making flambé dishes is not a very difficult task. Flambéing is very simple as it does not require elaborate ingredients and cooking. 

We can easily make flambé at our home. Basically flambé means setting alight the liquor added to the dish either during or at the end of the preparation.  The liquor added mostly is brandy or liqueurs. This is mainly done to impart the flavours of the liquor to the food. The most important point we should keep in mind while making flambé dishes is that we should keep our liquor warm so that it ignites fast. While making flambé we have to take few precautions because we are dealing with fire and alcohol and we very well know that alcohol catches fire immediately. While making these dishes at home, add liquor at the end so while presenting the plates our guests will be able to enjoy our skill and flames. Making flambé dishes is all about showmanship. 

Pineapple Flambé

Ingredients:-                                               

Pineapple slices: -              2nos

Pineapple Syrup: -             50ml

Caster Sugar: -                  15gm

Kirsch or Dark rum: -        15ml

Equipment Required: - Pan, Dessert plate, sauce boat or bowl, service gears and all purpose fork & Spoon.

Method: -

·         Light the gas burner and place pan on it.

·         Add ¾ pineapple syrup in the pan and heat it.

·         Add slices of pineapple and cook

·         Baste the slices occasionally and frequently sprinkle with caster sugar, allowing the syrup to reduce until it is almost caramelized do.

·         Add Kirsch or Dark Rum and allow heating up.

·         Tilt the pan gently to ignite. Steady the pan then place the slices on the plate and pour the sauce slowly and steadily with the flame on pineapple slices.

·         Or we can pour the liquor at the end after placing pineapple slices and sauce on the plate that allows us to keep the flame on for a while and attracts guest attention.

·         Flambé dishes are best served under dim or low light effects so as to enhance the visual appeal of the flames on the dish.

To serve a hot and tasty flambé dish for your guest, follow the simple recipe as above and incase of any assistance or queries, feel free to contact me on vinay@aih.edu.in

How to choose Smart Cell Phone

Cell phone is not a new word for today’s world but 15 years ago it was really new for people. Now Cell phone is the latest addition of primary needs. Earlier the primary needs used to be Shelter, Food, & Clothing but an addition to it is a cell phone and that too a smart phone with all the necessary features. Buying a cell phone is tough decision. Buying a cell phone can happen due to so many reasons such as you may have lost your previous phone or the old phone is not working properly and many other reasons. Let’s focus on some good features that any smart phone should have, that will help us to satisfy all are necessities. There are many companies in the market who are selling different kinds of handset at various price scales. Before buying, we should think and list down all our needs which we are looking in the new cell phone that will help us to buy a good smart phone.

     Operating system: - The most important factor is the operating system. We should choose what kind of operating system we are looking in our cell phone, such as Android, Windows, IOS, or Blackberry. Once it is decided then we can focus on other things.

    Memory: - The second aspect for choosing a cell phone is memory. Nowadays people are storing everything in their cell phone that can be anything such as photos, videos, word documents, excel sheets, power point presentations and many more. To store all this, a cell phone should have a good in-built memory and should have great expandable memory too. For a buying decision, a cell phone should have a minimum of 8 GB internal memory and up to 64 GB expandable memory. 

     Camera: - Due to latest cell phones with high mega pixel cameras now, people are not buying normal cameras. We use our cell phones to click our photos and cell phones which are really handy to carry anywhere. So for that we should check front & rear camera capacity. Front camera is used mostly to do video chatting and for that the front camera should have a minimum 3.2 to 5 mega pixel and rare camera is used to click various photos at various places at various timings. For that the rare camera should have 13 and more mega pixel along with different kind of settings such as flash, auto balance, different mode settings according to light and many more.

Mail Facility: - Due to internet and latest phones it is easy for us to set up different email accounts on our cell phones. For the same we don’t need to carry our laptops and data cards. It gives us freedom from staying at one place and does our work. Now with high end cell phones we can work on the go. So while choosing a cell phone we should check if there is a push mail facility and other related settings.

Processor: - with all above facilities, a cell phone should have a great processor that will give good speed to our cell phone. I recommend a phone with at least a dual-core processor, as it will have a longer shelf life than a phone with a single-core CPU. Single-core phones are cheaper, and some OS’s like Windows Phone and BlackBerry don’t offer dual-core devices yet, but if you have the option, go with dual-core or even quad-core. You’re not buying a phone; you’re buying a tiny PC. Along with that we should check that our new cell phone is supporting all kinds of internet settings such as 2G or 3G. 

Battery Life: - The last but the most important thing is battery life with all the above features our phone required a good battery life that should last for long. According to above features we required minimum 2500 mah power. Good battery will help us to work on the cell phone for the entire day once it is charged.

Price: - price is again a key factor while buying a phone. The price range will be $300 - $650 for any smart phone with all above mentioned features. So think wise before investing that amount of money. Does our cell phone full filling all our required needs? 

Hope with these information you will be able to gift yourself the most precious thing of your life – a Cell Phone.   

Har Ghar Kuch Kehata Hai !

In today’s world everyone dreams to live in luxurious & well designed house of their own. There are a lot of enthusiastic and passionate people  who like to decorate every single space available in house and make it look  beautiful  and attractive by using different furniture’s, fixtures, colours, fabric and many more decorative show pieces. Every house says a lot of things about people who stay in that house.  While interior designing a home, every individual should consider minute details which will give a different and attractive look to their house. For this people take help from interior designers, they discuss all their likes and dislikes which helps a lot to the interior designer to select different things to make that house look wonderful.

While decorating a house, there are many things to look into, such as space planning, furniture, ceiling, flooring, linen, colours and most important thing lighting. Every room in the house needs special attention like living room, kid’s bedroom, master bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. We will discuss every room individually because every single room will have different people using them. For that we need to consider likes & preferences of people who are going to stay or use that particular room.

Bed Room or Master Bed room:

A sanctuary where we retreat to every night to unwind and a place where we start our mornings in harmony. A bedroom is a very special and most private place. When starting with a master bedroom and don’t know which direction to turn, paint seems to be the obvious first choice. Once the color is decided for a bedroom, then we should plan the furniture which will be adequate and will not take much space of room such as bed, dressing table and wardrobes. After selecting the shape and size, we should plan the outer look of furniture with the harmony of that room. Its linen turn now, choose curtains and designer rods to hang them up on the wall this will give the best compliment to the room’s color.Lighting is another important part of any room.

We should consider designer and modular kind of light fixtures that will give a trendy and classical look to room during any time of a day. After the bedroom is planned, now we should focus on the attached bathroom. We could choose designer and trendy bathroom fittings for wash basin, WC, and shower that will go well along with master bedroom.

Kid’s Bedroom:

While planning for kid’s bedroom we should consider the age of child/children who is/are going to use that room. Colour should be bright that will help to keep the child fresh and happy whenever he/she is in that room. If the child is less than 10 years old, we can paint some cool cartoon characters in their room to make more attractive. If the child is above 10 years old, we can paint some kind of design on one wall and rest of the wall can be painted in normal way. Bed can be in a different shape, if we have 2 kids we can use bunker bed which will take same amount of floor space. We can have study table at one corner along with some shelf where kids can store their books and do their study on timely basis.

Living Room:

This is the first room as we enter in the house. Generally this is the biggest room in size in compare to other rooms of house. This helps other people to know something special about us. For that it needs the right colour composition and choice of furniture to set the tone for our living room. We could use modern decorative artifacts which are classy and trendy that will show our knowledge and taste in art. Along with that we can add on some latest electronic things such as Led television and home theater with amplifier. Light fixtures can be trendy which have different settings which help to change the colour and brightness of light according to the requirement of the situation. 

Kitchen:

A territory of women where men need to focus more on comfort along with perfect use of space is the Kitchen. It is an intrinsic part of every house and a place where lots of time is spent by a woman. Kitchen should be designed in such a way that it should look stylist as well as it should be easy in handling. For that nowadays every house has a modular kitchen which gives more storing capacity in small space. Modular kitchens are easy to install and maintain. A modular kitchen offers convenience and ergonomics because of that it is in good demand.

Always follow your desires and preferences while designing the house. An expert advice will add on charm to your house. 

Marvelous Mango

Mango is the king of fruits. It has a very unique flavour, fragrance, taste and nutritional values due to which it always has high demand across the world throughout its season. Mango is one of the most delicious seasonal fruits grown in the tropics. Mango is a tropical fruit which is cultivated in many countries in different continents. Mango is a seasonal fruit whose season starts from March to June. But Indian mangoes are famous across world due to its unique characteristic. 

Mangoes come in different types, sizes, and qualities. Its flavor is pleasant and rich, and tastes sweet with mild tartness. Mangoes can be served in different ways.  Mangoes can be served with other fruits as fruit salad or mangoes with ice cream. But most of the people like it in its original style that is on its own rather than adding mangoes in anything else. Please wash mangoes with cold running water to remove dust, dirt, soil, and pesticide residue which will help us to enjoy its original rich taste in Indian style.

Mangoes have special health benefits which makes it a very special and unique fruit.

ü  Mangoes help to protect against colon, breast, and prostate cancers.

ü  Mangoes are enriched with pre-biotic dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and poly-phenolic flavonoid antioxidant compounds.

ü Fresh Mangoes have potassium which is a major component of body and cell that help us in controlling blood pressure and heart rates. This is very important for all human being.

 ü  Mangoes have moderate quantity of copper; it is a co-factor for many vital enzymes including superoxide dismutase and cytochrome C-oxidase.

 ü  Mangoes are filled with different vitamins such as vitamin c this helps body to develop resistance against infectious agents, Vitamin B also helps brain & blood cells of body.

We can make different kinds of fancy and tasty alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks with the help of mangoes. Especially mango milkshake is very famous among kids and it is healthy also because it provides proteins, minerals and vitamins to a kid that’s why all mothers like to give this drink to their kids. We can make some mocktails with the help of mangoes, other fruit juices, soda and other common ingredients that will help us to welcome are guest at our place during summer season. People who are found of alcohol then can make plenty of cocktails with the help of fresh mango cubes, pulp and juice, for examples Mango Margarita, Mango Daiquiri Pina Colada and so on. 

How to plan Kid’s Birthday Party

Nowadays it’s a big trend to celebrate Birthdays of children in a grand way, not only in India but all over the world.  So today we are going to discuss some important factors that will help us to make our child’s birthday more memorable. Well, if we want them to have a great birthday party, then it’s going to take plenty of hard work & lots of planning. Planning a birthday party is not an easy task at all, but if we allow the child within us to come out and do the arrangements it become easier to manage everything. OK now we will discuss everything step by step to make this party more successful with loads of sweet memories. 

Decide a theme:-

While deciding the theme we should consider our kid first. What are her/his likes and dislikes, these will help us to decide the theme, because we are doing everything for our child’s happiness. If he/she is happy with the theme idea then it boosts our enthusiasm to make all the necessary arrangements.   

List down important facts:-

  There are few important points that we have to consider while planning the party. Such as

·         Party date

·         Party timings

·         Venue for party

·         List of invitees

Fix all the above aspects once we are ready with above things we can proceed for further things.

                   

                                                                                    Decoration and Food:-

Now we are ready with theme and venue so we can concentrate on decoration. We should plan decoration according to the theme, so there will be no mix n match between decorations & theme. We really need to take care of this aspect. Hire an event management company’s services according to our budget and theme. Now we are ready with decoration also.

Food is very vital part of any party but in kid’s birthday party we should consider the food which is very close to children’s expectations. That will help the kids not only to have loads of fun while party is on but they will enjoy the food also. So always try to add pastries, French fries, pizzas, burgers in menu along with other dish so elders as well as kids will be able to enjoy the food.                                                                            

Cake and Invitation:-        

We are ready with most of the things now it’s time to order a cake according to the theme. Place an order of Cake with one of the best bakery along with delivery date & timing. So that cake will come 30 minutes before the cake cutting.

Then it’s time to decide on invitation card, again we should consider the theme while choosing the card. After selection of card we should provide all the necessary details such as few nice things about our kid, name of child, date, time & venue of party. Contact numbers so if anyone needs any help to reach at the venue; they can easily contact us for the same. Now send the invitations among relatives, friends & business or professional colleagues. So we will have approximate numbers of guest who are going to attend our party. 

Games, Other Activities & Return Gifts:-

We can plan some other activities for kids such as tattoo artist, magic show & cartoon mascots to play with kids. Now it’s time to plan few games for kids who are going to be there on event day. So we involve them into some kind of entertainment which help them to enjoy the party as well as few of them can win some gifts too. So we should check with the host how many games he is going to conduct and what types of gifts he wants for winner. After getting the idea from game host we can buy those gifts along with return gifts for every kid who is going to be there on that day. Again we should consider our theme while buying return gifts

Now we are ready with all the necessary things to plan a special theme birthday party for our kid.

Summer is on

India is one of the best countries with all the resources such as high mountains, plateaus and plains. Some parts of our country are near the coast while others are far away from the sea. These features affect the climate of our country. Some places are very hot, while others remain dry for the greater part of the year. But despite a varied climate, the whole country experiences the same cycle of seasons-the summer season, the rainy season, and the winter season.

Summer season in India is really hot, due to these people get tired very soon. The dazzling sun is there to make you tired from 9 am to 6 pm.  Indian summer starts exactly after Holi Festival that is at the end of March or beginning of April and it goes on till June. During this festival we burn dry wood, dry grass & unwanted wooden things with the thought that we are burning all negative thoughts which are their inside us & the bad things which happened during last year. And very next day we play with colours which indicate happiness, prosperity, wellness & humanity. This way we welcome Summer Season in our life.

Summer is officially here, which means it’s time to lie by the pool and enjoy a drink!  People like to spend their most of the time in office or home; they really don’t want to go out in the summer season except for something which is urgent & important.  But just think about those people who do more field work like construction site workers, traffic controllers & many more so they need to be at their place to complete the work. During summer time temperature goes up to 38 °C on an average basis and some places it goes up to 48-49 °C and we work as sweat machines, due to too much of sweating we get exhausted & tired very quickly. Because of that our productivity & speed goes down, which is not acceptable by individuals and by company too. So we become restless and start losing out our patience on pity things.

So we need something which is handy & will help us to refresh & re-energize ourselves instantly that will give us more energy and stamina to work further. Otherwise we won’t be able to cope up with climatic conditions and we may face some problems like sun strokes, weakness etc.

Follow simple steps to take care of ourselves during summer

• During summer season carry water bottles along with you. Drink water as much as possible that help
  
  our body to keep required quota of water in our body.
• Avoid drinking aerated water such as Cola, Fanta, etc. because these are made with the help of chemical & preservatives which are really harmful for us. 
• Drink Tender Coconut Water or Nimbu pani instead of aerated water, these drinks helps to keep our body cool along with that they provides nutrients which are mostly required during the summer time to avoid sun strokes or faints.
• Wear sunglasses or use umbrella to avoid direct contact of unwanted sun rays on your skin. 
• Have buttermilk after lunch or dinner to help in digestion and to keep the body cool.
• Have plenty of fruits mainly watermelon, these way we can get natural glucose, instead of having glucose powder. 

The heat doesn't seem so bad when you have one of these delicious drinks by your side!

And one last suggestion is…use summer to your advantage…shed off those excess kilos by working out in the morning or evening…it’s faster to lose weight during summers.