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Posts Tagged ‘Indian’

Even Better High Street News

Posted in Inner city, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 3 October, 2012| 4 Comments »

Bee called us today as the Vicar needed to get some details for a return to the Registrar for her and Rocky’s marriage certificate. Since they’re no longer living in our attic, but in Bristol, where Rocky is now an ordinand, they’ve been following this blog for local news. I gave them all sorts of exciting updates (rather too exciting for this blog just now, I’m afraid) and then Bee asked me about Padda’s, our local grocers that mysteriously closed down a couple of weeks ago.

I was able to give her the good news that they have reopened. Hurrah! No longer will I worry about where to source spices and lentils. I’ve not actually visited the shop since the shutters opened again, but the Vicar has been. The staff told him cryptically that they’d been ‘on holiday’.

Not being as nosy as I am, he didn’t ask for further and better particulars, and I’ve not managed to find out anything more, though I was told that the owner ‘found a lot of money from somewhere’ to pay his outstanding bills. So that’s the rather unclear (non)story from here. Not quite sure what to make of it but relieved that our High Street hasn’t lost a valuable retail outlet.

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Beautiful Hands

Posted in Fun, Inner city, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 3 September, 2010| 4 Comments »

I’m going to a wedding tomorrow. My friend StarStudent, one of my first friends from our first parish, is getting married and the whole family has been invited to attend the big hoo-haa. StarStudent’s fiance is Sikh, so the wedding will be at the Gudhwara near to our old church. Her family are Hindu, so there’ve been all the usual Asian wedding celebrations. We were invited to three events – the wedding itself, the family farewell party tonight and I was invited to the mehndi night last night.

Nice, eh?

A mehndi night is when the bride has her hands and feet decorated with henna, and celebrates with girlfriends. Although the groom didn’t attend last night, contrary to Wikipedia’s take on the celebration. He had his own do going on instead.

So I spent an excellent evening with StarStudent and her lovely family and friends. I ate samosas, wriggled to Bollywood tunes and drank strong masala chai (didn’t sleep too well last night, but it was too delicious to resist). And I had some mehndi applied too. Just one hand, and on the back, so I could drive home. You have to leave it on as long as possible to get the dye to fix well.

I love the look of it and am pleased my dress and jacket have short sleeves so I can show it off. It’s the nearest I’m going to get to a tattoo, however much I think I should get one to fit in around here…

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The Kapoors/Coopers Go To Church

Posted in Fun, tagged , , , , , , on 23 August, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Another Goodness Gracious Me clip to cheer your August holidays.

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Indian Christianity

Posted in Fun, tagged , , , , , on 16 August, 2010| 2 Comments »

One of our favourite tv programmes used to be Goodness Gracious Me. This clip is one I only came across fairly recently –  a very appropriate Vicarage theme.

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The hazards of masala chai

Posted in Abroad, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , on 14 February, 2009| 2 Comments »

I love the strong, sweet and spiced Indian drink known as masala chai – spiced tea. Usually I go round to my friend Starstudent’s. She makes great masala chai. I normally visit her and have two mugfuls of the delicious drink. I always visit in the morning.

Delicious but not for insomniacs

Delicious but not for insomniacs

You make masala chai by boiling your water in a pan with the teabags and some spices – cardamom, cinnamon and others according to your family tradition eg fennel, ginger, cloves. You boil it for a good while and then add a good helping of milk, sugar to taste and boil for a little longer. Then you strain and serve.

When we visited our friends the Kanns last night I drank two mugfuls, just as usual. Very tasty. But also very high in caffeine (because the teabags are so well boiled I guess).

So I was watching the ceiling at 2.30am. Grrr.

What was really annoying was that I’d done this before. When we lived in Singapore, the church we attended was a Tamil congregation and they served masala chai after the evening service. I had to limit myself to a single cup and couldn’t drink the coffee at all, or I couldn’t sleep. Wish I’d remembered that before I tanked myself up on the caffeine last night.

I wonder how it tastes made with de-caff teabags?

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