Random Pictures # 2 ~ Dublin ~ For Saturday Snapshot

                                                        Quays Bar and Restaurant, Temple Bar, Dublin

I wanted to do this post last week for Saturday Snapshot as St. Patrick's day was an ideal day to post some more pictures from this country. How ever, the idea didn't materialize. So, here I am this week with some random pictures from Dublin, Ireland for Saturday Snapshot. 

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books. It’s easy to participate – just post a picture that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

 Temple Bar, Dublin

 Half Penny Bridge over river Liffey, Dublin

Bulter's Chocolate Cafe at Grafton Street, Dublin.

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Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer

I clearly have no idea how to begin this post and I have been staring at the screen for past few minutes for inspiration. That doesn't seem to be working and I am taking the easy way out.

In a line I can say that Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer is one of the riveting book that I have ever read. Archer has a gift for crafting stories with such intricate and complex plot, spanning over years that keeps the reader glued to it till they have turned the last page. He is a genius master story teller without a doubt.

In Kane and Abel, Archer tells your the story of two men, William Kane and Abel Rosnovski. The former is born with a silver spoon and the later is a penniless Polish immigrant. Born on the same date, in opposite sides of the world, they have only one thing in common - ambition and  when fate brings them together at crossroads of life, there is friction of enormous proportion that will do good to none of them.


The story takes the reader through the life of both men, right from the moment they were born and to the point they breathed their last, alternately, and as a reader you will feel torn between the two protagonists. The way the author has intricately woven important historical incidents and happenings in the story, reiterates the fact that only a genius can do it. The unrest in Poland and rest of Europe, the barbarity of the Hitler regime, the World War II, the Great Depression and the rise of America are a constant backdrop in the history and still not for a moment, you will feel subdued. There are so many characters, sub plots and still the story holds together as one.  

Over 60 years and three generations, through war, marriage, fortune, and disaster, Kane and Abel with unconsummated hatred for each other, battle for the success and triumph that only one man can have. It all culminates in to a spell binding saga of ambition, hatred, success, failures and love. Even though you might feel pulled toward one character or the other, the author always have justified the way they act or do things. The end comes as a masterful surprise, which you can expect from a Jeffrey Archer book, but can never guess.


Other than the two main characters, the other ones that stood out for me were Kane's wife - Kate and Florentyna, Abel's daughter. Kate is an epitome of understanding and I loved the way she stood by her husband through thick and thin. Florentyna comes to me as a person who is strong and dares to dream and follow her heart. And it comes as a no surprise to me that she is the main protagonist of the next book of the Kane and Abel series, The Prodigal Daughter (which I have already laid my hands on and can't wait to read).


In a nutshell, it was fantastic read, full of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge, great historical backdrop, well sketched characters, ingenious plot and a jolting ending. It has all elements of an Archer book and if you love his work, you can't miss it. I only wonder why it took me so long to put my hands on it. Kane and Abel was first published in 1979. 

Highly recommended

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers

Lucky Library Picks # 10

 Another Friday of Lucky Library Picks is here and I have some books to share. I have a good number of books to read and I am somewhat lagging behind in my reading plans. So, I have decided to post my Lucky Library Picks post only once a month. From next month I will post my Lucky Library Picks on the 15th of every month and hopefully the titles that have been sitting for a while on my shelf will be read soon.

This week for Lucky Library Picks I have these two books to share.

One Day by David Nicholls

This book has been on my TBR ever since the movie on this book was released. I didn't watch the movie as I wanted to read the book first. The book revolves around 2 people over a span of 20 years. It is touted as a modern classic.

The Prodigal Daughter by Jeffrey Archer

This is the 2nd book of the Kane and Abel series. I have just finished reading Kane and Abel by the author which I enjoyed very much and I can't wait to this one.

 

 

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Quick ~ Easy ~ No Cook ~ Malai Kulfi

I am a big Kulfi fan and that must be evident from the number of kulfi recipes I have posted on this blog already. And still when I spot a new recipe, I can't help trying it out myself. When I saw this super quick, no cook kulfi recipe in Miss Masala by Mallika Basu, I had to try it out. I was in a great hurry to click it and taste it so, I dipped the kulfi molds in hot water a little longer and hence you can see the liquid oozing out a bit. But, it was every bit delicious..

I had posted this Cardamom Kulfi made the traditional way long time back and it is still my favorite. But given that, sometimes we do not have or want to spend so much time in stirring the milk till it is thickened, I posted this Malai Kulfi that uses condensed milk and needs just  a fraction of time and some cooking. Then I was introduced to Dulce de Leche and couldn't help trying out another variation of kulfi using it and hence Dulce de Leche Malai Kulfi came into picture, it has a slight caramel flavour which i love. It was a no cook recipe as well if you are using stored bought can of Dulce de Leche. But this time this quick malai kulfi is the simplest you can make and it is just a matter of 5 minutes. Of course the freezing time is excluded. So, if you are pressed for time and are craving for kulfi, this could be the answer. I got 6 kulfi (80ml mold size) and freezed the rest in a freezer safe container. The original recipe has crushed pistachio added, but I have omitted it as I like the Malai flavour better.

Ingredients:

400 ml can of evaporated milk

300 ml fresh/double cream

6 tbsp sugar

2 cardamom powdered

Process:

1. Add everything in a blender and whiz until the mixture doubles in volume.

2. Pour the mixture into Kulfi molds and freeze overnight.

3.  Allow the molds to remain outside the refrigerator for 5 minutes and then unmold it or run hot water over the kulfi molds to unmold it even quickly.

Linking it too Beat The Heat and I Am The Star.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Bhapa Doi ~ Misti Doi ~Sweet Steam Yogurt ~ Bengali delicacy

 

This space has been silent for a few days. Even though I have a number of recipes in my drafts to be shared, I could not bring myself to compose a post. Plain lazy, I have been. Today's recipe comes from Miss Masala- a Cookbook by Mallika Basu. I had reviewed it a few days back after trying a couple of recipes from it.

Bhapa Doi/Misti Doi is a popular Bengali delicacy. It is basically steam sweet yogurt and it often called the Indian cheese cake because of its texture. The traditional recipe can be quite time consuming at it involves thickening the milk by slowly cooking it, setting the yoghurt and then steaming it. Mallika however provides us with a quicker recipe. You will be amazed by the simplicity of the recipe.

Serves 4-6

2 green cardamom pounded
10-12 strands of saffron
1 tbsp whole milk
250 g low fat yogurt
200 ml sweetened condensed milk


Process:
1. Preheat the oven at 190 C
2. Soak the saffron in the milk. Powder the cardamom finely.
3. Beat the yogurt and condensed milk together until smooth and add the powdered cardamom.
4. Fill this mixture into ramekins or a baking dish. Place them in a large baking tray. Fill the tray with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins or dish. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
5. Spoon the saffron mixture over  it and bake it for another 5 minutes. If you are using a large baking dish, it may take longer. The yogurt mixture should appear set. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. Serve chilled. Once it is chilled, it sets a little more.

Note: I had over baked it by 10 minutes then what is stated above and the result was nice and firm set yogurt. If you want it less firm, change the baking time accordingly. None the less it will taste good.

I am leaving you with links of this delicacy posted on other food blogs:

Bhapa Doi @ Bong Moms Cookbook

Misti Doi @ Cook Like A Bong

Bhapa Doi @ Indian Food Rocks

Misti Doi @ VeggiBelly

I will be up with a quick kulfi recipe I had tried from Mallika Basu's Book - Quick Indian Cooking, next. Stay tuned. Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!