HELLO
The skies may still be gloomy, but there’s sunlight breaking through.
We are talking about the first time this year that we have reason to celebrate – from now and right up to the end of the year! Let’s make the most of each and every one of these occasions. So happy Dussehra, Durga Puja, Navratri, MiladunNabi, Halloween, Diwali, Kali Puja, Bhai Dooj, Chhath Puja, Hanukkah and Christmas!
We at Vaswani intend to live the rest of this year in the spirit of a Fresh Start. So this issue of Shared Space brings you some food for thought on how to reorganise and refresh your spaces. But that’s not all. Pack in the rest of 2020 with joy that covers the whole year with good memories.
This festive season is also a time to get together with small groups of your loved ones. Celebrate friendship and family with the smorgasbord of goodness in our recipe section. This is the firsteverthali recipe – that’s 10 recipes at one go!
Shower your family with gifts of appreciation this festive season to let them know how much they mean. Just a word of caution though – as we get back to life as it could be, let’s do so responsibly.
From the Vaswani family, good health, prosperity, and warm fuzzies!
Team Vaswani.
FEATURE
Guess what you and I have in common with Reese Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow? Our closets and wardrobes sometimes get into a terrible tangle!
While Paltrow and Witherspoon have celebrity closet organisers to sort their stuff out, you and I have just our wits to rely on. So if you have been bingeing on The Home Edit on Netflix and yearning for adjustable shelves, separators and custommade labels to sort out your closet mess, worry not.
These tips on how to get your home in order just in time for the festive season will get you there, all on your own.
PURGE
Some call it purging, others call it editing. TomaytoTomahto. Whatever you call it, this step is crucial to getting your home sorted for the festive season. Go room by room, closet by closet, and make three piles of your stuff: Keep, donate/sell, discard. You can, like Marie Kondo, decide whatto do with an item by asking yourself one question, “Does it spark joy?”. Or you can, like Joanna and Clea of The Home Edit, ask two: (1) Do you use it? (2) Do you love it? And once you decide, no backsies!
SORT
Once you have the things you want to keep or store, sort them. You can sort by season, for example, with clothes. Now might be the time to bring out lighter winterwear and put away summery tops and vests. Or sort by occasion: festive, work, and everyday. The principles hold true for not just clothes, but even for kitchenware. If you want to feel festive this season, it might be time to pull out the nice table linen and crockery!
CLEAN
Most shows and books on organising skip this step – but this could be your #1 key to an organised home: Clean before you put away. Especially in a tropical country like India where dust and mould and vermin tend to grow, do a thorough deep clean of all your belongings – bags, shoes, winterwear, whites, pots and pans, before you put
them away. This will save you time, money, and in the case of precious possessions, heartbreak.
ORGANISE
This is not one tip – but a cluster of tips!
- Pull everything out of the shelves. You can tackle either one room at a time or a closet at a time, but do not leave anything on the shelves. This helps you not just take stock of what you own, but also assess how much space you have and whether that space can be used better.
- Pay attention to visual coherence. A closet with matching hangers will automatically look cleaner and more sorted than one with a mix of colourful plastic, aluminium, and wooden hangers.
- A protip: Always use transparent boxes. We tend to use what we can see and never ever use what’s hidden away!
- Walk through the house to create functional stations. For example, in one episode of The Home Edit, Joanna and Clean created a station for a client who would change her bags often. Having a station where you can empty the contents of your bag will not just make the switch to a different bag easier, but also spare you the agony of misplaced keys or wallets!
- Group and store similar stuff together. Store all your giftwrapping paper neatly rolled up in one tub, right next to a tray with glue, cello tape, and scissors. So much easier to wrap your Diwali gifts!
- Recycle and reuse, as much as you can. A simple example: Empty toilet paper rolls are great for storing rolled up giftwrapping paper!
- Last – or maybe we should say, first – deep clean everywhere. Windows, doors, switches, under and behind furniture! Don’t let a single dust mite thrive.
Do you have tips for getting your home festive ready? Write in to us!
MALL
THE BROOKEFIELD MALL IS SPANKING CLEAN, SAFE AND OPEN!
Your favorite weekend haunt, the Vaswani Brookefield Mall, is now open! So get ready for a Friday night movie at Inox, which will run at a maximum of half capacity.
And we have a rigorous sanitation protocol prior to and while its doors are open every day, so it’s absolutely safe for you and your family.
Give yourselves a longdeserved break. Say no to lockdown blues, and yes to retail therapy. Get your pick of the best in brands from Soch, Max, Pantaloons, Biba, W, and Levi’s, to Zodiac, Melange, Reliance Digital, and plenty more!
Watch the sun set from BOHO on the rooftop, in a vast and verdant space, sipping on a mocktail whose colours give the evening skyscape a run for its money. And whether you’re trying our paanflavoured cocktail or feasting on our smokey woodbaked mutton keema pizzas or pesto paneer bruschetta, you can be sure you’ll want more.
While you shop, mask up and make sure to practise social distancing.
ITPL Main Road, Brookefield, Bangalore.
SPECIAL
A THALI OF JOY
Treat your friends and family to a hearty plateful of festive cheer, with this traditional Gujarati thali.
So what makes a Gujarati thali?
This thali we have put together just for you brings together Dal, Drumstick Kadhi, Rice, Aloo Mutter Sabji, Chana Masala Shak, Ringna na Odo (Baigan Bharta), Gulab Jamun, Khaman, Ghee Jaggery, Bajra Rotla, and Pickle. All recipes are for a serving size for two.
DRUMSTICK KADHI
Ingredients:
• 2 cups of buttermilk
• 1/2 cup gram flour
• 1 tbsp green chilli paste
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 23 dry red chilli
• 56 curry leaves
• 1 tsp jaggery
• Pinch of asafoetida
• 1/2 cup boiled drumsticks
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt to taste
• Oil as required
Preparation:
In a bowl mix buttermilk and gram flour well without lumps. Heat some oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to pop. Add a pinch of asafoetida, curry leaves, bay leaf and red chilli. Once the red chilli changes colour, add green chilli and ginger paste. Saute well. Now add buttermilk and gram flour mixture and cook for two minutes. Add coriander powder and salt and mix well. Add drumsticks. Add jaggery and combine well. Cook for five minutes and remove from flame.
Dal
Ingredients
2 cups of yellow pigeon pea or red gram
• 2 cups of water
• 1 chopped tomato
• 1/2 tsp ginger chilli paste
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• Pinch of asafoetida
• 2 dry red chilli
• 56 curry leaves
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp sugar (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Oil as required
Preparation:
Wash and soak pigeon peas for half an hour. Pressure cook peas with two cups of water for three whistles. Let it cool. Roughly mash cooked peas and keep aside. Heat oil in a frying pan and add mustard and cumin seeds. Add a pinch of asafoetida once they crackle. Add ginger and chilli paste. Add tomato and mix well. Sauté for
two minutes. Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder. Mix well. Add cooked peas and combine well. Add water if required. Cook for five minutes.
Add lemon juice and sugar. Mix well. Cook for two minutes more. Heat a tablespoon of oil in another pan. Add red chilli and curry leaves. Cook until the chilli turns pale brown and garnish dal.
Rice
Ingredients:
• 1½ cup basmati rice
• Salt to taste
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• 2 cups of water
Preparation:
Wash and soak rice for 20 minutes. Take a pan and boil two cups water. Add soaked rice, salt, and lemon juice. Cook for 10 minutes.
Chana Masala Shak
Ingredients:
• 1 cup brown chickpeas (soaked)
• 2 cups of curd
• Pinch of asafoetida
• ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
• ½ tsp green chilli paste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp kasuri methi
• Salt to taste
• Oil as required
• Water as required
Preparation:
Pressure cook soaked chickepeas in two cups of water until 34 whistles. Heat oil in a pan. Add a pinch of asafoetida. Add ginger garlic paste and green chilli paste. Sauté well. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, and garam masala powder. Sauté well. Add beaten curd and mix well. Add water to manage thickness and cook for five minutes. Add cooked chickpeas. Add kasuri methi. Mix well, cover and cook for 810 minutes.
Aloo Matar Sabzi
Ingredients:
• 2 mediumsized potatoes (chopped)
• ½ cup boiled green peas
• ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
• ½ tsp green chilli paste
• ½ tsp mustard and cumin seeds
• Pinch of asafoetida
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp kasuri methi
• Salt to taste
• Water as required
• Oil as required
Preparation:
Heat some oil in a pan. Add cumin and mustard seeds and pop. Add a pinch of asafoetida. Add ginger garlic paste and green chilli paste. Sauté well. Add potatoes. Sauté for five minutes. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and garam masala powder. Mix well. Also add boiled green peas. Add a little water and mix well. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Add kasturi methi and cook for one or two minutes.
Ringna No Odo (Baingan Bharta)
Ingredients:
• 2 large brinjals
• ½ cup chopped tomato
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• Pinch of asafoetida
• ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
• ½ tsp green chilli paste
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp lemon Juice
• Salt to taste
• Oil as required
Preparation:
Pierce brinjal randomly using a knife. Grease brinjals with oil. Cook in barbeque, on coal or in the oven till it becomes dark. Let cool. Peel the skin. Mash roughly using a fork. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let them pop. Add a pinch of asafoetida. Add ginger garlic and green chilli paste. Sauté well. Add onions and
cook until it turns pink. Add tomatoes and sauté for two minutes. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt. Add the mashed brinjal. Mix well. Add lemon juice and cook for another 58 minutes.
Bajra Rotla
Ingredients:
• Ghee for grease
• Water as required
• 2 cups of bajra flour (millet)
Preparation:
Add salt to water and add millet flour. Knead dough. Using the palm, flatten the dough and roll it out in the shape of a roti. Heat the earthen tawa. Cook both sides, and smear ghee in between.
Khaman Dhokla
For batter: For tempering:
- 1 cup gram flour • Oil as required
- 1 tsp lemon juice • ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp baking soda • ½ tsp sesame seeds
- ¾ cup water • 8 – 10 curry leaves
- ¼ cup yogurt • 12 green chillies (rings)
- 1 tsp ginger chilli paste • 1 tbsp sugar
- Oil for greasing • Pinch of asafoetida
- Salt to taste • 1/3 cup water
Preparation:
Mix gram flour, lemon juice, baking soda, curd, salt, ginger chilli paste, and yoghurt in a bowl into a fine batter without lumps. Take a dhokla maker and pour water and half a lemon slice into it. Bring water to boil. Pour the batter into the mould. Steam for 1015 minutes. Remove and let cool. In a tempering pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, curry leaves, sesame seeds and green chilies. Sauté well. Add sugar and water. Let the sugar dissolve in the mixture. Boil for 34 minutes. Turn off the flame, pour the mixture on a Khaman plate. Once it’s set, cut into square pieces.
Ghee Jaggery
Ingredients
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 1 tbsp jaggery
Preparation:
In a small bowl, add melted ghee. Add jaggery. Let cool and keep aside.
Gulab Jamun
Ingredients:
For the jamun: 1 cup milk powder, ¼ cup allpurpose flour, a pinch of salt, ¼ tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp ghee, 2 tbsp curd, water as required, oil for frying.
For sugar syrup: 2 cups of water, 2 cups of water, 1½ cups of sugar, pinch of saffron, 34 drops of rosewater, ¼ tsp cardamom powder
Preparation:
In a pan, add water and sugar. Cook under stir consistency. Add saffron and cardamom powder. Mix well. There should be no thread formation in the sugar syrup. Turn off the flame and keep aside.
In a bowl, make a smooth dough with milk powder, allpurpose flour, salt, baking powder, curd, and water as required. Shape into small balls and cover with a wet muslin cloth for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the jamuns to golden brown. Strain the oil and let cool. Place these jamuns carefully in the sugar syrup.
Time to assemble the thali!
Garnish the dal, kadhi, and aloo matar with chopped coriander and fried onion. Top the baingan bharta with fried red chillies. Sprinkle sliced almonds on the gulab jamun. Serve the thali with fried pappad and pickles.
Recipe courtesy: Chef Muktar Ali, Hotel Royal Orchid Suites – Whitefield
Get in Touch
Bangalore
Vaswani Victoria, 30 Victoria Road, Bangalore – 47
Phone – 080 49110000
Mumbai
601, Sant Nivas, 14th Road Corner, Khar West, Mumbai
Email – sales@vaswanigroup.com
www.vaswanigroup.com
