For a large chunk of my young-womanhood, I lived in B’lore, a heavily residential Anglo-Indian neighborhood. Despite having Khasi (Shillong) relatives myself, I wasn’t actually aware about the area; my family paid little attention to lineage and I never heard the language spoken. Until I met my best friend and later, my bro-inlaw. They were the main source of my North-Eastern influence in the neighborhood, particularly in the area of food. My first life-changing Naga-influenced food experience was delivered courtesy of my bro-in-law’s mum, Aunt Anung, in Nagaland. But not just any meat preparation. Her meals were tastier than any spread I had eaten before. The pork was perfectly smoked and fried, served with steamed vegetables and axone (fermented soy-bean) on the side of raja-mirchi (The Naga jolokia) chutney. When paired with a bamboo mug of red tea, made a far better nightcap than a Hot chocolate with a shot of Bailey's Irish creme mixed in ever could (well, maybe not far better).

So my first lesson in great food pairings came to me on a chilly evening, in a small town of light and bright colors and late night city occupants, while I sat at the dinner table combining tastes and on the edge of every flavor of meat, vegetables, side dishes and drink. And it’s still one of my favorite moments. The crunch of the roasted pork, the snap of the fried fat, the bite of the rajamirchi-axone mixed chutney; nothing on the planet sets up the taste and texture of a meal better.

Picture Courtesy : The Naga Kitchen

But the reason for this post isn’t about the recollection of a gourmet moment. There’s one other major culinary event for which I have the Naga neighborhood to thank: it’s the opening of The Naga Kitchen. The first Naga restaurant in B’lore city that I visited on Friday and Saturday. This local joint, serves a wicked version of authentic Naga cuisine, and from the moment I bit into my first roasted pork piece, I was hooked. I don’t care who you are, or how much you struggle with ethical issues around eating meat: you’re just going to have to admit that there’s pretty much nothing as delicious as properly cooked pork.

What's better than this? Almost nothing.

So allow me to say it: it’s time to come home to Naga food at:
The Naga Kitchen
#26 A.V.S Arcade, Above F Square Garment store
Terrace Floor, Opp. Adidas Showroom
Next to Empire and Nandhini hotel
Kamanahalli Main Road
Bangalore - 84

If you’re around this side of town, do get to The Naga Kitchen and taste some of their smoked pork and your ethical dilemma will be a thing of the past. At least until hunger strikes again.

In exactly three weeks, at 9:01 a.m. on Friday, September 24, I will turn 27. If 27 is dead in woman years, does this mean I am approaching resurrection? Or has my flesh finished rotting off my bones and is my skeleton just lying here, deluding itself that there is any life left in it at all?

Sara Bareilles : King of Anything

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I was trying to branch out a bit on this track. Most of the time I get into the groove of singer/songwriter Indie kid with a jones for folk tunes music and run it until it’s dead. But on this single I was looking for a bit more. A bit of pop oomph. Welcome to Sara Bareilles, almost-gonna-make it pop rock act. But I bring you good music with a focus on the music being good. Hence, she has made the cut.

Those of you who’ve been following along here on the blog, have possibly noticed that I love LOVE love M.E.A.T. There I said it. I’ve tried being vegan and vegetarian, and while they were appropriate ways for me to eat at certain points in my life, I just love meat and so does my body (yeah yeah, I know, you’ve got proof I’m wrong, buzzkill!). So, when I come across a fantastic place for a meat dish, I’m in.
My friends, Mai, Kanch and I headed out to Ice & Spice on Saturday. A fairly popular joint but a place I had never eaten at. It was bustling on the weekend, even when there wasn’t anything special being hosted. I like how the mood was warm, against the cold weather. One could sit here at any time of year and soak up the flurry of activity, where a song by Sting (at night, when it’s contentedly crowded) is as appropriate as a song by Nina Simone (particularly at a time like this, when the skies were almost grey) is as appropriate as a song by Iron And Wine (during the early days of summer, when it’s still cool in the evening).

Mai had fish and chips, Kanch had the chicken steak burger and I had the lamb. My dish was incredibly juicy, tender, and came with fresh salad in a light dressing, along with mashed potatoes, garlic bread and chips (All for 200 bucks). I got mine with barbecue sauce, which is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted; the meat was tender enough to stick through with a fork, but hard enough not to fall off. It was so good, that I may surrender the pleasure of trying something new the next time I go for the flavorful taste of their best cut lamb.

Blogger and colleague - Pete, my ex colleague - Sai and I happened to be free on Sunday, so we went for lunch at a restaurant close to where we live. It was this place called ‘French Quarter’.

Outside it’s slightly noisy, but inside it’s calm. The chicken liver starters are delightfully smooth and thin, a demonstration of the chef’s skill. The meat pie topped with cheese and the meat-veggie dish tasted especially flavorful.

I have the ability to find fault with almost anything, but on Sunday, the food was nearly impeccable. It’s all enough to make one smile at any time of day.

After a bunch of petty thoughts — about the new guy— I try to convince myself that everything will be ancient history much more quickly than it took for me to write this. Nothing works, when I try so hard for it. So I just say, ‘eff it and write it anyway, even if you’re terrified and you can’t breathe, and put it out of your head even if that leaves you exposed, that anyone could read it, that people know something that you probably shouldn’t disclose, that you’re still thinking about him when every person is telling you not to, because none of it matters when it’s what you feel, and what you feel makes you you'.

I was introduced to this little gem by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. If you haven’t heard of them already, they are musicians of the singer songwriter sort and this piano song felt perfect when matched up with cold weather and the early night so common during this season. To get this week started I’ve decided to upload the track ‘Winter Song’. I hope you enjoy the music, there’s plenty more to come.

An Update

Saturday: There were some really cool clouds out. The ones that look big, fluffy, lumpy like the way perfectly-made mashed potatoes should look. I got back home with Ash at 6:00 pm after buying my birthday dress, holed clay pots and stuff we needed for the invitations. Bought some presents for my friend, the airhostess and decided to give them through Ruan as she’ll be leaving to Doha end of the week. Then Ash and I got down to handwriting the invitations using a couple of lines from a spooky Edgar Allan Poe poem.
After finishing the invitations, we gave each other a look of relief and then proceeded to snapping off pictures of each other.

Sunday: Invitations- check, Dress- check, Caterers- check. All that’s left is the big part of getting my terrace ready for the party which is going to involve a lot of cleaning up. The day of rest before the big storm.

Mr. Flirt is back. For those who didn’t know (which is about everyone), Mr. Flirt left for a week to another country but is back. I now suddenly feel all carefree, smiling, like I’m dancing on sunbeams. I hear the breeze ruffle blades of grass and sigh in happiness; can I possibly decide upon a course which offers even more pleasure? Perhaps.

Moving on, we exchanged easy, playful hugs and kisses in the form of sarcastic comments and in denial that we both missed each other. Finally after a long conversation, we ended the call secure in our friendship and love.

I also went to Amway for a product sampling event with my sisters and I met one very interesting young man- a man who knew a lot about facial products. After he was done with my sister’s face, he signaled me to take my seat. I looked at him and said ‘no one touches this face except me’. He laughed and boy! That was one awesome laugh and just then I regretted for not having my face pampered. Visit to the nutritionist was worse. He wrote down a couple of numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to me. This led to a terrible realization- I was underweight. I walked out and met my bro-in-law who was waiting in the car. The drive back we had to endure my sisters go on and on about how the guy who did their facials was like god and it so made me jealous.

Monday: The preparations are coming along nicely and Ash did a great job on sticking to it and helping me out. I think we are doing great apart from the fact that I cant stop myself but invite every person I meet.

Keeping my fingers crossed about the whole thing. Will keep you updated on the latest…
‘Bottle it up’ is a fascinating track after the big international hit ‘Love Song’ by American singer-songwriter and pianist Sara Bareilles. The song, slowly making it onto the charts, is about love which is what makes the world go round and everything else worth it. With simple but effective instrumentation it’s one of those songs that you’d love to sing along to. Sara Bareilles is a keeper.