Kashid Beach

Long time ago, one of my close friend had visited this place for a marriage and said it was a very quiet and beautiful beach.  Her description was so vivid that I had an immediate longing to visit this beach.  But it took almost 5 years for me to actually visit Kashid.  Since I was a novice internet user, I was not well-versed with Google.  But my dream turned to reality, and we finally managed a two-day family outing at Kashid Beach.

Kashid is a beach spot, half an hour from Alibaug, about three-and-a-half hours from Mumbai. It is one of the white sand beaches of Maharashtra.  Unlike Alibaug, it's not much crowded and is also comparatively clean.

You have wonderful home-stays near the beach.  Resorts can be a bit crowded and expensive.  But we were lucky to stay at this wonderful home-stay called Kripa Sindhu and the owner's name is Mr. Pappu.  It was right next to the bus stop.  Wow, what a lovely place they have maintained!  They have both AC and non-AC rooms with TV, a neat and clean bathroom, well-equipped you could say.  They have a small garden for outdoor play too.

We spent two days at Kashid and had our own vehicle.  You can reach there by bus too.  There are frequent buses to Murud from various parts of the state.  You also have a ferry service from CST, Mumbai, to Alibaug and later other forms of transport.

It is an awesome beach, clean, serene, and very appealing.  You have water sports too at the main beach.  There was a beaten up mud path  a little ahead of the main road near to Sarve Huts that led to a secluded part of the beach that was sparsely crowded.  The view was breathtaking here.

You have hotels and shacks right at the beach apart from other refreshments.  Many people had brought in their own equipment for cooking.  There was a large area of land covered by trees at the other side of the road, opposite to the beach, where people were cooking and having fun.

A Lovely Sunset

It has been more than a year that I went, so the description could be a bit vague, but we plan to revisit some time later this year, so I should come up with more specific details.  Do not let anything prevent you from visiting this awesome, awesome beach.  It is too lovely to miss out.

The main beach with shacks

Kids enjoying the waves

The serene beach with white sand

Bhivpuri Waterfalls

Instead of spending another Sunday sulking at home, we thought of going for an outing.  After much speculation, we decided on going to Bhivpuri Waterfalls situated in Karjat, Maharashtra.

It is an apt place for a one-day picnic.  We went there for the first time and were swept off our feet by its beauty.

Its main attraction are the waterfall and mountain range that's well-suited for trekking.

How to Reach:
One can take a Karjat-bound train from any of the central railway stations and either you get off at Bhivpuri Road station, like we did, or you can get off at Karjat too and take an autorickshaw.  Most people prefer to get off at Bhivpuri Road and go walking to the waterfalls, which is about an hour's walk from the station.  You have autos from Bhivpuri Station too, and they were charging Rs. 50 per auto.

The auto would leave you halfway to the falls, and you have to walk the rest of the way.  If you have your own vehicle, you can save another 15 mins of walk.  We were under the impression that perhaps it's nearby, looking at the number of people who were walking ahead of us, and hence chose to walk too.  But, we never regretted our decision as we got to sink in the awesome sceneries and couldn't stop from clicking photos.  Halfway into the walk, you are surrounded by lush greenery, little streams, and rocks, which makes it fun and enjoyable.

Food:
There are hotels serving you local food of vada pav, bhaji, kombadi vade, rice plate, chinese, etc. but these are not very close to falls.  You have stalls near the falls, and you can place order with them for home-made food. Alternately, you can carry your own food, like we did, if you are scared of eating outside food.  There are tea vendors who do their rounds with freshly brewed masala chai.

One major drawback is that you find people drinking and lying around in waters, but you need not be scared as the locals are ready to ward off any miscreants with their sticks.


If you have less money and less time, this again is a suitable place for we had a beautiful day at less than Rs. 100 per person.

Do enjoy a monsoon day at Bhivpuri Falls and rejuvenate your spirits.

En route to Falls

The crowd n tea shop

An awesome terrain for photography

The path to waterfalls can be traced by people walking
This view is on the way back from the falls.

Bhivpuri Waterfalls

Nature's Beauty

Beetroot Rice

I don't intend to start a cooking blog, but once in a while, I might post few recipes that are close to my heart, and today, I would like to share one such recipe, which is Beetroot Rice.

Beetroot is a vegetable that not many like, especially North Indians, who don't even buy it.  Beetroot has lot of health benefits including increasing your hemoglobin, reducing blood pressure, improving neurological function (brain power), lowers cholesterol, rich anti-oxidant, helps hemorrhoids, etc., etc.  It can be consumed raw as a salad or juice or cooked in various dishes.

This is an excellent meal for fussy kids, ideal for lunch box too.  Due to it's brilliant colour, kids are sure to love it.  I am an experimental cook and love to experiment all the time.  The recipe and ingredients are to my liking and can be altered the way you wish.  This has been a hit among my friends and family.

Things you will need:
2 cups cooked rice (you can use leftover rice too)
1 medium beetroot, peeled and grated
4-5 cloves of garlic crushed or minced (optional, I am a garlic lover; you can increase, decrease, or omit it according to your preference)
2-3 shallots sliced or 1 small onion sliced or finely chopped
1-2 green chilies
1 sprig curry leaves
1 teaspoon urad dal or black gram
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds or rai
1/2 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
1/8th teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi
2 tbsp grated coconut for garnishing (optional)
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Method:
1.  Heat a kadai or pan and add oil.
2.  When oil is hot, add rai and let it splutter.
3.  Add urad dal and stir till it turns golden.
4.  Add jeera and when it splutters, add garlic.
5.  When garlic starts to change color, add curry leaves and green chillies and give a quick stir.
6.  Add onions and let it turn slightly pink.  You can add little salt at this moment to fasten the process. Add a pinch of haldi or turmeric powder.
7.  Add grated beetroot and mix well.
8.  When beetroot is 3/4th done, adjust salt to taste.
9.  Mix the rice and simmer it for 5 mins to let it absorb all the flavour and colour.
10.  Garnish with grated coconut and switch off the flame.

Delicious beetroot is ready to tantalize your taste buds.

It is a complete meal by itself, but you can serve it with raita, papad, and achar/pickle.

Notes:
1.  Beetroot can be cooked to individual preference.  It can be half cooked, three-fourth cooked, or fully cooked before you add rice.  There would be slight alteration in taste and crunchiness.
2.  If you are having it immediately, you can dribble a spoonful of ghee (clarified butter) or can replace the oil with ghee.
3.  You can replace beetroot with carrot or finely chopped spinach or spring onions too.  The colours are bound to attract kids.  If using spinach, use 4-5 leaves.  Use 2-3 spring onions.  Do not forget the garlic because it adds a wonderful flavour.

I do not have a picture right now, but would soon update as soon as I manage to click one.

My First Blog

Yay!  This is my first post and my mind is racing so much that I can't think of what to blog.  I am new to blogging and frankly do not have much knowledge about it.  Yet, I wanted to experience it.  The thought entices me as to how wonderful it would be to put your thoughts in writing and you can visit it again and again as and when you wish to.

I am a very talkative person and often find myself with no ears to hear, and what do I do at such times; well, I talk to myself and get myself heard by me.  It has it's own advantage.  What, you may ask.  There is no one to criticize me.  I am my own judge.  I can be happy for me, I can encourage me, I can criticize me too and, boy, I often find myself reprimanding myself.  But most of all, it gives me the satisfaction that I have been heard by.  It gives me a relief from all the turmoil you face.  Imagine, you have an argument with your spouse or a loved one.  Sometimes you want to tell them lot of things which could be inappropriate and can affect your relationship negatively.  Another instance could be when your boss scolds you for something and you feel it was not fair on his/her part, and I cannot even argue with him/her.  At such times, talking to myself helps me a lot, to get away from the stress, to find calmness, and at many times, it has given rise to new ideas and solutions to my problems.

I know I am rambling about things and being vague, but all this is just to get myself started.  Maybe just shaking off my nerves and finding the right path.  I am happy that I at least started and took my first step, because all I have been doing last three days is thinking, thinking, and more thinking.

All the best to me, and I hope I can write something substantial that is worth reading, spreads at least some  awareness and smiles, and above all, makes this place that we call our world a better place in any small way I can.