Thursday, June 12, 2008

Types of Sauces - Tamarind and Tobasco

Text by: Tanya Munshi
Tamarind sauce
  • Will any samosa or kachori be complete without the sweet, spicy and tangy sauce?
  • A wonderful blend of tamarind, black pepper, sugar, salt, toasted white cumin seeds this is a delicious sauce.
  • It is widely used to flavour dahi wadas as well.

Tabasco sauce

  • It’s a red hot spicy sauce with a mild capsicum flavour.
  • Popularly used over pizzas, steaks, sizzlers and roast food items.
  • Now a colloquial term, ‘Tabasco’ is a brand name used by the McIlhenny Company of Avery Island, Louisiana of the United States.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Pets> How to choose a Healthy Fish

Image: Gold Fish
Image by: Tanya Munshi

Text by: Tanya Munshi
When you visit a pet store in pursuit of healthy fish as your new pets, don’t let confusion bog you down. Here is a checklist to choose the best fish for your aquarium at home.

Pick fish with -
  • Shiny bright eyes
  • Upright fins
  • Active and playful
  • Bright colors
  • Full body
  • Healthy appetite

Avoid fish with -

  • Cloudy eyes
  • Bulgy eyes
  • Broken fins
  • Damaged scales
  • Not as active as other fish
  • Swollen abdomen
  • Spots/ marks on its body
  • Dents/ depressions on their body

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Europe Travel> One night in a train

Text by: Tanya Munshi

Are you planning to travel through Europe especially at night? Here are some travel tips to give you an idea to explore Europe.

Cisalpine
Have you thought of traveling by the Cisalpine? This train guarantees one of the most comfortable train journeys with the lowest possible noise decibels. The Cisalpine train connects Northern Italian cities such as Venice, Florence and Milan, including Switzerland. It has a capacity of 475 seats in first and second class, with complimentary newspapers and magazines offered in first class travel. Power sockets are also provided in the first class compartments for those who wish to catch up on work/ contacts back home.

Euro Night Train
Usually these Euro Night trains are more popular. This is because, while you travel at night, by the time you reach a new destination in the morning, you have the entire day to explore. First class sleepers are equipped with berths, wash basin, fresh linens and towels. For the second class sleepers, wash rooms are provided at the end of each car.

Reservation tips
  1. You need to reserve your seats for sleepers or couchettes, especially on all night trains.
  2. You need to book your seats at least 60 days in advance of the date of travel.
  3. Couchettes are equipped with open bunks in a compartment, with a pillow and blanket.
  4. Usually first class accommodation is enough for two people.
  5. Second class accommodation is enough for two to four people, so ideal for a group travel.

Europe Travel> Traveling solo in Europe

Text by: Tanya Munshi
Believe it or not, but it is an experience of a lifetime. Getting to be in a whole new country all by yourself, with only you and your conscience tasting an entirely different culture and way of living, is quite exhilarating. There are thousands of people young and old traveling across Europe, out which the number of solo women travelers is quite overwhelming. Hence, one should not find it hard to comprehend if your girlfriend/ daughter/ sister wants to travel to Europe all by herself. In fact, several women across America prefer traveling solo. So here are some tips for first time solo women travelers to keep in mind while heading out.

It’s very important that as a solo woman traveler you are on your guard. As far as possible, avoid too much of eye contact with other fellow travelers/ localities if you’re not too sure of their background.

If you come across any person whom you instinctively don’t like, avoid telling him/ her that you’re traveling solo. Tell the person you will be shortly joined by a friend in the next destination. Best would be, to avoid telling just anyone whom you meet that you’re a solo traveler.

Before heading out solo, inform your folks/ friends back home of your whereabouts. Keep your identification, address, and emergency contact numbers handy for any kind of emergency.

It’s always advisable that you check before hand with a taxi the total fare from your hotel/ hostel to the next destination. This will prevent your taxi driver from charging you extra at the end of the journey.

Dress up simple and neat. The idea is to not attract too much of attention, hence avoid revealing clothes, flashy gadgets like your latest cell phone, jewellery etc.

Preferably try and ask for directions from the tourist information booths only. At least the inputs that you get will be reliable.

Be very clear before hand where your next destination will be. Do your research by asking the hostel owner, tourist booth, read up maps etc and look confident when hailing a taxi or taking a bus ride.

Keep a first aid kit, medicine kit handy in your back pack. Whatever it is, avoid sharing any lotion, water from a fellow traveler. Carry your own supplies.

It is no longer a popular trend to hitch a ride while traveling solo. It is not only unsafe, but you never know where hitching a ride maybe illegal.

But to avoid all this, it’s best you get hold of a bus pass, if you wish to travel by road. Or make friends with a fellow woman traveler and share a taxi or hire a car.

For a solo traveler, finding a single room for stay can be a little tough. Check for the room rates at the hotel/ hostel price list. Single rooms are the cheapest but may not be all that comfortable. If you have a flexible budget then paying a little extra for a bigger/ better room should be a good idea.

Finally, before setting out on your Europe trip, talk to people who have been on similar trips before and do enough online research so that you know what to expect upon reaching there.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Hobby> Get the best out of your Digital Camera

Text by: Tanya Munshi
Now that you've got yourself a brand new digital camera, we are sure you're itching to get some great shots. So, without wasting any time, let's get you clued into some of the basic rules for good photography, and some tips on maintaining your digital camera.

Composition
~ Focus on the subject. For example, if you're shooting a car, have the car fill the frame as far as possible. Cut out the clutter in the front, sides and back of the subject. You can do this by changing your angle and by avoiding unnecessary details around the subject.

~ In many cases, the photographer uses a very large aperture (which controls the amount of light entering into the camera), resulting in a very small depth of field. This ensures only the primary subject remains in focus.

~ Things in front or in the background of the subject remain out of focus, highlighting the subject. Most digital/ digital SLR cameras are equipped with a light sensor to determine the amount of light entering into the camera.

~ The aperture works in conjunction with the shutter (which allows light to pass through for a specified period of time to get the desired effect of a photograph) speed. Hence, the shutter speed is the amount of time (measured in seconds) the shutter is kept open while taking a shot for allowing light to reach the image sensor in a digital camera, or the film in a conventional camera. Long shutter speeds are usually used in low light conditions, especially for night photography.

Be creative
Make it a habit to be as creative as possible by trying different angles, compositions and lighting, says Shibu Arakkal, a Bangalore-based photographer.
For example, try taking pictures of a subject, say, a car, from different angles to get the best shot possible.

Practise in low light
"This is to see how steady your grip is," says Arakkal. In low light conditions, the aperture (opening) of the lens is maximum while the shutter speed is low. In other words, your hands should be steady to avoid blurring of the image.

Lighting
To get the most out of your camera, experiment with the flash even when outdoors, and try using the night mode in daylight, says Arakkal.

You can also experiment with the colour settings to get the desired look. Fluorescent, tungsten, cloudy and sunny lighting are some of the settings found in a digital camera.
Several advanced digital cameras have a facility for creating special effects, as done in film cameras through the use of coloured filters in front of the lens.

For example, you can enhance the colour of, say, a blue background like the sky by using a yellow filter. Experiment with the various settings to find the one you like. Don't be afraid of shadows, reflections or glare. The less you restrict your imagination, the better the pictures will be.

Maintaining your digicam
Generally, a digital camera should last for a good five to 10 years, depending on maintenance and usage.

Tips for maintaining your camera:
~ Take out the batteries when not in use.
~ Avoid moisture and heat. Store the batteries in a dry and cool place with a packet of silica gel. Change the packets regularly or 're-generate' them by warming them in an open pan on low heat. This gets rid of the moisture. When dry, the silica gel becomes blue.
~ Avoid any kind of impact on the camera.
~ Don't use water to clean it.
~ The front lens may be lightly cleaned with a brush.
~ Clean the camera body with a soft cloth.
~ Get the camera serviced at least once a year or once every six months.

Published in Rediff.com, on April 9, 2007
Link:
http://specials.rediff.com/getahead/2007/apr/09slid1.htm

Europe Travel> How to find a hostel

Text by: Tanya Munshi

Backpacking and traveling across Europe is fun and adventurous. You open your mind to a whole new life, a country so beautiful that will enrich your life for ever. But backpacking and traveling low budget does have its own side effects, especially when it comes to a place of stay.

Hostels are predominantly meant for backpackers who are traveling across Europe within a specific budget. These hostels are equipped with rooms, bunk beds, showers, security and also offer an opportunity to meet like minded travelers.

Since these are budget stays, hostels provide you with the basic amenities. Ensure the hostel that you plan on staying has dining areas, bathrooms, cooking area, laundry, lockers and in some cases, tourist booths and internet access. Remember, most hostels don’t offer you frills such as – room service and may/ may not provide towels. If at all they do, you may have to pay a towel deposit.

Keep your mind open as some hostels maybe spotlessly clean or may not match up to your expectations. Check with the hostel if they have any curfew time, so that you don’t run into trouble during late nights.

A typical hostel/ hotel should have all kinds of rooms – budget, single, sharing etc. At times, double occupancy rooms maybe taken up by couples out on a weekend trip, while single rooms taken up by budget businessmen.

Before paying for a room, ask if you can see the rooms. Check if the door locks work fine, whether the kitchens and bathrooms are clean and hygienic and beds made neatly with clean sheets. Small details such as these make a lot of difference in your overall Europe travel.

Before putting up in a hostel ask for their rules and regulations – especially the ones concerning deposits and refunds. Just in case you don’t like the place, you know you can leave anytime with your deposit in return. There are instances where hostels don’t refund any money, if you have paid them in advance. So it’s best to check for such minor, but important details beforehand.

These places may not be the best of the places to stay that you have imagined, but this is what most backpackers do. After all, you don’t live here for too long. A night or two, or maybe even more and you’re off to your next destination on your map.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Types of Sauces> Tomato and Soya

Text by: Tanya Munshi

Tomato sauce
  • It is probably one of the most widely used sauces all over.
  • It is used both to flavour a dish, such as pasta or used as an accompaniment such as with French fries.
  • Tomato sauce can be of several types. For instance, the one’s that are used in India may or may not consist of onions and garlic.

Soya sauce

  • A popular ingredient and an accompaniment in Chinese cuisine is the Soya sauce.
  • It is a fermented sauce, which contains ingredients from roasted soybeans, roasted grain, salt and water.
  • Usually a certain amount of alcohol is also added as a preservative for the sauce.
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