Sunday morning, I didn't set an alarm and woke up at 9:30, very late by my Bangalore standards! Jo had risen earlier and gone to the gym, and when I finally got out of bed, Nani was preparing poori halwa.
She taught me how to make it - it is a sweet made for Karnataka New Year, made of flour, sugar, cashews, almonds, butter and raisins. If anyone is interested, the recipe is here.
After making halwa, Jowalla *as Peer Khan calls her* and I retreated to the room to devour the sweet and read chapters and chapters of Opal Mehta, a terribly cheesy and predictable book that was banned in the US for plagiarism (but is readily available on the streets of India!). We read for going on 4 hours (it's that good, I promise!) and then met Shruthi to go hang out at Mocha.
Since hookah is now banned in Bengaluru, Mocha is only staying open for a few more days, so it's lucky we went when we did. We chatted with Shruthi and Atul, played card games and bananagrams, took more pictures and had a delicious chocolate fondue. The other three had some dish called 'cream cheese noodles', a noodley chickeny concoction that was apparently 'heavenly comma divine' in Jowalla's words.
Like most other things we've had in Bangalore, the sides for dipping in fondue did not taste like their descriptions. Eclairs were crunchy and lacked any filling whatsover. Pound cake was weighty and the seasonal fruits consisted of a sliced apple circling a mound of whipped cream.
It is so sad that Mocha is closing, but Shruthi and Atul seem to think the ban won't last long as youngsters will protest. Apparently hookah establishments are the only place 'cool' young people hang out in Bangalore. The BBMP once exacted a ban on cigarettes, which fell through because of the business lost as young people stopped hanging out in places they had previously gone only to enjoy a smoke. Mocha, for instance, makes the majority of its revenue from hookah, so people won't go if hookah is banned. That's unfortunate because it is an amazing place to just sit and talk and eat.
After Mocha we came home and pretty much read Opal Mehta all night. A quality Sunday, and Monday was a holiday too!
She taught me how to make it - it is a sweet made for Karnataka New Year, made of flour, sugar, cashews, almonds, butter and raisins. If anyone is interested, the recipe is here.
After making halwa, Jowalla *as Peer Khan calls her* and I retreated to the room to devour the sweet and read chapters and chapters of Opal Mehta, a terribly cheesy and predictable book that was banned in the US for plagiarism (but is readily available on the streets of India!). We read for going on 4 hours (it's that good, I promise!) and then met Shruthi to go hang out at Mocha.
Since hookah is now banned in Bengaluru, Mocha is only staying open for a few more days, so it's lucky we went when we did. We chatted with Shruthi and Atul, played card games and bananagrams, took more pictures and had a delicious chocolate fondue. The other three had some dish called 'cream cheese noodles', a noodley chickeny concoction that was apparently 'heavenly comma divine' in Jowalla's words.
Like most other things we've had in Bangalore, the sides for dipping in fondue did not taste like their descriptions. Eclairs were crunchy and lacked any filling whatsover. Pound cake was weighty and the seasonal fruits consisted of a sliced apple circling a mound of whipped cream.
It is so sad that Mocha is closing, but Shruthi and Atul seem to think the ban won't last long as youngsters will protest. Apparently hookah establishments are the only place 'cool' young people hang out in Bangalore. The BBMP once exacted a ban on cigarettes, which fell through because of the business lost as young people stopped hanging out in places they had previously gone only to enjoy a smoke. Mocha, for instance, makes the majority of its revenue from hookah, so people won't go if hookah is banned. That's unfortunate because it is an amazing place to just sit and talk and eat.
After Mocha we came home and pretty much read Opal Mehta all night. A quality Sunday, and Monday was a holiday too!
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