Holistic Living, Tulum, QROO, México (2026)

16/04/2023

Zindagi aur zindagi ki zid ke sikha ke c***e gi! (Life.. and life’s crazy stubbornness that it wont stop for nothing till you listen and learn!)

So.. what is there to learn? Given the miserly word limit on these platforms, I will keep my bhavnas (emotions) in check and be succinct (English bolta hei.. hain..! 'AB ref.')

My final… nah.. next learning.. is about self-love. All that we care, work for, protect, is outwardly. We forget to ask, who is protecting me? Who is looking after me? That responsibility, we, for some weird reason, dump on somebody else. Our life partner, soul mate, partner..! Nobody can really take care of you.. coz nobody knows you. So.. failed relations, heart breaks etc etc etc

This is new for me. Self love, self understanding, looking within. It is uncomfortable and I don’t know how to do. However, the idea, and the end state is very very intriguing. What if, happiness and being content was a baseline. Never to be challenged. How will life be? It will be dramatically happy and adventurous. Risks are easy.. coz, you are already and will be fine… risks become a game. Including the risk of loving, commitment and every other scary idea out there!

So I start a new journey.. one I never expected to be on. This is new.. very very new! However, I have been beaten and pushed to this point.. you naughty naughty zindagi! I’m ready… I know what you are trying to make me learn.. I’m listening.. lets start talking!

Lets connect and close with fermentation 😊.. another beautiful meetup. New friends, new perspectives.. people who actually did ‘gotta go see about a girl..’, PHD in sustainable agriculture.. realtors making dream come true.. holistic healers.. new moms…. The people I met.. the experiences.. the blessing of it all!

So many journeys, so many lessons… so many lessons! Thank you zindagi. Thank you for most for Kefir, the best ferment there is with connection all the way back to prophet Mohammad. Thank you.. thank you for your gifts, your guidance, your persistence, your understanding and your patience!

Love you zindagi!

10/04/2023

Indian Borscht…fusion of love!
All of us have an equilibrium. A center point from where we operate. My equilibrium is dramatic, impossible optimism. I saw a natural spring today.. that’s what my equilibrium is.. happiness just gushing from someplace unknow. It takes a bunch for me to loose my equilibrium. But.. life has certain way of testing us. It has all the cards.. and it will test you, test you equilibrium, and push you off! Then, when you are lost, out of nowhere, will come a moment that shakes you out of your slumber, reminding you, that the spring still is here. The joy is still here.. the inspiration is still here… you are still you and you are still here! These moments, these surprises are the other side of life. That wants you to stand up.. feel energized… so it can mess with you again 😊. However, the game is that every time you stand back up again, you are harder to fall. Hopefully through this cycle of rising and falling you learn enough to go beyond the game itself. Till then.. I welcome the moments of inspiration that keep me sane.. keep me going.. keep me .. well.. me! One such moment I experienced recently. I was invited to a dinner by my Bulgarian colleague. In his house, I experienced love, passion for food and culture, the joy of growing enormous tomatoes and figs, the pain of Russian invasion of Ukraine, the will to go on, the need to serve and help, the experience and wisdom of life, the exuberance of youth and the delicious taste of Borscht! Borscht is a meat, cabbage and beet soup.. like nothing I have experienced before! The evening shook me. It woke me up.. I haven’t experienced so much love and life in a while. I don’t know if it was the warmth of the 45 year old brandy or the flavors of the food, but I came back inspired. The weight of life was a lot lighter. I was more me.. happy… inspired.. ready to serve! So today I try to create a fusion dish. Indian spices giving the color to the melody of flavors that are distant… And the fusion is a dramatic hit! My ask.. somebody around is needing that moment of inspiration. How about.. you be the one to give that moment.. try! May be in the trying.. you find your purpose, your balance!

11/06/2022

Ginger garlic paste is integral to Indian cooking. I have surprisingly never made it! Last time when my mom visited me, she made a big batch and left for me. It was getting over... So from recollection of what she did.. and little bit of courage, I finally made my first batch of ginger garlic paste.. :)

To find inspiration and courage.. all you need is a mom!

She adds bit of her color to how she makes the paste. She adds some green chilies, tumeric and some white vinegar that helps with preservation. It also adds a bit of flavour to the food.

So.. I have a fresh.. mom inspired.. batch of ginger garlic paste! It should last me till when I see her again.. and she takes over the kitchen and start creating culinary magic!

21/05/2022

Getting inked is almost meditative.. I got my first tattoo today, a month before turning 45. However, this tattoo has been years in making. It almost felt like culmination of a journey I have been on for over two decades. As I got inked, I couldn't help but reflect on the my life, experiences, my learnings, who I have become, the journey I have taken and what roads I intend to take ahead. It may be three syllables, but they represent the essence of me. It may have taken an hour to sketch the word on my body, but it has taken a lifetime to feel worthy of it!
Yes... aazaad (free).. That's what happiness means to me.. that's what living means to me... That is the pursuit and that is the end goal!
I feel happy and blessed!

It was made extra special to share this moment with Jose, the artist! A part of artist remains with his art.. his energy stays. Jose is not just exceptional artist, but a free and kind spirt. I feel blessed that he is the one I shared this experience with!

Thank you!

21/05/2022

Kombucha is king of sparkling drinks. Like everything else, the home made brew is head and shoulders above the store bought, factory produced product.

This one is carefully fermented, tastefully flavoured and patiently bottle fermented to make a delicious, low sugar, sparkling.. king of brews!

I have 5 liters of booch, flavoured 4 different ways.. maturing and getting sparkling. This is in prep for the 'happy hour' kombucha Meetup next Thursday at my place.

The flavours are...
- Apple, ginger and cardamom
- Grapes and Cinnamon
- mangoes and mint
- cheeku (sapodilla), mangoes and cardamom

These are all unique flavors... made from real fruits. I'm betting the mangoes and mint will be the winner (especially with some vodka). But I can't wait to find out which one the majority likes.

If you are in Dallas area.. do feel free to join!

Cheers and ferment on!

07/05/2022

Kimchi and long pauses....

Pauses... Give space for thoughts.. for reflections. Time sorts out things beyond what you can urself. Bigger intelligence takes over. It takes the experiences, the ingredients.. and works on it. Coming back with answers, clarity and formations that you couldn't.. how hard you try!
Same is true for fermentation. You put the effort, the ingredients.. and take a pause! Time and the higher intelligence turns simple ingredients into delicious super foods!

In life.. experiences shared, togetherness, brings back sweeter results. Same with fermentation..

The best ingredient for a positive result is togetherness.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a group kimchi making. It was an experience to remember... We shared cabbage, hot chilli peppers, veggies and love!
The end result is reflective of the awesomeness of the supreme intelligence and the raw ingredients that were made available!

Simple ingredients become extraordinary ... You are gifted with amazing kimchi and many new friends!
Ferment something... Do it together... And you will be rewarded!

25/07/2021

It takes churning.. some stirring and beating.. to let the best in you come together. The best in you, when together, forms a formidable force that can pierce through the darkness, and let the light shine on your true self. May seem agressive, but the beating around truly works!

Same is true for milk. The best in milk, butter, takes some work! It takes some churning, some beating around, some hard work to get it out. Yes, you can get the butter by churning the cream, but that is the not the best. Milk, already a super food (raw), shines further when you ferment it! Fermented milk, yogurt.. and fermenetd cream, sour cream, when churned, brings out the best in milk... cultured butter!

Butter is already part of legends. It is superfood that is loaded with nutrition and is so so delicious! Now, add the goodness of fermentation and you take it to a different level. Making butter from sour cream and yogurt is easy. Add it to blender, and blend till the solids seperate from whey. Then, gently firm up the solids. Rinse in cold and clear water till the water runs clean. You have your cultured butter! If you want it flavoured, add some salt, herbs to the sour cream/yogurt before churning. The yogurt will be flavoured and will work as an awesome spread on your sourdoughs!

In olden days, the churning was done with hand. It was hard work. Like many things in modern times, churning is now super easy thanks to the blenders. Unfortunately, we focused on obvious and physical things.. and not for the knowledge and the culture. So we have the blenders, but we forgot the art of fermentation and butter making.

So, find a local dairy close to you, get raw milk and cream from grass fed cows. Then, get a heirloom yogurt culture. (If in Dallas area, I will be happy to share). Make your own sour cream and yogurt at home. Then, make butter and ghee .. and enjoy the best in milk!

Cheers and happy fermenting!

17/07/2021

Kombucha is the best home made sparkling drink.. loaded with probiotics, flavorful, fizzy... It is perfect for these summer days.

My kombucha is simple... Water, spices (fennel, cardamom, cinamon, staranise), sugar and tea. I use black tea. Once the kombucha is ready, about 10 days, I generally bottle it and don't do second ferment for carbonation.

Yesterday I decided to experiment a bit. So this kombucha has some apple juice added (10%) and bottled for carbonation. It will take couple days but the kombucha should get nicely carbonated. Always remember to keep one bottle of plastic to get an idea of carbonation.

Once nicely carbonated, the bottles will be kept in fridge to avoid over carbonation.
Even if the Brew is in fridge, the taste keeps changing.. getting better and better with time.

If you love kombucha, do give it a shot to make it at home. If you are too lazy to make, get your friends in kombucha making.. that way you keep getting benefit from their hard work.. :)

Cheers and happy fermenting!

26/06/2021

Sodas are good! The statement sounds like oxymoron.

Aren't sodas the worst thing that happened to us? Well.. dont judge sodas so fast! They made one mistake... they went commercial! When greed gets involved, nothing remains good. I read a quote today.. that said.. we have done so many mistakes so how can we hate somebody for a single mistake!

Sodas made one mistake.. and that was to give up their fermentation origins and going commercial... sugar loaded, artificial! Pretty on the outside and hollow/harmful inside
The orginal sodas were fermented, made from healthy ingredients that were made even more healthy through the magic of fermentation. Sparkling, low sugar, and loaded with deliciousness!
The good news is that you can make awesome sodas at home using fermentation. All it takes is home made ginger bug. What is a ginger bug.. well.. it is starting culture made from ginger and simple sugar water. Once you have that.. you can take pretty much any sweetened drink, like fresh juices, and make them sparkling.
Making home made sodas is easy, rewarding, healthy and so so much fun!
So for my meetup this weekend, I have made bunch of sodas! There is mango, apple, cranberries, and my kombucha soda. Kombucha you ask.. yes.. that makes utimate sodas. For next time..

So what are you waiting for? Dont deprive your kids of these beautiful sparkling drinks. Yes, they went wrong... give them another chance! Also.. if it seems intimidating making sparkling drinks at home, reach out to me! I would be happy to share.. :)
Cheers! wish you health, happiness and magic of fermentation!

20/06/2021

What gives you joy? What you live for?

These Qs are so simple when younger! Ask my son, and he will take 5 secs to list down the three things that are the most important to him... cars, Chipotle and Roblox! Simple.. life is sorted.

So as I sit here, listening to hemant kumar... i wonder why it is so hard for me.. to define the pillars of my life, live in alignment with them. Most of my flaws, I attribute to lack of clarity of the same two Qs.. what gives me joy and what to live for.

Today I did some introspection. When my kids where enjoying their trampoline park, I was sitting down with pen and paper... trying to understand myself better. It is strange, as many of the Qs I was asking, I thought I had them figured out. Something has changed.. some new confusions have come in and I dont know why. My pillers were clearly understood.. spirituality, nature (travels) and service.

So what's the confusion? is it some lower tendencies needing to express.. is it the lethargy before walking the path.. is it changing life circumstances, exposing new weaknesses... who knows..!

For now, it is sufficient that the understanding of the problem is clear. The answers will come. Recongnition of problem is one step closer to solution
Till then, cook along, ferment along.. travel along.. live in surrender and let life dictate what expereiences I need!

So what about the kimchi... The cabbage was a loving gift from an awesome person, who is a potter, is in my fermentation meet up. I made the Kimchi with my mom, something new that we did together.. This batch, is somehow reflective of what we live for. Sharing, love, respect and Wonder!

Wonder... that is the word that stays with me! After all the thinking... it is wonder that keeps us wanting to live. The unexplainable feeling of experiencing beauty, majesty.. that for few moments makes the thoughts go silent and makes you surrender in the present.

Wish you many many moments of wonder. Wish your life that takes you through experinces that create wonder for you.. and wish that through those wonders you find yourself. Your purpose... your joy.. and the reason for your being,

24/05/2021

I always enjoy hosting Meetup on fermented foods! But hosting one.. with my mom.. now that's a different level of fun!
This weekend we hosted Meetup on Indian spices.. and fermented foods. We talked and experienced whole gamut of spices. From whole spices, dried species, spice mixes, to wet spices. It was so much fun finally being able to do the event in person. We could touch, smell and truly experience what we were talking about. It was most fun playing the role of translator as my mom answered qs and added color from our decades of experience cooking.
One thing that stood out to me was how different cultures have different priority and uses for the spices. I guess spices are like music instruments and different cultures have figured out how to create beautiful orchestra using different combinations of them

My mom made 'dahi bhale' a spicy Street side food made with fermented ingredients. Also.. 'kadhi' that is a curry which uses yogurt as the base. She also made few different kinds of dips and 'achars'. I made my delicious fermented melon and apple soda!

As always meeting old friends and making some new once.. is the highlight!

Cheers!

Holistic Living

16/04/2023

10/04/2023

11/06/2022

21/05/2022

21/05/2022

07/05/2022

25/07/2021

17/07/2021

26/06/2021

20/06/2021

24/05/2021

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Heal and Live Well using Nutritious Food as Medicine