Fashion fusion - INDIA

Loud.Colorful.Diverse. These three words always come to my mind when I think about India. I visited this country in January this year. I was pretty busy with sightseeing but still got a chance to observe Indian fashion - which is truly unique. Typical woman called auntyi wears sari or salwar kameez. As you probably know sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine yards in length that is draped over the body in various styles. While salwar kameez is simply a traditional dress. Salwar are loose pajama-like trousers, where the legs are wide at the top, and narrow at the ankle. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic.

Young woman in big cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai, Gurgoan or Ahmedabad make a fusion of Indian and western clothes. You can see very often girl wearing tight top and colorful salwar or simple dress combined with traditional jewelry. What make this fashion unique is for sure a big variety of colors and shape of those clothes. In sari the midriff and back are visible while in Europe this parts of body are mostly covered. It shows nothing yet it shows everything.

What I like the most about Indian fashion is marvelous jewelery. The design and the look depend on the region. Different region has different pattern and designs. I like a lot those small mirrors on bracelet or big, ornate earrings which Bollywood actress present so widely. But my number one is head jewele –Kundan tikka. It is jewelry which hangs on the middle of the forehead and is attached to the hair with a loop. Usually it is devoted for brides. 

 

Even Karl Lagerferd was strongly inspired by Indian fashion. He has prepared a magnificent "Paris-Bombay" fashion show 2011/2012, highlighting the 'Métiers d'Art'. The collection was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.

 Here you can see a video from Chanel Paris- Bombay fashion show.

                              

        
                                                   

SUSHI

What to eat for lunch when the temperature outside shows 35 degree? The one thing which always comes to my mind is sushi. As you know sushi is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice (shari) combined with other ingredients (neta). The most common ingredient is seafood but also small pieces of vegetables, mushrooms or eggs. In Budapest I found really nice restaurant called WASABI. What seems to be unique there is the idea of 'running' sushi - where food comes constantly to the guest's table on a band from which everybody can choose their taste, and can eat in an unlimited amount. When I came there for the first time I actually didn't  know how to order the food and the running sushi looked for me very funny. Dinner is available for 5999 HUF which is around 22 EUR and for this price you may eat as much as you can from the wide range of food that circulates in small portions on the conveyor. What I can really recommend there, is a variety of Japanese teas.You can find more information about this place on their website: http://www.wasabi.hu/

http://www.wasabi.hu/pest

http://www.wasabi.hu/pest

If you have time and like to experiment in your kitchen you should watch this short video about making sushi.

http://www.ilovesushi.hu/menu/party-boxes.html

For those who are really busy in their life, I can recommend ilovesushi a very nice online shop where you can order sushi which will be deliver straight to your house. Shop offers the most popular types of sushi. What I found very interesting are party boxes which contain around 45 pieces of different types of sushi. You can get for instance Tokyo set which includes: 6 pieces of Chic 13, 6 pieces of Chic 42, 2 pieces of vegetable egg omelette nigiri, 2 pieces of smoked salmon nigiri, 2 pieces of crabmeat salad nigiri, 6 pieces of foie gras maki, 6 pieces of cucumber maki, 6 pieces of shiitake mushroom maki, 6 pieces of salmon maki in hot sauce with daikon radish, 3 pieces of hot salmon Alaska maki. More information about ilovesushi online shop are available on their website:

http://www.ilovesushi.hu.

Would you like to take a sushi as a appetizer or would you prefer eat as a main course?

Chicken Biryani

Biryani is a Mughalai dish which was invented during the Mughal rule in India.Its is a nice combination of rice and spicy meat which is generally cooked for an hour over low heat.

Hungry for some Biryani? Easy to cook recipe for chicken biryani.

To prepare chicken biryani , you need:

500 grams chicken

2 thinly sliced onions

chopped garlic and ginger

chopped green chillies(2)

1 cohpped tomatoe

500 grams boiled basmati rice

1 tbsp red chilli powder,

corriander porder

garam masala

turmeric powder

200 grams of yoghurt.

I have prepared a short video how to cook this dish step by step.

With all these easily available ingredients, you can cook really amazing biryani at home. Do share your vies and comments.

Stylish Budapest

To be honest I have met only a few Hungarians who are in the possession of truly unique style.  Usually I meet these people in some underground parties, hip areas of Budapest or in some special types of showrooms.

Do you remember the times when a lot of people were wearing t-shirts with some funny inscriptions for instance "Fuck me I am famous"?. Couple years ago it was very popular view - actually it still is, just the inscription got changed a little bit. In Budapest I found unisex showroom -  Style&dirt, which is specialized in making t-shirts with different types of inscriptions, for instance "In Karl with thrust" , "Dior not war" or "Tom Frod loves me". Girls who have been dumped by their lovers, can buy a t-shirt with a lovely inscription "My ex boyfriend is a motherfucker". Style&dirt also offers clothes like blouses, dresses or very cute furs. Showroom is located in Ferenc körút 10 but you can also visit online shop at:

http://www.shop.styleanddirt.com.

Other showroom which I would really like to recommend you is Szputnyik  Bazár located at Bakáts tér 8.or more stylish at Dohány u. 20. Szputnyik  Bazár is a combination of vintage and contemporary design shop with clothes and accessories both  for men and women. Shop has two floors full of vintage clothes I guess from all around the world. You can find there t-shirts with cool patterns, ornate skirts, dresses and shorts. Shop also offers a variety of bags and shoes. If you are looking for some extraordinary outfit for a costume party - this place is for you. What I like the most there, are the accessories like rings, earnings, necklaces, bracelets and a lot of hair props. On the ground floor there are usually brand new clothes and shoes while  the first one has second hand ones. I have no idea from where they get such different types and styles of clothes but I must say that the owners are doing a great job. What is also good about this place is possibility to find a  nice collection of  cups, small mirrors or key chains.

You can find more info and the history on the Szputnyik website: http://www.szputnyikshop.hu

Hungry in Hungary? Try Aloo Paratha!

The fact that I am currently  living in Budapest does not mean, that I eat Hungarian food on a daily basic. To be honest I do not eat a lot of Hungarian dishes because I am still Polish at heart and I love Polish cuisine. But there are always some exceptions - in this case it is Indian food, which I eat regularly since 2 years. One of the best vegetarian dish is aloo paratha. It is a fry bread stuffed with boiled potatoes, onion and spices.

The preparation is very easy.First you need to take the wheat flour and prepare the dough.Boil the potatoes and then mash them along with chopped onions,pepper with the spices and salt.The choices of spices depends but the most commonly used are salt, black pepper, red chilli powder and corriander powder.

After that stuff the dough with the mixture of the potatoes and onions and then make the chappati rolls out of it. Put it on the heating pan,when it gets a bit cooked from both the sides, add some oil or butter and then fry until it gets a bit brown from both the sides. 

 To make it easier for you, I added short video on which you can see how to roll the chappati.

All the spices you can find in Pakistani - Indian shop Kobinor Bázar on Józef krt. 23

 Enjoy!

TELEP - underground Budapest

I passed by this place couple of times but I had a good beer there yesterday, for the very first time. I must say that it is really nice place and I kinda regret that I discovered this after almost 2 years (they say better now than never). TELEP is underground bar where you can eat and drink, but the best part includes a lot of exhibitions and various workshops. There is a movie club and library. When I step by yesterday I was surprised to see a DJ playing live and I must admit that he prepared very good set. 

What is also good about this place are, the interiors. Bar has two floors with garage look and modern furniture. You can relax on sofa, grab some drink and read a good book. When the right time comes, you will be able to watch an exhibitions.

I would really suggest you to have a drink there, when you visit Budapest. TELEP is on Madách Imre út 8. (parallel to Király út ). Find more info about the upcoming events on:
http://www.facebook.com/TelepGaleria or http://telepgaleria.tumblr.com/.