Feb 262012

Learning Chettinad Cooking

Cooking, Food, Recipes, Spiritual Adventures No Responses »
 

Our spiritual and culinary adventure is coming to a conclusion and today we had our last cooking class. It was on two Chettinad style dishes. The first was “Mint Chutney” and the second “Kola Urundai Kolambu”.

Here’s the recipe for the “Mint Chutney” that we learned today.

Ingredients required
Mint leaves – few sprigs
Shallots – 100gms
Garlic – 1 pod
Ginger – 1 inch
Coconut (grated) – half cup
Tamarind – Small quantity
Red chillies – 2 chillies
Salt – to taste
Oil – 1 table spoon

Preparation Method
1. Place a frying pan on the stove
2. Pour oil and heat
3. Add red chillies, finely chopped small onions, ginger, garlic and the remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Then add the mint leaves and grated coconut
5. Remove the mixture after the coconut flavour disappears
6. Then grind the mixture in a grinder to make it a paste
7. Transfer the mixture to a bowl
8. Serve as a side dish…

We were very keen to eat this at the end that we forgot to take a photo of the final product….sorry!

We gather for our final cooking class

Two recipes are being taught today...

Some of the ingredients...

Main ingredients for the kola urundai kolambu

These little dumpling like things are then steamed.

The Kola Urundai Kolambu is almost complete and tastes absolutely delicious

Markley poses with Amma (mother) after the cooking class. Nobody makes a meal better than Amma...Part of what we aimed to do on this culinary adventure is learn from mothers. And this Amma knows how to cook!

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Feb 252012

Thanjavur’s great temple

Hinduism, Spiritual Adventures No Responses »
 

This morning on the way to the heart of the Chetinad region we stopped in Thanjavur to visit the temple built by the great south Indian king Raja Raja Chola.
The temple’s name is Brihadeeswarar and is an architectural marvel. The 216 feet (66m) tower with its monolithic 80 ton dome is spectacular. The temple is dedicated to god Siva in the form of a lingam which represents god in the aspect of timeless, formless and spaceless known as Parasiva in Sanskrit. The Chola kings were great temple builders and this temple is the crowning example of Chola architecture.

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Rishis Patanjali and Vyaghrapada worship God Siva in the form of Nataraja, the Divine Dancer.

 

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Feb 212012

Eating with your hands

Food, Spiritual Adventures No Responses »
 

Eating with your hand is something that is common in Asia especially in India. The right hand is used and all meals are eaten with it. Today for lunch as part of our culinary journey we visited Sri Krishna Sweets, a restaurant in Pondicherry that is famous for its sweets on the ground floor of the building and serves lovely thali meals on the floor above.

So, we taught the group today how to eat with their hand and much to their surprise they found it very easy once you know what to do. The thali lunch was delicious!

The delicious thali we had for lunch

Our group learns to eat with their hand and are enjoying the experience.

No better way to round off a thali lunch than with a great cup of south Indian coffee.

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Jan 252012

200 Likes and off to India!

Spiritual Adventures No Responses »
 

Our blog received its 200th “Like”s today as I make my way to India to begin our spiritual adventure this Friday. Thank you everyone for all the Likes. If you haven’t Liked it yet please do so.

Participants on the adventure have already begun their journey making their way from the US, UK, Germany and Australia. A wonderful small group perfect for a profound spiritual journey.

arunachaleswar-temple in Tiruvannamalai

Arunachaleswar temple in Tiruvannamalai

We begin our spiritual adventure in India’s 4th largest city, Chennai, located in the south eastern coast of the country. We spend one night in this city that is scurrying with activity before heading south west to Tiruvannamalai. One of my favorite towns in all of India with an amazingly spiritual vibe. The sacred Arunachala hill and the massive old temple to Siva have long been a place of profound spiritual experiences for countless spiritual seekers.

I have enjoyed a few pilgrimages here over the years and needless to say it has had a profound affect on me. But every spiritual journey is as rewarding as the amount of energy put into the preparation for it. I always tell my fellow travelers this. Our spiritual adventures is a time for self-transformation. Getting to know yourself on the inside while enjoying the beauty of everything around you. But the preparation is the key. Always! So prepare well for a spiritual adventure and you’ll have a profound journey.

Check back regularly as we’ll do our best to post photos each day though on a couple of days we’ll be in places with no internet connection.


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Jan 112012

How do I concentrate better?

FAQs on Meditation, Meditation No Responses »
 

Today’s question on meditation comes in from Louise from the Philippines who asks “How do I concentrate better – I manage a good quality 5 mins at most with minor drifting but then my mind wonders massively after this…?”

The best way to learn how to concentrate better is to practice it more. We become good at what we practice. Know that the mind has no ability to discriminate between what practice is good for you and what is not good for you. If it did we’d all be excellent at concentration. The mind becomes good at whatever we practice. If we practice being distracted 10 hours a day then we become good at that. The same way, if a dancer wants to be part of the best ballet company then she would have to practice many hours a day. 

So, to be good at concentration you need to practice it more each day. In my workshops and spiritual adventures I share specific concentration exercises that can be integrated into your every day life to help you be better at concentration.

If you have questions on meditation please feel free to reach out to me. You can do so by sending your questions to me on email at info(at)vedicodyssey.com.


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Jan 092012

How do you know a meditation technique is good or not?

FAQs on Meditation, Meditation No Responses »
 

On the 7th of January I was asked “what are the techniques of meditation” and responded to that on the blog. The natural next question to follow from that was asked…which was “How do you know a meditation technique is good or not?”

It’s hard to know this answer if you are new to meditation. How would you know anyway if you’ve never tried it out long enough. Hopefully this can help shed some light on the topic.

Whatever meditation technique you choose should make sense to you. You should understand it thoroughly. A clear intellectual understanding is essential to make progress. How can you practice something well if you don’t understand it, right?

So make sure the technique you choose makes sense to you. It’s clear, practical and systematic. Its practicality allows you to develop your meditation skills slowly in your consistent practice of it.

If you don’t understand something about the meditation technique then ask questions about it. Understanding is essential. And whoever is teaching you this should be able to answer your questions logically and if they can’t then they should be able to direct you to a resource that can.

Hope this helps.

If you have questions on meditation please feel free to reach out to me. You can do so by sending your questions to me on email at info(at)vedicodyssey.com.


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Jan 082012

An island’s majestic temple

Spiritual Adventures No Responses »
 
The view of Rameswaram island from the Indira Gandhi bridge

The view of Rameswaram island from the Indira Gandhi bridge

One evening, on our upcoming Festivals & Temples spiritual adventure to South India and Malaysia, we’ll board an overnight train and make the long journey south east to the coast and cross the Indira Gandhi bridge to the laid back fishing island of Rameswaram. Located only a few miles from Sri Lanka this island is steeped in history and is considered to be one of the holiest places for Hindus in India.

Rameswaram temple in south India

Rameswaram temple in south India

Rameswaram temple's elaborate corridors lined with hundreds of pillars

Rameswaram temple's elaborate corridors lined with hundreds of pillars

The Ramanathaswamy temple boasts four maginificent corridors lined with seemingly endless elaborately carved pillars. The temple is built in honor of the Hindu God Siva and is famed for housing 21 theerthams (wells) within the complex which are believed to have particular powers. Pilgrims bathe in waters from these wells as they are ushered from one well to another.

The magnificent tower, at 53 meters high, is the tallest structure on the island and majestically rises over the green groves of palm, coconut and island shrub.

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