Bhature

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These are like pooris, but made in fine floor and curd. You can savour this mouth watering meal at any road side stall in Delhi. They are generally served with Chole, but you can have them with any curry. You need to make the dough in curd and keep it overnight, for fermentation. The best Bhature that I have ever had are served in Nagpal Hotel in a small town called Rohtak in Haryana. So if you want to have quick look while going from Delhi to Shimla or Kullu Manali, you can drop by at this place and have a tasty meal.

Dosa

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Dosa is served for breakfast in many south Indian homes. Like most south Indian foods, this pancake is also made of rice. But you can also get wheat dosa in restaurants. When we were staying in Banglore, I would invariably have one dosa a day. It is served with sambhar and coconut chutney (which is really tasty).Sometimes tomato chutney is also added.. Shanti sagar chain of restaurants is the best palce to have a cheap and good quality dosa. There are many varieties of dosa. You can get masala dosa, paper Dosa, chilli dosa, egg dosa, onion dosa……rava dosa…....humph, let me catch my breath. You get the gist, right?

Rogan Josh

It is a curry dish made of lamb. India's first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru had a soft spot for Rogan josh. Every foreigner writes in his or her travel diary that Hindus are vegetarians and in particular, Brahmins don't even touch meat. Here is bit of information for these ignorant souls. Kashmiri Pundits savour Rogan josh, though it is made sans garlic and onion. It is a low fat dish, served mainly with nan or rice.

When I visited Kasmir four years back to attend a friend's wedding, I got to know that rogan josh is the main dish in wazwan, which is a festive banquet with 24 courses. Now that's really heavy!

Sarson Ka Saag

This dish is advertised as a Punjabi dish, which is not exactly true. Sarson ka saag is eaten not only in Punjab, but also in Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and parts of Gujrat. Sarson ka saag is made from mustard stalks. The stalks are bolied till they are tender, then a spoonful of curd (mixed with besan) is added. Saag is allowed to simmer for ten to fifteen minutes after all the spices and curry is added to it.

Macher Jhol

This typical Bengali fish curry is the favourite of India's ex prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpai. My husband claims that Delhi's Taj serves the authentic Macher jhol, but I would give my votes to Baniyan Treat in Dumdum for making a totally delicious fish curry. This dish is best made with Mustard oil as it gives a spicy and peppery taste.

There is so much to choose from when it come to Indian dishes. It was a tough decision to select only five dishes. Indian cuisine is among the best round the world and rightly so. Let's sit over a cuppa of kanjee sometime and discuss various Indian dishes.

Pastilla (bisteeya):

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It is famous pigeon pie, which is a blend of almonds, honey, fruits and spicy meats. It is dusted with a generous layer of icing sugar. Pastilla is made on special occasions such as weddings.

M'choui:

This is the ceremonial dish marking Aid el Kebir, the feat commemorating Abraham's sacrifice of a lamb instead of his son, held 70 days after Ramadan. A whole sheep is roasted on a spit and brought to the table for everyone to carve off pieces and dip into little dishes of cumin. No part of the lamb is wasted: after the feast you will see sheepskins pegged out on rooftop terraces, along with the intestines, which are sun dries for flavouring in winter stews.

Tajine:

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This is a basic beef or lamb stew (sometimes just vegetables) slowly simmered in an earthenware dish with conical lid. Black olives are invariably added to honey-flavoured sauce; apples and pears may also be thrown in. one of the rewards of walking in the Atlas mountains is to order a tajine from a Berber café before setting off, then to return a few hours later to find it cooked.

Shebakkia:

Moroccans are great sugar addicts. Tea and fruit juices are served Sweetened, and every home will have a supply of home-made sweets. During Ramadan, try shebakkia, deep-fried knots of pastry dipped in honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds. One of the pleasures of motoring in Morocco is the multitude of grill restaurants to be found along the way. They serve succulent lamb cutlets, kebabs or liver.

Harira:

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During Ramadan, Moroccans break their daily fast with fresh dates and a bowl of harira, a thick soup of beans, lentils and lamb. Every café will have this soup available for those unable to get home by appointed hours.

What to see

Anyways, after arriving at our destination we ( my family and the our couple friends) went to watch the Edinburgh Museum which is at royal mile. It is very absorbing and meticulously organized. The artifacts and models trace the history of Edinburgh.

Museum of Childhood

It is some what similar to Doll museum in Delhi. There are toys and games of all kinds from many parts of the world. Ananya went berserk with joy on seeing so many of her favorite items (which include dolls, teddy bears, train sets and cycles). It was very difficult for me to keep her under control and she doesn't lend an ear to her father's soft don't-do-it pleas. The museum is a treat for "young" adults also.

We had time to explore only these two museums, but there Edinburgh is a treasure for history lovers. There are 'People's Story', Writer's Museum, Lauriston Castle, The Brass Rubbing Centre, Queensferry museum, Newhaven Heritage Museum.

The Royal Mile

The Royal mile is the backbone of the Old Town of Edinburgh and no other part of Edinburgh is as rich in folklore and historic significance as this ancient street. Some of the most popular attractions in Edinburgh can be found here. Sightseeing the Royal Mile should be done at a leisurely pace mainly because there are many sights to take pictures of and stories to learn about at every step but also because it's going uphill.

Princess Street

One of Edinburgh's most famous attractions is the Scott Monument right on Princess Street. The monument dedicated to Sir Walter Scott is one of the most recognizable tall buildings in the city. The entire length of the north side of Princes Street is crowded with shops. The south side has Princes Street Gardens and is an excellent vantage point for admiring the Old Town, Castle Rock and Edinburgh Castle.

Advice

The cheapest food to find on Princes Street is from any of the 3 Gregg's bakeries on Rose Street, the street that runs parallel with Princes Street or in Marks and Spencer. There are also many affordable pubs and cafes on this pedestrian Edinburgh Street.If you're mainly interested in sightseeing and taking pictures, walk along the south side of Princes Street, the one with the gardens, to avoid the shoppers.

Then there's Calton Hill at the heart of the city with stunning views over Princes Street, the Old Town and Edinburgh Castle. Advice: Avoid going on Calton Hill after lunchtime if you want to take pictures of Princes Street and the Castle because the sun is in front of you at that time of the day. You can see all of the Edinburgh Centre from Calton Hill: North Bridge, Old Town, the Hub, Ramsay Gardens, Edinburgh Castle, Princes Street, and further to the right, St Andrew's Square

Edinburgh Castle

I was amazed to hear that Edinburgh castle is built on extinct volcano.Few visitor destinations around the world can pride themselves with such an amazing historical attraction at the heart of the very compact Edinburgh City Centre but even fewer can say that their number one attraction sits on an extinct volcano. Like Tower Bridge of London, this castle was also used as a prison and Queen Mary was imprisoned here.

Advice

In summers the best time to visit and explore the castle is around 9.00 am. You should be able to have the exploring to your heart's content and attend the one o clock gun ceremony. For taking photos, midday should be avoided because at this time the sunlight is at its strongest and shadows are harsh. Go first thing in the morning or last thing in the afternoon. The Castle is an impressive fortress waiting to be explored, a hub of history and has splendid views of Edinburgh.

The view from the castle gives visitors a chance to appreciate Edinburgh's geological variety: hills, sea and extinct volcanoes as well as its man-made skyline.

Where to stay

Edinburgh is an expensive city, so prices are quite high. Some of the areas outside the City Centre such as Newington, Morningside, Tolcross, Stockbridge or Haymarket are a tourist's dream in terms of choice. It takes 10 minutes by bus to reach Edinburgh's centre. The city has very good public transport system so it is better to compromise on accommodation.

What to do

Edinburgh Festival, which is a collection of many arts festivals and Hogmanay celebrations are kind of mascots of Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Festival has its base in Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) which was established in 1947 to heal the wounds of the war. The Edinburgh Festival is actually a number of events which take place in July and September every year.

Hogmanay is the New Year in Scotland. In Edinburgh, Hogmanay spans into four days of Winter Festival that takes place in December end. Thousands of people participate in the torch procession from the Edinburgh Old Town to Calton hill.Night afroe Fiesta is a street carnival with themes changing every year. There's music, dance and street theatre in a carnival atmosphere.

Interesting Facts

• The One o'clock Gun in Edinburgh Castle fires every day at exactly One o'clock except on Sundays.
• Edinburgh was the first city in the world which had its own fire-brigade.
• It was built on seven hills, like Rome.
• One of the most popular cures for baldness in the 17th century Edinburgh was the application of the burnt ashes of dove's dung.
• The first McDonald's restaurant opened for business in 1952 in Edinburgh.