nightlifemumbai

- By Aishwarya Pramod I thought I knew idlis. I thought they were a tasty, healthy staple, if a little boring at times. But recently I visited Rama Nayak's Udipi Idli House, and tasted idlis in a very new way. Who knew idlis could be so exciting?! Here are the dishes we ordered: Masala-idli with sambar and chutney Oondi Dalitoya The oondi is a steamed rice dumpling (like idli). Dalitoya is a type of simple but delicious dal flavoured with lots of hing (asafoetida). I love hing, so I loved this dish. Jackfruit idli (fanas muddo) This was my absolute favourite. It was sweet and rich, especially with all that butter on top. A bottle of kesari juice is behind the idli. The menu  The menu was wide-ranging (click for larger view). Maybe I'll try pepper idli and rava idli next time Accompaniments The two tpes of podi with oil just make everything better. All in all, a good meal was had by all. If you haven't been to this cafe, you're missing something!

- By Aishwarya Pramod Ram Ashraya in Matunga is more than 70 years old. It's well-loved not just for idlis and vadas, but its array of sheera flavours. Pineapple, strawberry, guava, grape... they make different flavours on different days. This picture is from my mom's latest visit there: pineapple, butterscotch and chocolate flavours... sweet! I've even seen jamun sheera on the menu once. The daily sheera special is listed on the whiteboard outside, so check out the flavour and see if it tempts you to walk in :)

- By Aishwarya Pramod Why Loiter is a campaign that anyone can join from anywhere. The idea behind the campaign is very simple: it encourages women to loiter aimlessly about their city and make use of its public spaces :). In the face of victim-blaming and increased restrictions on women’s mobility, the campaign wants to create a sense of a community of women in public space, so that we can remind ourselves and other women that we are not alone. This Sunday, I was going to meet a friend in Matunga. I saw the campaign on Facebook, so I took some pictures and hashtagged them #whyloiter. I took a short bus ride to bustling Maheshwari Udyan (King’s Circle) and met my friend for dinner at Spring Onion. The starters were especially good. We told ourselves we’d come back there some other day and eat only 3 or 4 starters, no need of main course. Then we wandered around near Five Garden and chilled… some photography happened there. Turns out my phone is not great at nigh...