Red's TFM: 2012

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Chicken BBQ Treat

Hello readers,

Today i will be sharing with you the recipe of a very special dish. It is special for me and my Adventure Gang and NO trip of ours is complete without it. Yes, it is our "Special Chicken BBQ". For others it is an ordinary BBQ tikka but we make it special and juicy with some special spices and lemon :) *yummy*

So, here is the recipe suggestion for a spicy BBQ Chicken.

2kgs Chicken Portions

1 tbsp Garlic Paste
1 tbsp Ginger Paste
8 tbsps Lemon Juice
75g Ghee or Oil
1 pack Shan Chicken Tikka BBQ Mix (Shan Masala is the best for BBQ)

1. Mix all the ingredients apart from the ghee/oil into a paste and cover the chicken pieces. Marinate for 1-2 hours.

2. Grill each chicken portion evenly on both sides until very light brown.

3. Brush with ghee/oil and continue to grill until the meat is tender and thoroughly cooked.

4. Squeeze a lil lemon over it & enjoy with Nestle Pudina Raita :)

MOuth watering chicken bbQ :)

Would you like some more? :)

Do share if you also have any special dish that you always cook and everyone at your home likes it.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Off to Siri-Paye

Siri Paye, (Urdu: سری پاے ‎) tenders a cheery voyage, away from the hectic day to day routine. Trip to this wonderful place in September carries promise of a cool and fresh weather coupled with a warm welcome from the local people. It is an enchanting hideout specially for newly married couples :) with amazing treks and bountiful thrills of walk in the valley.

Siri Paye's literally meaning in English is “Head and Feet”. Locals have many myths coined to assign an origin to this name. They say “Siri” was a Hindu lady who fell in love with Paye and Paye lived somewhere on the meadows called Paya.

Siri Paye is a Hill Top, 6 km from Shogran, which is only 10 km from Kiwai village. From Shogran, you can ride a jeep or horse or hike to Siri Paye, at a height of 3,000m or 10,000ft. Reach there either by hiring a four wheel jeep trailing over an uneven road or just trek. We went for the 4x4 option and it was really fun :) The patch is full of adventure. However some turns are enough to raise your hair but once you reach Siri Paye, you are truly pleased after a blood curdling journey as you catch the most fascinating glimpses of domed, lush green small hill.

There is a small local shop from where you can have the best cup of tea with some pakoras. This place is surrounded by mighty mountains like Makra Peak, mountains of Kashmir and Malika-e-Parbat. The view is amazing and i felt like sitting under the shades and looking at God's creation of these mighty mountains for long.

Let me share with you some of the pictures :)

Off to Siri & Paye

Greenery along the way :)

4x4 that gave us the most amazing ride :P

Sitting area in Paye with breathtaking view in front of us

Different mountain ranges

Best cup of tea

DCP station (Data Collection Station for snow and ice)

DCP Station in Siri-Paye

I literally shivered with cold when this little piece of cloud covered the sun

Siri Paye lake

Malika-e-Parbat on the extreme right

Mountains & Mountains :)

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Trip to Shogran

Shogran (Urdu: شوگران ‎) is a village situated on a green plateau in the Kaghan Valley, northern Pakistan at a height of 7,749 feet or 2,362 metres above sea level.

The village was affected by the earthquake of 2005 when some buildings were damaged.^[1]

Shogran is only 10 km from Kiwai village and 34 km from Balakot. The road from Islamabad to Kiwai is metalled and measures 212 km. From Shogran, you can ride a jeep or horse or hike to several picturesque places like Siri, Paye and Makra Peak. Hotels and motels are easily available at affordable costs. The local people are friendly and peaceful (Wikipedia)

I went to Shogran in September 2012. The road from Islamabad till Shogran was good. We stayed in Mansehra for a night and started our journey early morning next day. After crossing Balakot, we had breakfast in Kiwai. Kiwai is a famous stop over for visitors who like to have refreshments specially tea. All the excitement was in having tea while sitting in fresh flowing water. Water was so cold that one can hardly put feet in it. Weather was pleasant with warm sunshine and cool breeze. Weather usually changes in minutes so we wore warm clothes and kept extra shawls and sweaters also. It is hot in sunshine but when it is cloudy, temperature drops and it is freezing cold. Shogran has lush green beauty. You can see greenery everywhere. Specially Pine Park Hotel & Resorts is maintaining a very nice garden with many kinds of flowers and trees. They have a small tuck shop from where you can get everything you can imagine from hand gloves, caps, umbrella to jewellery and traditional bags.

I would love to share with you all the amazing pictures i took during this trip. Hopefully everyone who is planning to go to Shogran will have an idea of the weather in September, road and view that you will be enjoying.