Malted Chocolate Milk Shake

I’m a self-confessed Chocoholic and what better way to beat the heat than with a cold creamy glass of malted (dark) chocolate milk shake?

Here’s the recipe:

2 scoops chocolate ice cream
1/2 cup milk (chilled)
2-3 ice cubes
1 tbsp dark chocolate (finely chopped)
1 tsp Horlicks (milo, ovaltine or any other malt-based cocoa powder works too)
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 pinch salt
2-3 drops vanilla extract

METHOD: Just mix up all the ingredients and blend using a hand-blender (or a regular one). Garnish with chocolate shavings (I prefer using dark chocolate kit-kat). Serve immediately.

 

Culture Vulture – Of Horses And Camels

Karachi is famous for its black-sand beach, and owing to the frequent oil spills, it keeps getting blacker by the day. But that is not what fascinates me about it. Its rather the culture that has developed at the beach, it being the only (affordable/accessible) source of outdoor activity for the otherwise entertainment-starved Karachiites.

The beaches here are abuzz with uniquely interesting sources of entertainment. With the kids flying kites and the families bathing/swimming in the sea, you will be able to spot tens of oont-walas (camel riders) and ghoray-walas (horse riders), willing to sublet their pets to you for a mere 10 to 20 cents per ride for an experience that will last you a lifetime. Here’s a glimpse of my city. Enjoy!

 

Light Experiments – My Daughter’s Toys

Every time I get a new toy for my daughter, I inadvertently end up playing with it myself, just because toys these days are so complex, so interesting, so fascinating. Interestingly though, (Chinese) toy designers have cleverly integrated readily available (cheap) lighting technology such as LEDs into their creations, making them a little more attractive and appealing to today’s kids (who wants those boring toys from the 80′s anyways?).

At times, I can’t help myself but photograph these creations, sometimes with dramatic results. Presented here, are two of the toys that are (were) my favorites, may they rest in peace (pieces).

 

Blast From The Past – Shah Shams Tabrez, Multan

Shah Shams Tabrez is one of the thousands of saints buried in Multan, Pakistan. There are quite a few legends and/or miracles associated with him, the most popular being him requesting the sun to come down and roast a raw fish he held in his palms. To this day, many natives relate the insanely temperate summers in Multan with this legend, but only God knows better.

His shrine was built around 1330 AD by his grandson and renovated around 1710 AD. Keeping in tradition with the exquisite Islamic architecture prevalent in that era, his shrine has a very distinct style. The use of color glazed tiles all over the dome and the exterior is note-worthy and awe-inspiring. Unfortunately when I went there though, the inside of the mausoleum was under construction and I couldn’t take any shots of the interior. Here are some photos I did manage to take and I hope you like them.

The Bazaar at the Shrine

 

The Cheat Sheet

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, a sonnet by William Wordsworth, is undoubtedly an English classic. But for an eighth grader, it can be a nightmare, especially if he/she belongs to a country where English is not the native language. So I wasn’t surprised to see this lying on the ground outside my office one day. This is a Cheat Sheet, or a pharra, as we native Urdu speakers like to call it, and it must have belonged to one of the students at the nearby school. Measuring a mere 3 inches by 4 (approximately), this contains the critical appreciation of the aforementioned sonnet and looks like a work of art; I just hope the student passed!

Needless to say, it brought back a lot of fond memories. Damn, I used to be daring (nothing implied)!