26th May- Lipakshi and our Date at Doaba

Lipakshi and I

I am on a diet; my best friend Lipakshi  (in picture) keeps telling me that only a best friend like her will be honest enough to tell me that I'm fat. Sometimes I wish she weren't that honest with me, because she says that quite often....which makes me defiant, and I secretly go to the places where we get the yummiest of food and, well, I eat to my heart’s delight!


Maybe after reading this column I might get into trouble with Lipakshi, but I intend to make it up to her by taking her to Doaba Sweets and Restaurant. The 'garma -garam' Jalebi ought to make her heart melt. On my last visit there I met with the owner of the place, Mr. Narinder Soor; what a pleasant man to speak with. He is passionate about food and the magical power of words. Not many people know this about him: he also writes lyrics to songs! Mr. Soor comes to Canada from Khushalpur, Punjab. He first moved here in 1988 and since then has made our lives wonderful and healthy with his 100% vegetarian food. Mr. Soor, tells me about how this is his family business. He helped with the first Doaba, which opened 10 years ago in Brampton and is still a success. This restaurant is owned by his elder brother. Mr. Soor now has his very own Doaba in Mississauga, which is comparatively new at 3 years old.


While listening to Mr. Soor telling me about his family and their dedication to making this restaurant a success, I help my self to some of the delicious food they have to offer. I remember when I first moved to Canada a year ago, The Doaba was one of the first few restaurants I visited. I have never had better Chana Kulcha in my life! I sit here today as well eating the Chana Kulcha. They have really good Punjabi food in this restaurant. My husband Karthik's favourite is the Sarson ka Sag and Makki di Roti. We also love the thali they have and the best part is everything is 100% vegetarian! Recently they have started with the Gujarati thali as well. Those of you who do not have egg even in cakes should most definitely try their egg-less cake which they started about six months ago.

Jalebis made in Desi Ghee

The sweets corner of their shop has a variety to choose from: they have rasmalai, kulfi faluda, khoya and paneer sweets and not to forget the hot and delicious Jalebis which are served only on the weekends or on special order during the weekdays. The Jalebis are made true 'Desi-ishtyle' with desi ghee. Believe me, if I’m risking a stern reprimand from my wanna be mom/best friend Lipi, it’s bound to be good.

Try the Doaba out this weekend, and if you intend to have a party you should try out their catering option; it’s worth the money.

Doaba means uniting of 2 rivers; Doaba can also mean the story of two brothers, or the story of this couple - Narinder and Devinder's struggle to feed us good food...or the uniting of east and west to give us Doaba. Doaba for me means different types of kulchas, parathas, chaat items and not to forget the life saving Jalebis!

The Doaba is located on: 5390 Terry Fox Way, Mississauga, ON L5V0A5

19th May Whats making News in Peel!

Summer is around the corner so how many of you have decided what to do with your time? I always try to exercise or go for long walks but then they just end up being one time events... I wish there was some consistency! So now I scheme to do something else... I can't shed the weight so now I plan to learn something new and expand my horizon!

How you ask? Well there are several things you can do with your time... how about volunteering for the Mosaic Festival (http://www.mosiacfest.com/) ? It's the best event that happens in this part of the region! 'Nachan ge sari raat' is a dance competition that they are organising and the deadline for submissions is 30 of May.

I have two left feet so I'm going to first learn how to dance! There are a few very talented people who teach dance here... like the Diya Dance Academy; then there is the Lopa Sarkar who teaches some real good bollywood and bhangra numbers.

So I think I shall be ready for the competition next year! But then who says we can't learn things like playing the tabla or some other instrument? There are several places that one can go to learn that as well. For example I have seen Amar Seepersad and his students perform and they are amazing to watch and listen! The Tabla House gets two thumbs up from me!

If music and dance just isn't your scene, then how about learning martial arts? Every body wants to learn karate, but have you ever thought of Gatka? Gatka is the spiritual and physical martial art of the Sikhs. Sarabjit Singh of the Yudh Combat Training Academy can give you some classes and no one would ever mess with you again!

On Wednesday June 2nd, SAPNA and Holistic Nutritionist and Homeopathic Doctor Sunita Mohan will take our taste buds on an aromatically tantalizing and nutritious journey through the culinary worlds of India and Malaysia. What else is making news this week...Martys awards are coming up on 3rd of June while we end May with Carassauga! So many exciting things happening!

There is good food, dancing and music to make summer exciting... more next week!

Welcome to my Column

Welcome to my Kaleidoscope, an ever changing reflection of things I see, places I visit and people I meet… This is a column for those who want to try out something new or to merely get entertained with my ramblings. I moved to Mississauga a year ago from Delhi, India. Having moved from Delhi, where if you are to smile at a stranger would mean trouble, to a country where it’s impolite to not smile back to random strangers, a lot has changed through the year! But what hasn’t changes is my desire to stay connected to my roots.

Karthik and I

Marriage and a great husband brought me to Canada, where I reside in Mississauga. The GTA is a great place to live in. I don’t feel I am away from home, just away from a few people who matter to me. Everything Desi is available here. I remember the first time I went into a shop to buy groceries the first thing I saw in the rack was Parle-g biscuits!

The ‘Desi’ in me still loves a good bargain when I get one, love the ‘desi’ foods we eat and I still love wearing our Traditional clothes. Like all working women I love getting to go out and eat rather than stay at home and cook, my husband loves going out cause it saves him from eating my burnt food. Do you like eating chole kulche, have you tried the Doaba at Derry road east, well if you haven’t you should! You should also try the Pav bhaji and Vada Pav- Mumbai ‘ishtyle’ made at Bombay Delight at highway 10 and Dundas. Keep a watch on this space for more information on great deals.

Until next week…Take care!