The Big Jupiter Transit to Sagittarius!

Everyone is awaited with bated breath for the impending Jupiter transit which is looming large as it get sets to enter it's own sign of Sagittarius. Transits of slow moving planets such as Saturn, Rahu/Ketu and Jupiter generally garner a lot of interest among the general public and very many are curious about how it will play out for them. To be frank, just with a single planet transit nothing really can be deduced and in essence studying these transitory phenomenons just portray a glimpse of how the upcoming picture is likely to shape up. I suggest don't take transits too seriously but just use it as a generic indication in the overall scheme of things.

Jupiter along with Venus is considered as the only two pure natural benefic planets in vedic astrology. There is an extra footprint for Jupiter because it's transit is somewhat sporadic taking place only once a year on an average as opposed to it's contemporary Venus who transits a sign virtually every other month. Thus, you will see Jupiter coming to this particular sign of Dhanus Rasi or Sagittarius zodiac after almost 12 years and next time it is expected to happen again after only another dozen years. Also the fact that it will be congregating with Saturn & Ketu who are already stationed in the sign of Sagittarius adds that dose of extra prominence. And for the uninitiated, let me share a bite of a masala chilli spicy information. The last time these 3 planets joined forces in the fire sign of Sagittatius was behold way back almost 300 years ago in 1723.

While studying transits, the two key reference points are the Ascendant (body) and the Moon (mind). The Ascendant or Lagna harps on the physical angle where as the Moon rasi throws it's weight on the emotional side. These two many a time are complementary and is known to signify the physical framework and mental structure of an individual. As per all shastra's it's the moon sign which is pivotal when ascertaining transits but factoring in the Lagna also makes sense as any horoscope in general is always read with reference to the Ascendant being the first house. Apart from these two indexes, it's valid to also perhaps consider the karaka planet in question which is Jupiter as it would add an extra dimension in knowing how many signs Jupiter has moved from it's own natal placement. After all, this transit is all about Jupiter and it's known to have an expansive tendency.

I believe it would be futile to look at transits without considering the tool of Ashtakavarga which is a point based handy system and designed quite exclusively for transits. One important point to note in the placeholder is that even in this system, it's the planet Jupiter that contributes the maximum points of 56 out of a maximum of 337.

As mentioned out of the 56 points contributed, it casts 9 benefic dots or points to the Ascendant whereas the Moon is bestowed with only 5 benefic dots.
From the Lagna, Jupiter is given benefic dots in houses 1,2,4,5,6,7,9,10,11
From the Moon, Jupiter is given benefic dots in houses  2,5,7,9,11
Thus in essence out of a possible 24 points (12 for Lagna & 12 for Moon), Jupiter is conferring 14 points (9+5) which is only about 60%.

We find here that places 2,5,7,9,11 are commonly beneficial from both the point of view of the Lagna as well as that of the Moon with the Lagna additionally benefiting the 1st (temporal strength), 4th (default place of exaltation as per natural zodiac), 6th (service) and 10th (fame & recognition). Jupiter in essence is the karaka for the 2nd (wealth, resources), 5th (children & intelligence), 9th (father, luck) and 11th (gains, desires). Jupiter placed from itself is given benefic dots in houses 1,2,3,4,7,8,10,11. It is interesting to note here that Jupiter is devoid of being a benefic when it transits into the 5th and 9th from itself. Some food for thought here as I believe this could be on account of Karako Bhava Nashaya concept which indicates that the signifying planet fails to give results for the houses it connotes and we know that the fundamental natural karaka of Jupiter is 5th house and as per default rasi / Kala Purusha chart it holds ownership of the 9th house.

Thus, lets now look at the signs where Jupiter is expected to cast his auspiciousness in the upcoming one year time frame in the office of Sagittarius. One needs to look at both their Ascendant sign & Moon sign and infer the result accordingly.

Results of Zodiac Signs:
Mesha / Aries: Transiting in to the 9th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (9th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (9th sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Rishaba / Taurus: Transiting in to the 8th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Negative (8th sign is not favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (8th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Bad

Mithuna / Gemini: Transiting in to the 7th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (7th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (7th sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Karka / Cancer: Transiting in to the 6th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (6th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (6th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Neutral

Simha / Leo: Transiting in to the 5th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (5th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (5th sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Kanya / Virgo: Transiting in to the 4th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (4th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (4th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Neutral

Thula / Libra: Transiting in to the 3rd sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Negative (3rd sign is not favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (3rd sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Bad

Vrischika / Scorpio: Transiting in to the 2nd sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (2nd sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (2nd sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Dhanus / Sagittarius: Transiting in to the 1st sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (1st sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (1st sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Neutral

Makara / Capricorn: Transiting in to the 12th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Negative (12th sign is not favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (12th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Bad

Kumbha / Aquarius: Transiting in to the 11th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (11th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (11th sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Meena / Pisces: Transiting in to the 10th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Benefic (10th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Malefic (10th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Individual Score for all 144 Lagna & Rasi combinations:
The table below assigns scores for all 144 Lagna and Rasi combinations. The tool used for this is Ashtakavarga benefic dots given for Jupiter's placement with respect to both Lagna and Moon. A beneficial placement from Lagna is given 40 points whereas a beneficial placement from Moon is given 60 points. The reason Moon is allocated slightly higher weight-age is because study of transits in general are reckoned with respect to the level of the mind which in essence is the rasi in which Moon is positioned in the Natal horoscope.

Statistical Analysis:
- Houses 3,8,12 are bad for Jupiter both from the angle of Lagna as well as Moon. Hence the 3 major zodiac signs facing the brunt this time happen to be Rishaba (Taurus), Thula (Libra) and Makara (Capricorn).
- Houses 1,4,6,10 are good for Jupiter from the view point of Lagna but not from the Moon. Thus the neutral signs for this Jupiter transit are Karka (Cancer), Kanya (Virgo), Dhanus (Sagittarius) and Meena (Pisces).
- Houses 2,5,7,9,11 are great for Jupiter from the lens of both the Lagna as well as that of Moon. The propitious zodiac signs with regard to this particular Jupiter transit are Mesha (Aries), Mithuna (Gemini), Simha (Leo), Vrischika (Scorpio) and Kumbha (Aquarius).
- Out of the above 5 zodiac signs, the best of the lot can be said to be Mesha followed by Simha as Jupiter is not only a friend to both Mars (ruler of Mesha) and Sun (ruler of Simha) but it's presence as ruler of Sagittarius means it holds ownership to their trikona lords viz 9th and 5th lord respectively. For Scorpio also it's highly favourable but just slightly lesser as we are more inclined to the place of Dhanus which happens to be 2nd lord for Scorpio and hence not as felicitous as owning 5th and 9th lordship. This would be followed by Kumbha (ruled by Saturn) and Mithuna (ruled by Mercury) as Jupiter holds kind of a neutral relationship with these 2 planets.
- Combining Lagna and Moon, we have a sum total of 144 positions (12 Lagnas & 12 Moon signs) out of which 60 places (42%) are providential and 36 places (25%) are not conducive from both stand points. 48 places making up roughly 33% is favourable from Lagna perspective alone.

Conclusion:
This is just a high level cockpit analysis of Jupiter's transit to Sagittarius. A horoscope has a plethora of factors to be viewed and transits happen to be just one solitary area. Again even from the transit angle, we have looked only at a particle of Jupiter and things could take twists & turns with the other big fellow Saturn also expected to move signs very soon. However, despite the inherent limitations, transits act as a gleam of light and tends to be a trigger point source especially when one is looking forward to an event taking place. You never know, the torch of transit can add that extra impetus with Jupiter's light of reflection being the harbinger that you're really looking forward to.

Yearly Transit Horoscope Charts in Vedic Astrology

Everyone is seemingly interested to know what the upcoming year holds for them and in the astrological parlance there are methods to deduce how things are likely to pan out through the yearly charts. There are different variations of reading yearly charts and I am listing below snippets of the methodologies adopted and how to utilize them. In my humble opinion, Vedic Astrology is a very vast tool and just with one factor you cannot really come to a conclusion. Results should be witnessed from a unified wholesome picture and the more factors supporting with basis points, the higher are the chances of events fructifying.

I shall now list down 7 types of Yearly Transit charts and give a low down on what they are all about and how to use them.
- General Transit Chart
- Tajika Solar Return Chart
- Tithi Pravesh Lunar Return Chart
- Lal Kitab Varshapal Chart
- Bhrigu Chakra Paddathi Chart
- Sudharshan Chakra Dasha Chart
- Progression Chart

General Transit Chart
This is the general way of reading transit charts taking the fixed position of Moon as per your Natal horoscope and reading the other planets with reference to the natal Moon position. It's a good ploy to do the same with the Ascendant as well as most of the time Lagna & Moon go in sync with one another with the Ascendant representing the physical aura and the Moon projecting the mental mindset. The chart can be drawn up at the time of date of birth of every year concerned and the transit placements of planets need to be considered with respect to both Lagna and Moon. In case an impending planet transit is to take place few days from your birthday date, it is good to keep that in mind as well. Additionally it would also be good to check the position of the planet in transit with respect to the same planet as placed in the natal chart. For instance if Jupiter was in Aquarius at birth but at the time of charting yearly horoscope if it is in Sagittarius, it means it's placed 11 places from it's own natal position which could indicate conferring some sort of gains.

Illustration:
Let's say someone's birth Ascendant is Cancer and natal moon is in Virgo. For instance if it's the 24th year of an individual and we find that at time of drawing up of chart, Jupiter is placed in Scorpio. We know that Jupiter in transit is said to give best results in 2,5,7,9,11. Thus, we can infer that from a physical point of view Jupiter shows positive results but however from a mental framework Jupiter in 3rd is not said to be favorable and hence we can say that overall this transit of Jupiter will be of a middling level ie successful from view point of physical self but negative from an emotional point of view. Like this we can assess the scope of other transit planets also with respect to both Ascendant and Moon.

Summary:
Methodology: Reading of yearly horoscope by fixing the Natal Ascendant and Moon as the base and reading the transits of planets based on this reference
Transit of Planets: Considered into account and effects needs to be read from both Natal Ascendant and Natal Moon
Chart Erection: The date of birth in every year
Focus: Read the horoscope inferring the transiting planets with reference to both Natal Ascendant and Natal Moon

Tajika Solar Return Chart
This methodology as the name suggests adopts the Solar Return Chart but here we do not fix a Lagna or Moon and all the 9 planets in addition to the Ascendant are read as per what is projected in the map of heavens at the time when chart is cast. The chart is drawn up at the time of the solar return which effectively means the degree stamp in which Sun returns to its natal position which would most likely be on the date you were born or a day apart either side. Tajika has a few other specific factors to be kept in mind such as Lord of the Year which is key and generally considered to be the strongest among 5 factors mentioned below:

A) Lord of the sign occupied by the Sun or Moon:
If the Solar return chart commences at day time, then lord of the sign where sun is placed in Annual Horoscope is considered whereas if the solar return chart originates during night time, then lord of the sign where moon is placed in Annual Horoscope needs to be considered. For this purpose, Day time is reckoned from sunrise to sunset and Night time is accounted from sunset to next sunrise
Illustration:
Let's say Sunrise is at 6:05 AM and Sunset is at 6:09 PM. Sun's Natal degree is 12.20'. Let's say we are casting the chart for the 33rd solar year and the time when Sun touches it's Natal degree is at 4:45 PM, then lord of sign where Sun sits needs to be taken, if however it was 8:40 PM in the night when sun reaches it's natal position, then Lord of sign where Moon is sitting has to be considered.

B) Lord of the Ascendant in the Birth Horoscope:
This is plain and simple, you take your original Ascendant as seen in birth horoscope and consider the ruler of the sign for the lord of the year.
Illustration:
If one is born in Mithuna Lagna, then Mercury is to be considered and likewise if one were born when Aquarius was rising, then Saturn has to be taken into account since it rules Aquarius.

C) Lord of the Ascendant in the Progressed Horoscope:
This happens to be the lord of the sign where the Ascendant is stationed at the time the chart is drawn which is when the Sun reaches its exact natal degree position.
Illustration:
Lets say when Sun reaches it's Natal Degree in the Solar Return chart, the Ascendant at that point of time is Capricorn. Thus, Saturn being ruler of Capricorn is to be considered for Lord of the year

D) Lord of Muntha:
It is believed that for every completed year, the Ascendant moves a sign. Muntha is said to travel one sign in each year beginning from the natal position. We need to consider the Lord of the progressed Ascendant for the year in reckoning to determine the Lord of the year.
Illustration:
Lets say natal Lagna is Gemini and we are now drawing up chart for the 26th year. In this case the 1st year begins with Gemini and it completes a cycle in the 12th year with Lagna being in Taurus. The same channel operates for years 13-24. Lagna returns to Gemini for the 25th year and in the 26th year it will be in Cancer. Thus, the Muntha sign will be Cancer and the lord of Muntha will be Moon.

E) Lord of Thrirasis:
This depends on whether the solar return chart is erected during day time or night time. Based on that a fixed lordship is assigned to all signs and wherever the Ascendant of the Solar chart falls depending on whether it was during the day or night we need to look up to the Day time and Night time planetary rulers of the signs and select them accordingly.
Aries - Sun (Day), Jupiter (Night)
Taurus - Venus (Day), Moon (Night)
Gemini - Saturn (Day), Mercury (Night)
Cancer - Venus (Day), Mars (Night)
Leo - Jupiter (Day), Sun (Night)
Virgo - Moon (Day), Venus (Night)
Libra - Mercury (Day), Saturn (Night)
Scorpio - Mars (Day), Venus (Night)
Sagittarius - Saturn (Day), Saturn (Night)
Capricorn - Mars (Day), Mars (Night)
Aquarius - Jupiter (Day), Jupiter (Night)
Pisces - Moon (Day), Moon (Night)
Illustration:
let's say Sunrise is at 6:05 AM and Sunset is at 6:09 PM and the solar return chart is determined at 4:20 PM which falls in Day time in the Ascendant of Scorpio, then we need to consider Mars being the Day lord of Scorpio. Likewise let's say the solar return chart is cast at 9:15 PM which falls in Night time in the Ascendant of Leo, then we need to take Sun since it is the night lord of Leo.

Summary:
Methodology: Reading of yearly horoscope based on solar return chart by giving importance to the Lord of the Year comprising of 5 key factors
Transit of Planets: Fully taken into consideration
Chart Erection: Yearly Solar Chart (When Sun returns to it's exact degree point in the zodiac sign)
Focus: Read the horoscope inferring the transiting planets based mainly with respect to the Tajika  Lagna arising for the year and also subjecting a magnified zooming to the assessed Lord of the Year.

Tithi Pravesh Lunar Return Chart
The Tithi's are the one's that make up a lunar month and each of the months consists of 15 Tithis constituting the brighter half and another 15 Tithis representing the darker half. The Tithi one is born assumes paramount importance as it is formed based on the inter-relationship of the Sun (Father) and Moon (Mother) and hence can be an important reckoning to indicate the start of a new birth. Thus, the return of the Tithi in the respective luni-solar month is considered as the orientation of a new year. It can end up being a few days away or after your actual Birthday date as a lunar year tends to be shorter than a solar year. The Tithi Pravesh Chart is constructed at the exact time containing the remaining tithi percentage of your birth in the respective luni solar month. As it's like a new arising, reading a chart based on the remaining tithi percentage can give a basis of how the year is likely to pan out.

Illustration:
Let's say if someone was born in Shukla Paksha Tritiya Tithi with 40% remaining in the lunar month of Pushya when Sun was stationed in the sign of Capricorn. Now lets say for 32nd year if we are computing Tithi Pravesh chart, we need to cast the chart when Sun returns to the sign of Capricorn and the respective Shukla Paksha Trithiya Tithi is operating and having 40% remaining percentage. The Lunar month could continue to be Pushya or even move to Magha on account of ensuring Sun ends up being in the same rasi as that of birth.

Summary:
Methodology: Reading of yearly horoscope based on Lunar return chart considering the remaining birth tithi percentage
Transit of Planets: Fully taken into consideration
Chart Erection: Luni-Solar Chart (When Sun and Moon re-unite to form the exact Tithi percentage remaining as witnessed at birth in the respective solar month in which Sun is transiting)
Focus: Read the horoscope inferring the transiting planets based mainly with respect to the Tithi Pravesh Lagna occuring for the year.

Lal Kitab Varshapal Chart
This is employed based on the principles of Lal Kitab Astrology. In this chart we do not consider the positions of any planets witnessed presently as per the transits but instead deploy alterations to the positions of the planets as per the natal chart making planets change houses. Lal Kitab does not give importance to signs and the first house is always reckoned from Aries. For instance if at birth you are having Sun, Mercury, Venus in the 8th house, in year 30 all these planets will move to 12th house, in the 10th house in 31st year, 6th house in 32nd year and so on and so forth. There is a 120 year table noting down the houses where the planets placed in your natal chart will move for that particular year in operation.

Illustration:
Let's say someone were born in Cancer Lagna with Jupiter in the first house, Moon & Mars in 3rd house, Sun/Mercury/Venus in 4th house, Rahu in 5th house, Saturn in 8th house and Ketu in 11th house. Now if we were to draw up Lal Kitab Varshapal chart for say 25th year, one needs to look at the placement of planets in the 25th year as seen below:

House No. of planets as per horoscope               1 2  3  4 5 6 7 8  9 10 11 12
House position of planets in 25th year                 1 6 10 3 2 8 7 4 11  5 12  9

Thus as per Lal Kitab Varshapal chart for 25th year, Jupiter will be in 1st house, Moon&Mars will be in 10th house, Sun/Mercury/Venus will be in 3rd house, Rahu in 2nd house, Saturn in 4th house and Ketu in 12th house. Please note chart ascendant will always be Aries and Rahu/Ketu need not be in 1/7 axis when drawing up the Varshapal chart.

Summary:
Methodology: Reading of yearly horoscope based on shifted planetary position of houses as per 120 year Varshapal Table reckoned from each running year
Transit of Planets: Not taken into consideration
Chart Erection: The date of birth in every year
Focus: Read the horoscope inferring the shifted house positions of planets from natal chart

Bhrigu Chakra Paddathi Chart
This method does not employ transit positions and the key to this measure is rotating the Ascendant each year in a house in cycles of 12. The 1st house rules the first year of one's life, 2nd house rules the second year, 3rd house rules the third year and so on and so forth with the 12th house ruling one's twelfth year. Now, this cycle is continued with the 1st house ruling the 13th year, 2nd year lording the 14th year etc. Please note the positions of the planets are static and don't change at all. It's just that with each year passing by, that particular house gets activated and we can expect results with respect to the particular year and house in question.

Illustration:
Let's say someone has just turned 28 and is entering into his 29th year. Now since we are taking cycles of 12, we see that quotient is 2 (12 times 2 is 24) and reminder is 5 (29-24). Hence we can say that the 5th house is getting activated and we must see results based on which planets are sitting in that house, the aspects it receives and the position of the owner of the 5th house. In case we are looking into the horoscope of a Simha Lagna native, then Dhanus being the 5th house gains prominence and we need to look at the planets placed in Sagittarius as well as the aspects received and also importantly analyse the role of Jupiter being the house lord of Sagittarius.

Summary:
Methodology: Reading of yearly horoscope based on planets placement in natal chart by shifting the Ascendant one house for each year
Transit of Planets: Not taken into consideration
Chart Erection: The date of birth in every year
Focus: Read the horoscope inferring the activated house by considering the placement of planets, aspects received and the role played by the lord of the activated house

Sudarshana Chakra Dasa Chart
It is a technique where a yearly chart is studied from 3 different base points namely the position of  Ascendant, Moon and Sun which is said to denote the body at physical level, mind at mental level and soul at spiritual level respectively. In this system each of the 12 houses beginning from the 1st house is allotted a period of one year and chart for a forthcoming year is read by shifting all of the Ascendant, Moon & Sun individually to the year in question and reading the effect of the transiting planets based on the horoscope erected which adopts the solar return chart.

Illustration:
Let's say someone's birth horoscope has the Ascendant in the sign of Aries, Moon in Virgo and Sun in Pisces. If we want to read about the upcoming events in the 16th year, we need to consider the number 4 since we are dealing with a cycle of 12 and 16 divided by 12 will give quotient of 1 and reminder 4. Now we need to shift each of Ascendant, Moon and Sun 4 signs from their respective zodiac positions and read the solar return chart based on all these 3 reference points indicating the body, mind and soul. Thus in this case the 3 reference points will be Physical/Body Level Ascendant Cancer (4th from Aries), Mental/Mind Level Moon Sagittarius (4th from Virgo) and Spiritual/Soul Level Sun Gemini (4th from Pisces)

Summary:
Methodology: Reading of yearly horoscope based on solar return chart considering 3 reference points - Ascendant, Moon & Sun by progressing them at the rate of one sign per year
Transit of Planets: Considered into picture and effects needs to be read from all 3 basis points
Chart Erection: Solar Return Chart in each year
Focus: Read the horoscope inferring the transiting planets with respect to the progressed Ascendant (body), Moon (mind) & Sun (soul).

Progression Chart
This is a hypo illusionary chart utilizing the planets taking a year or more to transit such as Jupiter, Rahu/Ketu and Saturn. These are the planets whose transits we anticipate with an extra dose of excitement as there is plenty of expectations on the kind of results which they are going to bestow for those born in each Lagna or Rasi. Based on the year in question, we extrapolate how many signs these forces would have traversed based on their average transit motion which is considered as 1 year for Jupiter, 1 and half years for Rahu/Ketu and 2 and half years for Saturn. Most likely, these planets may match up with the same positions as seen in the running transit chart.

Illustration:
Let's say someone's natal Jupiter is in Cancer, Rahu in Libra, Ketu in Aries and Saturn in Capricorn. Now assuming we are drawing up chart for 22nd year, Jupiter will be Aries (Since one round of 12 gets completed in Gemini with the 13th year beginning in Cancer onwards and by counting one year for each sign the 22nd will be in Aries). Rahu will be in Leo (Rahu travels in reverse and hence one round of 18 years which is 1.5*12 gets completed in Scorpio. 18-19.5 years will be in Libra again, 19.5 to 21 years will be in Virgo and 21 to 22.5 will be in Leo). Since Rahu is in Leo, Ketu will automatically be in Aquarius being exact opposite. With respect to Saturn, it'll be in Virgo (Saturn travels 2.5 years in a sign and hence would have crossed 8 signs from natal placement at age of 20 which is 2.5*8 and will be in the 9th sign which is Virgo from 20-22.5 years of age).

Summary:
Methodology: Reading of yearly horoscope based upon utilizing those planets taking a year or more to transit across a sign
Transit of Planets: Not considered in reality but more as an extrapolation
Chart Erection: The date of birth in every year
Focus: Read the horoscope inferring the progressed position of yearly transit planets such as Jupiter, Rahu/Ketu & Saturn with respect to both Natal Ascendant and Natal Moon.

Kurtos - Chimney Cakes transported from Hungary!

The chimney cakes concept has caught on big time in a short stint of time. These have originated originally from Hungary and it's nice to see a specialty snack from Europe being transported to our very own Singara Chennai.

Kurtos is located by the side of Besant Nagar Beach and makes for a great evening snack. It is a little higher in rates than your usual short eats but comes across as being pretty stuffed and very filling. This outlet here is a little one and they have varied options on both the savory and sweetened side along with a bit of salads and shakes for company.

I was more aligned to try the savoury ones and hence went for an indian version of a butter panneer kurtos along with a traditional savoury Hungarian cake. I unfortunately didn't have the content to try the sweetened stuff and it's certainly reserved for another day as I'm greatly looking forward to try those ravishing looking cinnamon rolls.

The butter panneer chimney cone was nicely wrapped and what I liked about it was that the stuffing was right upto the brim and you did feel the masala in every bite of that soft dough roll. It was nicely herbed and the cheese garlic essence gave it the crackling taste it needed. I enjoyed relishing this hand held delight as I usually do adore these dunky delights and this one both had the taste and punch to give the perfect complementary effect.

The Hungarian classic chimney cake came with stuffings such as cheese, onion and paprika in a rolled over bread. This was more like a meal based option and the combination worked really well. It was a tad spicy largely due to the element of paprika but aligned very well on the taste factor. All in all, this too was quite enjoyable.

These chimney based items are a good addition to the ever growing Chennai food market and is perhaps another repertoire when it comes to one's snack craving appetite. The more the options always better and being the ever loving food denizen eagerly awaiting to to try varied spreads, these chimney based creations certainly gives an extra fillip to enjoy these fancy joyful wholesome cakes.

Madras Kitchen Company (MKC) - Touch of fusion yet artisanal!

MKC or Madras Kitchen Company is a newly opened restaurant as part of the sprawling Westin property in Velachery. The first impression gives you an instant thumbs up with the decor being striking and the ambiance aesthetic and appealing.

It gives a very laidback as well as an insouciant atmosphere with it's signature wood work and artisanal surroundings. The menu has been created in a very crafty manner coming in the form of a large newspaper with lots of snippets thrown in not only about the food but also the city of Chennai in general. The cuisine is largely regional with a twist as there is a lot of fusion element interspersed to it. A little bit of Asian too has been added to the fray.

We were here for lunch on a lazy weekday afternoon and looking forward to what the place has to offer. The first item itself blew us away which was an amalgamation of Amul cheese and a guntur chilli spread on a bed of bread. The fill over not only looked magnificent but also tasted superlative. Next up we tried the Asian Bao's. This was an open bao stuffed to the brim consisting of juicy pieces of tofu, capsules of edamame green gram and laced with drooly layers of mayo. This was messy, junky, dunky and damn tasty. After this we tried their innovative ghee tossed podi Idly which came with a delightful kurma and a chilli coconut relish. This was served in the school tiffin style and had an old world charm about it. From the starter section, we also tried the curd rice which came with interesting concoctions which we had towards the end of our meal.

The starter section was totally top notch and no two ways about it. In the main course, we had the bombay sampler of ragda, misal and bhaji with butter pao. Though bhaji is a popular dish down south, we very rarely get to taste ragda or misal and this was a well done up 3 in 1 combo. Apart from this we also had a crack at the aloo chole with kulche. This was decent but however the chole felt a little less boiled and the taste did not come out very apparently.

We polished our meal with two gorgeous desserts. The 54℅ chocolate textures with berries had a really rich and smooth taste to it. The Madras Kitchen Sundae with a cheese cake slitted in was really yummy and mellow.

The service was friendly and the staff were very welcoming in not only answering our queries but also suggesting us on how to go about with our choices. If you're looking for regional cuisine with a sleek fusion element interlaced to it, you should certainly check out Madras Kitchen Company.