The feeling of wanting to go on leave has never been so high in many years. Even though it is hot here during summers, I am fine with the weather, however this year has been the height. With summers coming late, only by early June, we thought it should be fine but it has been really unbearable. The humidity is at its sticky best, the air is thick with dust and standing in the kitchen or moving out in the mornings is a literal nightmare. While I hear that it is heavily raining back home with some respite here and there, I can’t but wait to go back and have my lazy days. However, past experience has shown that the rains tend to run away by the time I reach home. 😕 Today’s call to D only aggravated my fears of seeing minimal rains. But still, as long as…
Ethapazham Madhuracurry ~ Ripe Plantain Lentil Sweet Curry
As we roll into the last days of this precious month, it is a two fold feeling – the sadness that Ramadan is leaving us this time and the excitement that Eid is coming. Eid-ul-Fitr is Allah’s way of giving us relief from the tough days of Ramadan that we have had, at the same time, for some serious stock taking of how much we have learned from the month and how much of it can we move forward with during the rest of our life. It is a festival where we thank Him for giving us the strength, perseverence and willpower to submit to His Will. However, just like I stated, it is also a time for us to consider continuing the work that we carried out during Ramadan till the next Ramadan, InShaAllah… How easy it is to do, is totally upto us but with His help,…
Irachi Varattiyathu ~ Roast Meat with Coconut Peices
Last Thursday, my parents arrived. Alhamdulillah, the feeling of having them back even though for a little time is priceless. There is a little extra joy coming ahead as my sister and her boy will join us this Thursday evening for a couple of weeks, InShaAllah… Looking forward to a fun filled Eid… 🙂 Ramadan is moving at a dizzying pace and somehow I am not able to keep up the pace. No wonder it is said, that “Ramadan is like a rare flower, that blossoms once a year. Just when you begin to smell its fragrance, it disappears for another year.” Whoever said this, has said it so true… 🙁 As I was going through the posts over the past few weeks, I have not posted any “serious” recipes as such. They have all been quick fixes – like juices, and snacks. I must say that when…
Creamy Mushroom Soup
Last week, I had the opportunity to host a week long of recipe sharing for a very dynamic group. The UAE Food Guide has been active on Facebook for the past three years and now they have moved to having their own page to promote their activities. It is a group of enthusiastic people, who have bound on the common love for food and bring in more interest in the name of food. From being a small group, it has grown to a strong 9K+ member community. The group committee is now into recipes, restaurant reviews and discussions related to food. To make Ramadan interesting, the committee decided to invite four foodies to host a week each, sharing their recipes to the group, giving ideas to the group members for Iftar and Suhoor. I am glad to have taken up the opportunity and interacted with the members of the…
Harees ~ Emirati Wholewheat Mash
Ramadan is incomplete in this part of the world without a regular supply of “Harees”. I bet anybody who has been here will agree. “Harees” is nothing that whole wheat slow cooked along with mutton and bones till nicely mashed. Umma would say that in those days (early 80s), she has seen the maids at the Arab houses would have a huge pot outside the house kept on a makeshift stove, with fire from dried date palm or wood and they would stir in once in a while to ensure it doesn’t stick. The harees would be cooked for hours till you are unable to distinguish the whole wheat nor the mutton. The bones that would be floating on top would be fished out and then the harees would be packed in casseroles with a generous topping of ghee, called as “smen”. These are then distributed to the…
Chakkakuru Unda ~ Jackfruit Seeds Sweet
This weekend, we took the time to complete off our Ramadan grocery shopping. Though not much, it is still a task in itself. During the month, normally our visits to the supermarkets go to the minimum since there will be hardly time to adjust in between. As we picked up what was required and was waiting at the counter, the family in front of us had already put in their groceries on the till and were waiting for their bill. They stood in the line with the trolley, then a pram, and the ladies of the family (a mother and a daughter) behind it. Their billing was already done, the grocery was packed, the gentleman was paying the bill, yet nobody took care to move a bit ahead to put the grocery back into the trolley and make way for the others in the queue, since there were already…
Mathan Vellapayar Erisseri – Pumpkin Black Eye Peas Erisseri
The feel of calm after a storm is different. I really don’t know whether I like it. When life is a bit topsy-turvy, our mind is full on at work – looking for signals of any more trouble coming, being content if there is nothing coming, getting tensed when something comes by, not mentioning the constant pain and heart aches which comes along with it. But once that phase passes by and things come back to normal, there is an eerie emptiness. All of a sudden, you feel that the moment passed by, even though it has taken ages to move on. Fighting that emptiness and filling up your time with worthy hobbies is what is then required. No wonder why He tells us, “Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace.” (Surah Ar-Rad:28) Irrespective of whether we are going through turbulent times or peaceful times, keeping…
Chukandar Halwa ~ Beetroot Milk Sweet
Some people come and go in your life and are not meant to be there, even if it is your wish. How much ever you try to cling to them, they will slide off through the middle of your fingers when the time comes. There are two ways of taking it – either buckle up under the pressure of losing them or taking the matter in your own stride and moving on. There were times when I used to wonder, why do people leave and go, and what did I do wrong that they had to leave me and go. I guess, with passage of time, age and experiences, we tend to see each and every happening in your life on a much larger perspective and give it a holistic look, rather than only from your shoes. This learning does not happen overnight – it takes its own time to…
Koonthal Porichathu ~ Malabar Squid Fry
Even though I love fish, the folks at home are not very fond of it. This includes the kids. It’s not they don’t eat, but fish alone as a meal does not satisfied them in any way. With the goodness of fish, this should be a meal I should be trying to be including at least once a week, but most of the time, that doesn’t happen. 🙁 Especially with me on a vegan diet, the cooking of fish has literally gone to zero. I am somehow surprised that none of my umma’s genes have gone to the kids. Umma and my sister are fish crazy. Umma seems to have mellowed down with age but my sister would eat fish morning, afternoon and evening. After moving to US, due to the lack of fresh fish, she has limited her eating but once she comes home, she fills herself with…
Chicken Giblets Fry
Almost this month is finishing. Wow, four months over! Before we even know Ramadan will come, Eid will come and go and then InShaAllah would be going home in August so the next four months are bringing in a lot of excitement, hopefully… I was wondering, whether this super fast pace of life is a reminder for us in some way or the other… I guess over thinking is also not good… What we need to do is to make the best out of the limited time we have… Just like having some giblets… Giblets for me reminds me of the breakfast at wedding homes back home. If chicken biriyani is on menu for lunch, then breakfast is a guaranteed porotta and parts (wings, neck, giblets and liver) curry. 🙂 I am not a fan of liver but I love to have giblets and absolutely love its chewy…
Kanjiyum Chammanthiyum ~ Rice Porridge with Coconut Chutney
Aren’t there meals that we crave for, even though as children we may have hated it? Then that is what kanjiyum chammanthiyum is for me! Whenever the feeling of illness creeps in, a Keralite soul would yearn only for a big bowl of salted kanji and the spicy chammanthi to go along with it. When we were kids, we used to hate kanji. Whenever D would go for work late evenings after office hours, we would get irritated that he was not taking us out. His standard comment would be, “Kanji kudikkande?” (Don’t we need to have kanji?) It literally means that he has to earn so that we can have our food. Hehe… And we so nastily would just reply back, “Kanji venda, biriyani mathi.” (We don’t want kanji, we want biriyani!) 😀 Such is the fixation with kanji in our side. Kanji is basically…
Lobia (Black Eyed Beans) Salad
There was a time when I used to so keenly look out for weekends. But now, even though I love weekends, I have been turning terribly lazy to move out of home off late. With the doctor advising against sleeping in the morning, which means that I must be awake from 5 am even if I don’t have much to do, I feel the days longer and thankfully a lot of my chores finish off in the morning. But waking up early also means sleeping early, but on a weekend it is a difficult thing to happen, so I try my maximum not to go out or if we do move out, we don’t go off to any far off destinations and we are back home in time to sleep early. HD is the happiest, since I have moved from a cranky wife who wanted to go out to…