One week of Ramadan has flown by and we are into the second week now. Isn’t it like that always, that the time you were so much awaiting for, comes by and flies by before you even realize? This is one such time for us… when blessing are promised in bountiful and when each and every good deeds with the right intentions will be taken into consideration… The Prophet (PBUH) has said: “Whoever fasts in Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.” (Sahih Bukhari) Further more, the Prophet (PBUH) has also said, “Fasting is a shield; it protects you from hell fire and prevent you from sins.” Both these Hadiths (sayings of the Prophet, as we call it) only goes to specify how important fasting is in terms of purifying one’s soul and mind. It all depends upon…
Masala Aleesa
I am seriously so excited today – being featured on a world class blog as a part of a series is not something small!!! My joy knew no bounds when Lubna Karim from Yummy Foods asked me to do a guest post as part of her initiative, “Joy From Fasting to Feasting – VI” to feature Muslim bloggers from all over the world who would come along to share their experiences about Ramadan and a recipe close to their heart. Being relatively new to the blogging world, I accepted with trepidation her invitation and set off to think what I should offer her. It was not easy deciding on a recipe, as Lubna is a well-established blogger who clicks absolutely amazing pictures that are accompanied by lip-smacking recipes, and the work I do is so amateur compared to what she does. But I really appreciated that she wanted to include me as a part of the…
Chakkakuru Payasam ~ Jackfruit Seeds Payasam
Just returned home after a nice family get together. Really enjoyed it to the core, a lot of talking and laughing… it’s been quite some time since we have had such a get together. Also considering the fact that this week will see the advent of Ramadan, which will mean a serious shortness of time in case of social activities as most of the time will go in a lot of religious activities, this get together was really enjoyed. Even though I am feeling tired, I am seriously feeling nice about it. 🙂 Once, my biggest-support colleague bought some payasam for us, so lovingly made by his wife. As usual, I got it in a little cup and being a food blogger, he wanted me to guess the ingredients that went into it. Seriously, I should tell you that I am very bad at guessing. When you sit to…
Manja Curry ~ Yellow Vegetable Curry
Yesterday was Rasha’s open house. The teacher was quite happy with her, even though she felt she could do much better. Even I agree, the only problem is that she is lazy and quite fidgety while studying. And Azza does not help that cause!!! She’s perfect fodder for her, when it comes to not wanting to study!! 🙂 Whatever said and done, I totally enjoy the phase that they are in and kind of feel sad that very soon, they will grow up to stop becoming the innocent kids that they are now. Even though I complain they don’t sleep, they don’t listen to me at times, they make a lot of noise, etc. but then inside, I really love each and every moment that I get with my girls. Alhamdulillah, they are truly a big blessing in our life!!! Not to mention, they are definitely their abba’s girls, ummi…
Soya Chunks Masala
I’m shocked I don’t have a topic to write about… hehe… so strange of me, right? Let me leave you guys with a quote – something I am trying to learn myself… Since the whole house knows that my D does not like soya chunks, we never keep stock of the same. I keep seeing recipes of soya chunks cooked in various formats and I really get intrigued as to how this would taste if properly cooked. So at a time when D was on his home visits, I bought a pack. Called my HD and asked, “Are you OK with soya?” “Yes, why ask?” “If you don’t eat, then there is no point in cooking, right?” “I’m OK with anything, you know that…” So with the help of google grandma (as she knows everything!!! 😉 ), I started looking around for a masala recipe. Mixing and matching…
Erachi Varattiyathu ~ Mutton Masala Curry
I don’t think I’ve to even say that the first half of the year is gone! Phew… that was too fast!!! In the process, we are growing older… I don’t think I have to focus much on that point, right? 🙂 OK, so off to the curry that I paired the Neypathal with. There is one book in my kitty that I always run to for “thani” Malabar cooking – “Malabar Muslim Cookery” by Ummi Abdullah. I had ordered this book through Flipkart a few months ago and then had it transported to Dubai through one of our constantly flowing relative-family friend gangs – one advantage of living in Dubai, you see…. Since then, this book has been my go-along for any emergency situation. There is nothing fancy in this book – nothing, in fact. There are no pictures at all, it’s all in black and white and if…
Beef Roast
I’m on a total mental block. Seriously… I wanted to do this post yesterday but when I opened the draft, my mind went blank. Then I thought, not today then, maybe tomorrow… Now when that “tomorrow” has arrived, I am in the same situation…. Hmmm…. Actually, I hate to go directly to the recipe, because I do not favor that style. I like to ramble a lot before I actually get to the point, in real life as well!!! 😉 Part of my nature, you see… It’s starting to get quite hot and humid here, so the summer is very much in. As usual, the A/C in the car never seems to be cool enough and the sun is always too warm. People in the GCC have to be extremely careful in this weather. Keep drinking water, use sunscreen, wear your goggles while out and try to be indoors…
Koonthal Roast | Malabar Squid Roast
After doing so many posts, I have realized that I have not posted even a single fish recipe. Not even a single??? Cannot be… But then it’s true… We cook fish at home on a daily basis. Even though fish does not feature on my list for the weekdays as I depend on the previous night’s dinner for my dose of lunch the next day at office, my folks at home need a small piece of fried fish to go with their afternoon meals of rice and curry. At least here we make curries of vegetables, however back home – I mean Kerala-, it’s daily fish curry, either with coconut or without, but not one day passes without fish curry, and that too twice a day – lunch and dinner!!! Darn… HD had bought squid with the hope that I would clean it and cook all by myself. I…
Kappa Biriyani/ Erachi Kappa – Tapioca with Beef
I still can’t believe this. I have had this pending very close to when I started my blog, I suppose!!! I had mentioned in my Kappa Masala post way back in February, how the kappa (tapioca) I had bought for the Kerala Kitchen challenge of that month got siphoned onto making this Kappa Biriyani. Now it is already June, and I have already made this three more times in these past months and still I haven’t posted it… Hmmm…. Actually speaking, if there is one dish of mine which umma adores – even though she wouldn’t publicly admit it!!! 🙂 – is this. Upon her request, I have made it for her those three times, despite the fact that she is diabetic and cannot have too much tapioca as it is majorly carbohydrate. In fact, all times I have made it, we have had guests coming over in the…
Pazham Semiya | Semiyayum Nenthrapazhavum – Vermicelli with Ripe Plantains
This is a nostalgic post. Some foods remind you of some people, doesn’t it? Similarly this recipe that I am going to post today reminds me of my grandmother – vellima, my D’s mother, who passed away of throat cancer more than 9 years ago. May Allah bless her soul and give her a peaceful life hereafter! Aameen… Visits to Kerala, when we were kids, used to be once in two years. We used to go during the summer vacation months of July and August, which means that it would be raining cats and dogs when we were back home and that is what we used to wait for. My D’s family is huge. The tharavadu (ancestral house) would be full of people, with everybody sleeping on mats on the floor. It used to be fun. All of our cousins used to chat ourselves to sleep, scare each other…
Madras Mutton Curry
Yesterday was a mad day – fast but fun. Office was busier than usual, considering that I had to leave by lunch time to pick my umma from the airport. The airport was crazier than usual – she took almost 2 hours to come out after immigration and baggage check, which was pretty maddening. I was alone to pick her up and waiting was making me going crazy. Finally, after braving the roads, we reached home by evening, after which I had a small rice meal and dozed off for almost an hour and a half, when I had thought of just half an hour. Woke up to find loads of guests at home, in the form of relatives who are in town as part of their summer vacation holidays. The best thing to happen was the compliment I got from a very seasoned tea drinker, my D’s elder…
Gajar Halwa ~ Indian Carrot Sweet
Some posts appear much before they have to actually appear. Just like this Gajar Halwa I made for my colleagues last week… I was definitely not intending to post this anytime sooner as there are so many recipes sitting in my drafts and I wanted to finish off the older ones before I go to the newer ones. However, when somebody is not willing to take down the recipe orally after eating it and insists on seeing it as a blog post, what do I do? 🙂 There she helps… 🙂 I had quite a bit of carrots sitting in my fridge and I had to finish it off. I checked with my colleagues whether they wanted halwa or kheer, and the response came in unanimous tone – HALWA! And it had been quite sometime since I had made it. Once I peeled the carrots and started grating it,…