What Did You Eat This Ramadan?

During Ramadan, our foodie family has been taking turns cooking iftar meals. These past couple of weeks of making old favorites and trying new recipes has been absolutely fun. Here are our top three dishes that I hope inspire your cooking as we near the end of the holy month.

Nothing beats Mama’s cooking! I mean, she’s the one that has truly inspired us kids to be the foodies we are today. We can’t go through the holy month without Mama’s delicious kushary. A popular Egyptian street food dish that consists of rice, lentils and pasta that’s drizzled with garlic marinara sauce, and topped with crispy fried onions.

What makes my mama’s take different than most traditional takes is that she makes the typical Egyptian rice with vermicelli noodles and uses two kinds of pasta, both spaghetti and salad macaroni. If this isn’t carb heaven, it’s not kushary.

For Mother’s Day dinner, my brother Samy took a risk from his usual steak and curry dishes to make a slow cooked brisket. Alongside all the fixings, it came out pretty good! We’re talking baked potato, roasted tomatoes, garlic and corn as well as a side of sauteed asparagus for good measure.

The meat was tender and seasoned to absolute perfection. Kudos to my brother because I can’t wait for the encore!

Speaking of encores, when I make something the family loves, I’m usually almost asked to remake it. Now when my nephew raved for days about my crispy chicken tenders and waffles -from scratch might I add- I couldn’t say no when he asked for more chicken.

Thus I combined two of his favorites that I’ve made for the family throughout Ramadan into one simple dish. Crispy chicken tenders atop Parmesan penne pasta. I use boneless chicken breasts, cut into four pieces each and use seasoned breadcrumbs. As penne pasta is one of my favorites, I love coming up with varying recipes for it. This one however has always been a favorite with the family, with a light fresh tomato sauce with cheese cooked in the sauce as well as garnished on top.

Who can say no to more cheese? And I’m lactose intolerant!

Do share in the comments what’s a dish you must have in Ramadan? What’s a dish you tried for the first time? What’s a favorite you’re favorite dish to cook up?

Picture of the Day

For iftar last night, my brother made his famous Thai curry dish, followed by his delicious banana pudding! Layers and layers of goodness in a cup…

So much for losing weight this Ramadan season 🤣

Picture of the Day

Still thinking about the delicious Thai yellow curry chicken with potatoes and purple carrots with a side of seasoned steamed rice my young brother made for the family iftar last week. 😋 I’m so proud!!

Is Ramadan really ending this week?

Picture of the Day

Mama got spontaneous with Natural Delights medjool dates the other day, filled some with Philadelphia cream cheese and Nutella hazelnut spread. The results were finger licking delicious! Would you try these? Have you tried other fun filled dates?

Delicious Ramadan Eats from Around the World

Delicious Ramadan Eats from Around the World
By: Ms. Hala for Blasting News
Originally Published May 26, 2018
Publication Source: BlastingNews.com

Journey around the globe to discover some of the delicious dishes served up during the holy month of Ramadan!

Ramadan is once again upon us, and Muslims are as excited as ever for the festive, holiday season! During the ninth month of the Hijri calendar, several dishes are cooked up around the world in time to break one’s fast. So let’s see what’s cooking!

Qatar

The land where many traditions are still practiced and new ones inspired by its diverse residents. Harees dates back to the 10th century with historical references to Prophet Mohammed’s (PBUH) dining habits.

Harees can be described as a wheat porridge. After simmering pre-soaked wheat in water, straining any excess water and mixing it into a thick consistency. Make it savory by adding meat and salting to taste. Make it sweet by adding cinnamon and sugar to the mix. It’s so versatile; it’s the perfect dish to start or end your iftar.

Maldives

Traditions as old as time is what makes Ramadan in the Maldives all the more unique and artistic.

The local flair is seafood, and tuna fish reigns supreme. The top local tuna dishes to be had during iftar would be gulha and kulhi boakibaa. Gulha are tuna fish balls, made with coconut, onions, garlic, and ginger. Mixed and rolled into a ball, then stuffed into a light flour dough and deep fried. Kulhi boakibaa are tuna fish cakes, with coconut, rice, ginger, curry leaves, chilies, lemon juice, and turmeric powder, and turned into a thick paste mixture. It spread into a pan and baked until lightly brown, cut into squares for all to enjoy. Fried and baked, the best of both worlds!

Iraq

Whats the best thing to be served when breaking one’s fast? How about sipping on some sweet aseer or juice during iftar! Iraqis will at times stock up on bottles of juices depending on the season as well as any long-lasting fruits to make fresh drinks at home. Some popular juice shops, such as Mishmish in Baghdad, have been open for over 50 years with Ramadan being their busiest season. What juices shine brightly during the holy month?

Pomegranate, grape, lemon, apricot and of course date juice top the list. These specific fruits all have great health benefits and of course, taste great!

Comoros

Being a festive season, Comoros serves it up! Anything from grilled manioc, fishes to fried bananas and couscouma. This simple savory treat is a thyme and butter chapati like crepe, extremely thin and light. After kneading the dough, it’s immediately divided into small pieces, rolled thin and pan fried to golden perfection. Crispy yet warm and soft, this savory treat is served with sweet tea. If there are any leftovers (ha!), it’s served as part of the suhour meal.

Egypt

From the festivities that take place, the popular TV shows and the variations of foods make Ramadan in Egypt unlike any other. The sweet served in almost every home after iftar is a platter of qatayef. Think of qatayef as sweet dumplings, starting off as a small pancake of sorts, stuffed with either sweet cheese or mixed nuts or both! It’s folded into crescents then fried until golden brown, topped with a light syrup and gobbled up!

Indonesia

During the feast to end Ramadan and welcome Eid El Fitr, the dish to be had is opor ayam. Opor ayam is a curry chicken dish originating from the central Java islands, with side dishes such as chili fried potatoes. To make this dish perfect, it’s all in the fresh spices and how they are grounded down and slightly roasted in a saucepan before they are cooked with the marinated chicken to serve up the perfect bowl of opor ayam.

The World

It’s understood that Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) taught Muslims to break their fast with dates and milk which has its health benefits. Dates and milk have just the right amount of natural sugars and vitamins to give your body a good energy boost. Those in dates travel to your liver and digestive tract faster than most other similar fruits which help to restart the digestive process. This is truly a delicious treat that Muslims all over the world indulge in during Ramadan.

What are your Ramadan traditions? Did we entice you to try any of these worldly Ramadan dishes?

by (article) and Emir Milinkic (video)
Publication Source: BlastingNews.com