Some people are gifted writers. Her daily musings wants you to check out her space now and then. Specially the posts with her cute cub, today Fabida from Shocks&Shoes is sharing her thoughts about Ramadan with a healthy snack.
We’re more than half way through the holy month! Every year, when Ramadan starts, we think of 30 days of staying hungry and thirsty lying ahead of us. But every year, we don’t realize when the first 20 days whizz by and we’re left with the most important last 10 days of Ramadan!! Last year we created a Ramadan Advent Calendar of sorts, and stuck smiley faces on every day at Iftar:
We rarely realize that this month is a great opportunity to completely detox ourselves. Staying hungry and thirsty really puts things into perspective and makes us realize the value of something as simple as a glass of water. Having to perform on a regular basis without frequent nourishment makes us dip into internal reserves of strength that we never knew we had. Reading the Quran for a longer time and praying for longer hours helps us build focus. We are supposed to control our temper, be charitable and not lie. In fact, this is a chance to completely renew ourselves, inside out.
Another important value learnt is humility. We are asked to break our fast immediately on hearing the Azan or call to prayer. This is to establish the fact that rich or poor, we’re all humans with the same basic needs, which when deprived, make us crave for it equally at that moment of breaking the fast.
It is recommended to break our fast with dates and water, and then move on to other dishes. Considering there are Muslims in every country of the world, these dishes can take any form! Today I share a classic Ramadan dish from the Malabar region of Kerala, more specifically north Kerala. The dish is ‘Undaputtu’, a steamed dumpling made of rice and a prawn filling, which provides a pleasant deviation from all the fried snacks.
Ramadan Special – Undaputtu
For the Prawn Masala:
250 g peeled and clean prawns
½ onion, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp garlic paste
½ tsp chilli powder
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp turmeric powder
Coconut Oil
Salt
1. Rub the prawns with a pinch of salt, turmeric and chilli powder and lightly fry them for a couple of minutes.
2. Heat oil, fry the onions till they begin to brown. Add the green chillies and garlic paste and fry.
3. Add the spice powders, salt and fried prawns. Cover and cook till the prawns are done.
For the dumplings:
½ cup parboiled rice, soaked in boiling water and left for 3 hours
Rice flour as needed
Salt
½ cup shredded coconut
1. Grind the soaked rice to get a thick paste. Add enough rice flour to get a dough.
2. Take a lemon sized ball of dough and flatten it into a small thick circle.
3. Put a tablespoon of the prawn filling in the centre of the circle and pull up the sides to cover it and shape it into a ball.
4. Roll the ball in shredded coconut and keep aside. Repeat till the dough is finished. At this point, you can freeze the dumplings for later.
5. Steam the dumplings for about 15-20 minutes, till the outer layer is properly cooked. For frozen dumplings, take them directly out of the freezer and steam them.
These dumplings are a good option when you are tired of eating meat and fried snacks :). In my family, we usually make everything in bulk a couple of days before Ramadan and freeze them. Then half an hour before Iftar, all I need to do is take them out of the freezer and cook them directly. Instant Iftar!
Hope this blessed Ramadan proves to be an occasion of spiritual awakening for all of us and makes us strive to be better versions of ourselves. As we near the last 10 days, may Allah bless us with the strength and focus to worship him with all sincerity. Ramadan Kareem!!
