ramadan

Kathod ke Kebab – Ramadan..An Event to share Chapter 9

~ Huma ~ 14 Comments
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In the first chapter of this series , I had told you about one more post from a non blogger. My eldest sister Nafis. She is an awesome cook and an inspiration behind my cooking. She loves experimenting with food and has a mastery over different variety of soups. 
 
She is little shy but the strongest person, I ever know & whom I admire immensely. She is also an educationalist & a very good one.( Well my entire family is into this profession singling me out)
 

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.

                                                    ~ Isadora James  ~

So today we have Appi (eldest sister is called by this name )as our Special Non blogger Guest today.
Today she is sharing with us a very nutritious  recipe Kathod ke Kebab. Kathod in gujarati means different variety of whole  beans.She has used a three types of  whole bean -Rajma, Geen Mung,Lal Matki-  and mixed with  aromatic spices to create this wonderful kebab. Appi says the process is long but the results are sweet. 
So lets proceed to her recipe with  my  narration
 


Ingredients & Method:


Step 1
1 cup rajma
1 cup whole moog
1 cup green chana 
1 cup lal math or matki

#  Soak overnight all the beans separately.
#  Next day boil them separately in a pressure cook with salt till beans are soft
#  Remove water & churn them in food  processor to form a paste

Step 2
Dry masala:- 

1 /2 tbsp red chilly pwd
1/2 tsp  turmeric pwd
 1 tsp chat masala
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste

Dry roast & ground to powder

1 tbsp coriander seeds 
1 tbsp fennel seeds 

Step 3
2 medium size chopped onion
3 tbsop chopped green coriander leaves
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
1 -2 chopped green chillies

Step 4
 Assembling & frying the kebabs

#  Mix the beans paste with dry masalas, onions, coriander leaves, mints & green chillies.
#  Make into 1 to 2 ” patties.
#  Shallow fry at medium flame till golden brown
#  Serve hot with green chutney & tomato ketchup.

Notes:

  • The patties can be stored in freezer for a month.
  • Defrost it in a fridge or 1/2 an hour at room temperature before frying.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kbibi – Ramadan.. An Event To Share Chapter 8

~ Huma ~ 14 Comments
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We are travelling to the land of Africa today with  beautiful post from Mombasa, Kenya. A retired  kindergarten teacher by profession, Mayuri started blogging to record her traditional recipes learnt from her mom, mother in law & aunt. Her each recipe carries a story to , how Indian cuisine has influenced in this part of world.  So today we will know how ramadan is celebrated in Mombasa through the eyes of Mayuri.  
Over to you  Mayuri Aunty

 I am Mayuri, the blogger for mayuri’s jikoni (kiswahili for kitchen). A few days ago I received an email from Humi requesting to write a recipe as a guest on her blog. She is hosting an event, Ramadhan – an event to share. Obviously the first thing I did was check out her blog and instantly liked it. Loved the name, Gheza-e-shiriin, meaning sweet food. As I mentioned in my previous recipe, blogging has introduced me to more people with a common passion and that is cooking. Humi’s blog has recipes influenced by many places…. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Dubai. What an exciting combination. I love the pictures. So I will be keeping an eye on her blog for more exciting recipes. 
   Getting back to the invitation, I must say I was just too excited as this is the first time someone has asked me to be a guest on their blog. My mind began working overtime and I did have in mind that since Mombasa is a predominantly a Muslim town, I must give her a recipe connected with Mombasa and Ramadhan. Humi had the same suggestion but she wanted a new recipe and not an archived one, so mamri , mbaazi and kaimati were out of the question. 
   Mombasa is a port town with a natural harbour. This made it easy for it to get occupied over the centuries by the Portuguese, Arabs and British. The British brought Indians from India to work on the railway, in the government offices etc. This opened the doors for traders too. So it is not really surprising that the whole coastline of East Africa has a strong Arabic, Indian and British influence. The coastal cuisine is spiced up with spices brought from India and Middle East and some of the dishes are quite similar to the Indian or Middle Eastern ones with a very strong local influence and that is coconut. Most of the coastal recipes use coconut in varies forms.
    During the Ramadhan month it is a common sight to see vendors selling all sorts of food to break the fast. One of them is Vibibi. Vibibi is plural name for rice pancakes. Kibibi is one pancake. Its very common to see the common man break his or her fast with a kibibi or mamri and a small cup of tea or coffee. Vibibi can be eaten on its own with a cup of tea or coffee, with a stew or as a dessert with some fresh fruit or ice cream. I am going to share the recipe for vibibi to celebrate the holy month of Ramadhan with Humi.

Mombasa style Ramadhan food

cooking a kibibi
vibibi
kibibi dessert


VIBIBI (RICE PANCAKES)
makes 10 to 12

1½ cups of rice, preferably the thick variety
1 cup sugar
1¾ thick coconut milk (can used canned coconut milk)
2 tbsp grated coconut either fresh or desiccated
½ tsp cardamom powder (elachi)
1 tsp instant dry active yeast
½ cup plain flour
oil for cooking the pancakes

some hot water in a wide container
  1. Soak the rice overnight in lukewarm water.
  2. Put the rice in a sieve or strainer to drain out the water. Wash the rice under running water and let the water drain out completely. 
  3. Put the rice and coconut milk in the blender jug and process it to a smooth batter.
  4. Pour the batter into a container. Add the rest of  the ingredients except for oil and mix it well.
  5. Cover the container and place it in the hot water. 
  6. After about one to two hours, the batter will have become a bit frothy.
  7. Heat a frying pan with a tsp of oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, drop a ladleful (about ¼ cup) of the batter into the pan. 
  8. As it cooks tiny holes will appear on top. When the edges are light brown, flip the pancake over.
  9. Add a little oil around it and cook till it is golden brown.
  10. After each pancake is cooked, let the oil get a bit hot before adding the batter.
  11. Repeat steps 7 to 10 with the remaining batter.
Tips:
  • Dip the pancakes in sugar syrup and serve garnished with chopped nuts.
  • If you want the pancakes to be gluten free, do not add the plain flour and use less of the coconut milk.
  • Traditionally, water is added to the grated coconut and squeezed using a strainer or a strong cloth to get the thick milk. I used ready made canned coconut milk, as it gives a much better coconut taste.
  • Most vibibi recipes do not write how the yeast will begin to ferment when the batter is  not warm. Therefore I thought of placing my batter bowl in a bowl of hot water to enable the yeast to ferment. And within an hour the batter was ready.
You may want to check out the following:
mamri
mbaazi
kaimati

To know more about  Mayuri please visit her @ Mayuri’s jikoni

Pistachio Stuff Dates — Ramadan..An Event to Share Chapter 7

~ Huma ~ 22 Comments
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Hello Foodies, we are entering the second phase of this journey of event. Today we have a blogger from India guest posting for us. Darshna from Cooking with Darshu.  
Welcome aboard Darshana. Thanks for being a part of this celebration. 

Thank you Humi for giving me the opportunity to be a guest writer on your blog. I am not sure from where I stumbled on your blog. I love the way you write your blog along with photos of each and every step. The first recipe that I tried was of  “Yolk Fudge / Zardi Ki Katliya” and really loved it. After that I tried a lot of recipes and all were excellent. From that time I started following your blog and was happy when I got your mail to be a guest writer. After lot of thinking I decided to make “Pistachio-Stuffed Dates” which has  dates as the main ingredient and a very important part of Ramadan.  


Dates is a Ramadan tradition, as most of its benefits are unique to this particular fast. Breaking one’s fast with dates, as well as praying before Iftar, are both mentioned in the Hadith. There are a lot physical benefits of breaking the fast with dates is that our body benefits from the date’s high level of natural sugars. Dates also have a special place in Islam. In fact, they were one of the Prophet’s (SAW) most frequently consumed foods.


Dates are super rich in Vitamin C and together with milk dates make an excellent diet for Ramadan. Dates are added to salads, couscous dishes and curries, but they are also added in baked desserts and confections. Dates are great on their own, but for an extra-special treat, try stuffing them with whole almonds or chopped pieces of walnuts or pecans. Dates are nuggets of nutrition that satisfy a sweet tooth, making them ideal snacks to stave off hunger.

Duration: 20 min
Serves:  15 stuffed dates
Ingredients:
100 shelled unsalted pistachios
15 Medjool or Deglet Nour dates
2 tsp ghee
½ or 1 tbsp of unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp honey
2-3 tsp rose water
Pinch of Safforn

Direction:
1. Carefully slit the dates and remove the stones.
2. In a food processor, blend pistachios to a coarse powder
3. Put ghee, pistachios, rose water, unsweetened shredded coconut, saffron in a saucepan and cook briefly, until the pistachios have absorbed most of the moisture.
4. Remove the mixture from a saucepan and place it on a bowl. Now add honey into it and mix well.
5. Stuff the dates with the pistachio mixture.
6. Top with toasted unsweetened shredded coconut and serve.
Variations
You could swap out the pistachios for almonds, and use orange flower water instead of rose water. 


To know more about Dharshana  visit her @  Cooking with Darshu.

Vietnamese Noodle Soup – Ramadan.. An Event to Share Chapter 6

~ Huma ~ 15 Comments
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Today we have with us Navaneethan Krishnan from Malaysia. Her blog is full of malay delicacies & her travelogue for Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) is worth a read. She is very descriptive in her writing & her recipes are simple & easy to follow. 

Not going further into details , I will let Nava speak for herself. Welcome Nava. Thanks for becoming a part of this celebration.

I agreed and couldn’t say no to Humi’s request for a guest post because of our friendship in the virtual world of blogging. It’s such a pleasure to share my recipe with the rest of the foodies and I think we certainly have something binding us together – the pride and joy of sharing our recipes in our blogs.

 I shall put aside about the details of my personal life and anything connected to it. Basically my blog carries the hints and speaks for itself on what I share and write. Everyone who is a foodie owns a camera and capturing pictures of our recipes is usual, therefore I shall not dwell on the same topic. Let me be practical and elaborate a little bit on my experiences of being a woman, a wife and a mother who cooks for her family.
 I try to keep my recipes simple and easy because these days it’s about time and how we balance our lives with the rest we do. Some days I am worn out and cooking a meal can be nerve wrecking yet I try my best to prepare a simple meal for my family. There are other women like me and they certainly appreciated my recipes. The many comments and feed backs from my followers give me the confidence that my recipes can be easily replicated without any kitchen disasters.
 We are typical Asians. It’s either rice with side dishes or one bowl or plate of noodles.

I chose a Vietnamese lamb noodle dish because the ingredients are pretty much the same across the board in Asian countries. I am assuming that you will not have any issues looking for ingredients but if you do, use your discretion and substitute them.

 This noodle dish is infused with a variety of herbs for the uplifting fragrances and is served with a garlic chili dipping sauce.

Ingredients
For the lamb
300g minced lamb
½ tbsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
A pinch of salt
Other ingredients
1 liter vegetable stock
Spices – 1 stick cinnamon, 1 star anise and 3 cloves
3-4 sprigs Thai basil leaves – pluck the leaves from the stems
2-3 sprigs of spring onions – sliced
2-3 sprigs of coriander leaves – sliced
½ cup bean sprouts – cleaned and blanched
Rice Noodles (as needed) – blanched to soften
Black pepper and salt for taste
Drops of sesame oil
3 tbsp oil
For the dipping Sauce
3-4 red chilies
3 garlic – chopped
2 tbsp sweet soya sauce
1 lime – extract juice
** Mix all together
Method:
Mix lamb with the ingredients as stated above.
Heat oil and fry till crispy and crunchy while breaking the lamb into pieces.
Remove and keep aside.
In the same oil, sauté spices.
Pour in stock, season with salt and pepper and let it simmer.
Meanwhile, put the needed amount of noodles in a bowl.
Add crispy lamb, bean sprouts and herbs on top.
When soup is heated through, pour on to the bowl of noodles.
Drizzle sesame oil and serve with chili garlic dipping sauce.

To know more about Nava visit her @ Nava-k.com