Today for Chapter 10 – Ramadan An Event to Share, we have Arzina from  Chronicles of a new bride.  Originally from Kenya but now residing in Canada, Arzina is sharing her thoughts about Ramadan with the recipe of Beef Cubes.

Salaam Alaykum and Ramadhan Mubarak to you. I would like to start this post by introducing myself: I am Arzina Abdulrasul who currently resides in Toronto, Canada originally from Kenya. Today, in this post I am sharing a few of my favorite, unforgettable Ramadhan experiences i’ve had in Kenya and along with that, I’ll be sharing a recipe that I love to cook especially during the month of Ramadhan. Let’s go shopping: 
It is in this month where all the stores and restaurant get super busy. An opportunity for the stores to lay out the most fashionable clothing and shoes for when the night strikes, all the ladies and their friends are out shopping for Eid or Iftar/sehri get togethers! Personally, I’ve had the most fun during these night because I would go out with my mother and sister, join the crowd and just shop around in the bazaar. We would always come home with new clothes, new hijabs or sometimes come home having applied henna on our hands. So much fun!

Shall we get some yummy food: 

Secondly, the other thing I find hard to forget is that for the 30 days of the month, near the market, local cooks would set up their food  stalls and sell a variety of snacks which would commonly be eaten during the month of Ramadhan. Such as Samosas, Kababs, Kachori (Fried Potato), Fried Bread, Fried Sweet bread made with coconut and rice, dates, chapati etc.  I would love going for three reasons: the drive, witnessing the crowds, and get some MORE yummy fried snacks. If you don’t already know, then, during Ramadhan, the dining tables are usually filled with fried snacks, an entree and a some desserts- Oh so delicious!

Prayer time:

How can I not mention this point?. Every night, after iftar, which would be around 7:30pm, we, as a family, all head out to the Mosque for Quran recitation, Dua and lecture by the Imam. When I was younger, I was reciting Quran in the same group as my madrasah class which was fun  because I get to meet my Madrasah friends again. If we recited the Quran well and were behaving, our mothers would let us sit with our friends during dua time. After that, we would all head to the food and drink stalls in the mosque to buy some candy/snacks and have some fresh juice or tea.

Iftar/Sehri Parties:

Of course Ramadhan is a time for prayer but some of nights we would get to plan a sehri/iftar party and have our friends over or we would go to theirs. These were so much fun because some of us had swimming pools, so we would get into our bathing suits and swim the night away and after having sehri, which would mainly be a combination of Burgers, fries and pizzas, we would leave to go back home to our families.

Apart from this nostalgic feeling I am getting while I write this post, I am also thinking food because I am currently fasting and I think I will be making Tender Beef Cubes. I got this recipe from a friend and ever since I made them, they’ve been a fav! It is easy to make and overflowing with flavor. I hope you like it.

Beef Cubes

Ingredients For Marinade

• 1 lb beef cubes – Marinate the cubes in the ingredients below for at least 2 hours or overnight for best results.
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp of dark vinegar
• juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oil

 

Extra Ingredients

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp tomato paste/puree
• juice of half a lemon

 

Method

• Put the meat with its marinade in a pressure cooker.
• Add 1 tbsp. of tomato paste, 1/2 tsp. each of garlic n ginger paste plus juice of half a lemon.
• Chop one green chilli over it and add 1/4  cup of water.
• Bring to a simmer, then cover the pressure cooker and let it cook for 10-15 minutes.
• The fillet should be ready by then coz it takes a very short while to cook.
• Let the steam get released, then open and check.
• You can simmer and dry it off if you do not like any extra sauce/gravy or if you want the sauce to thicken up.
• If it’s still not tender enough, give it another 2-3 minutes in the pressure cooker.
• Check and adjust for salt and chilli.
• Serve with Salad, fries, naan or mashed potatoes

Enjoy!!

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