ramadan

Kari – Ramadan … An event to share Chapter 5

~ Huma ~ 24 Comments
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrssyoutubeinstagram
Today we have with us Rafeeda from Sweettoothraf. Does she need introduction??

 Na I don’t think so at all.

 We all know her as a very warm & charming person. Though I have not met her personally but I have a feeling , she must at be the  the center of any group.  laughing , enjoying & creating a stir. I don’t know  why but whenever I think of Rafee (as we all lovingly call her), this situation comes to my mind.

Over to you dear friend.
Blogging has opened up doors and windows to many mutually respecting and nourishing friendships. I must say that even though I have not met Humi personally, – InShaAllah, hope to meet her very soon after sorting out our schedules- I have always felt good about chatting to her about general issues and food, of course. She has been one sister who has been so kind to acknowledge my existence each and every time. Every comment of hers brightens up my day and I look forward to the classic traditional recipes that she shares on her page. Please do not think I am flattering you, Humi… it’s just the way I feel for you… J
When she requested me to do a guest post for her blog, I was very much keen to take onto it and another thing I wanted to do was to give her a very specific recipe that belongs to my background. I guess I should be introducing myself! I am Rafeeda, who blogs at The Big Sweet Toot, a working mother of two lovely daughters, a Keralite based in Dubai, UAE. I guess that’s a real synopsis of who I am! J Cooking started for me as a chore, and slowly developed to become a passion. I actually enjoying baking much more than cooking, however thanks to the evergrowing weight concerns, I am forced to keep my baking dreams in the backburner!
The recipe I am sharing today is a very traditional payasam/ kheer which normally my umma makes on Eid, which marks the end of Ramadan. Actually speaking, I never liked this payasam because of its strong cinnamon taste. I don’t mean I still like it, but then since she makes it very rarely, I do make it a point to gulp down a little sip so that I do not forget how it tastes like! We keep having guests for the whole day of Eid and everybody comes in to have a glass of this, as bachelors normally don’t make such kind of traditional recipes!
Without much ado, I guess I will move onto the recipe!
Kari – Cinnamon Flavored Rice and Coconut Payasam
Serves 6
Recipe courtesy: My umma!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice, soaked overnight
1/4 coconut, grated
500 ml water
200 gm jaggery, or as per sweetness
2 peices of cinnamon, 1 inch each, slightly pound
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp salt
1 large ripe plantain (nenthrapazham), chopped
Sufficient water
Method:
Coarsely grind the rice and coconut in your blender. Mix the water, jaggery, cinnamon and cardamom and bring to boil, till the jaggery is melted. Add the coarsely ground rice mixture and give it a nice stir. Add in the salt and the plantain. Cook till the mixture starts to thicken, around 5 minutes. Check for the sweetness and adjust the salt levels. Add water to slightly loosen the mixture. Serve warm.
The payasam thickens when kept and therefore, just before serving, add some warm water and give it a nice mix. 
The taste of this payasam is primarily the cinnamon, and also gives the sourness of the cooked plantain. You may replace the plaintain with some cooked chana dal as well, which is another variation.
Hope you all enjoyed reading the post as much I have liked preparing this post for Humi. Here’s wishing all of you a blessed Ramadan, which brings in joy, peace and contentment!

To know more about Rafeeda visit her @  The Big Sweet Toot

Oats Chicken Soup – Ramadan …An event to share Chapter 4

~ Huma ~ 10 Comments
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrssyoutubeinstagram
As this event is going further I am meeting new bloggers & making new friends who have  the same passion of cooking .  Aish is one them. She is a also a very warm & sweet person  whom I wish to meet in my lifetime.
 Juggling between job and  home, food & photography are her passion, that can be seen at her blog.  Her space is filled with mouthwatering dishes from Kerala to Saudi Arabia. Chicken Kabsa is one dish which I would like to try from her blog.. So dear friends, today we are going to  the house of Spices in a Cookie Jar. 
Thanks Aish for becoming a part of this celebration and giving us this special dish. 
Hello foodies, 
I am Aisha Waseem, author of Spices in the Cookie Jar, a blog recently set up to document recipes tried and tested in my kitchen. Basically from Kerala, I currently live in the beautiful city of Melbourne with my love W. I work full time, love all things beautiful and creative and am extremely passionate about cooking. Cooking to me is soothing and creating my own signature with each dish I prepare, gives me immense joy and pleasure. 
When Humi asked me to be a part of her Ramadan celebrations by doing a guest post on her blog, I was extremely thrilled not just because of the fantastic opportunity to blog on Humi’s wonderful space and be a part of her celebrations but also because this is my very first guest post. Thank you Humi for presenting me with this chance to do a guest post. Since the post was related to Ramadan, I decided to blog about something healthy, nutritious and filling. 
During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world fast from morning till evening and what better way to break the fast than with a healthy, warm and delicious Chicken and Oats Soup. My mom always made this soup for Iftar and I used to fill up on it, so I called her up to get the recipe and recreate it in my kitchen. It’s a very simple recipe and takes very less effort, which is very important when you are working full time, fasting and trying to get food on the table, in time to break the fast. This hearty soup is like a blanket of warmth, it’s warm, comforting and helps you cope with the dreaded cold days we have been experiencing here.  


Ingredients:
  • Butter – 2 tablespoon
  • Onion – 1 medium, chopped fine
  • Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
  • Beans – 1/4 cup, cut thin
  • Carrot – 1/4 cup, minced
  • Chicken – 250g
  • Oats – 1/2 cup
  • Chicken stock or water – 2 cups
  • Milk – 2 cups
  • Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp, chopped
  • Salt as required
  • Pepper as required
Method:
  • Pressure cook the chicken with a bit of seasoning(your choice), strain the stock and keep aside. When cool, shred the chicken into small pieces.
  • Heat butter in the pressure cooker and sauté the onion till nicely browned.
  • Add the ginger garlic paste and toss for 2 minutes till raw smell disappears.
  • Tip in the beans, mix for 2 minutes, followed by the carrots and stir for 2 minutes.
  • Mix the shredded chicken, sauté for 3 minutes. Add the oats and fry for 3 minutes.
  • Pour the 2 cups of water or stock, cover and cook on medium heat till 1 whistle.
  • Reduce heat to low and slow cook for 20 minutes. Open the lid once all the steam has escaped, add the milk and bring to boil.
  • Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.
 

Notes:

You can use any vegetables of your choice, like celery, mushrooms, peppers.
For seasoning the chicken you can use pepper, salt, a pinch of cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
You can use the stock reserved from cooking the chicken or use store bought stock.

If you want to use stock from cooking chicken, then add 2 cups of water when pressure cooking chicken.

To know more about Aish visit her @   Spices in a Cookie Jar. 

Samosa Chat – Ramadan …An event to share Chapter 3

~ Huma ~ 17 Comments
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrssyoutubeinstagram
We are moving to our third guest for the series. 


Known as Kitchen Queen in the blogosphere, today we have Linsy from Home Cooked Food.  We both come from same state of Gujarat & ironically share the same surname. When I asked her for the guest post she offered me around five recipes to choose over. Wow. She is so much organized.  Her blog has wonderful vegetarian recipes & that too nutritious & healthy.
So Ms. Kitchen Queen, welcome to my space & thanks a lot for celebrating this series with us.

Humi asked me to do guest post in this holy month of Ramadan and without thinking I said yes. We were chatting on FB few times back and she is also from Gujarat so we hit instantly. She has an amazing blog with all kinds of Indian recipes. I am a regular visitor of her blog and she also visit me regularly so when she asked me to do guest post I said yes and that’s how this post is here on “Love of Food” which is the meaning of her blog.
 By now you all know me as “Kitchen Queen ” of HOME COOK FOOD. Who don’t know me for them my name is Linsy and food is my passion ,to cook variety of food which you can see on my blog. 
Right now let’s focus on “Samosa Chole Chat”.

Outside India, Samosa and Chiken Tikka are most famous in Indian cuisine. Any one who knows little about food they know about these dishes. So there is no need for explanation about that. Chole is spicy chickpea gravy which is also famous and make them together with sweet and tangy and spicy chutneys ,  sprinkle of tomato , onion and sev and specially its raining outside and you have hot bowl in hand, there is no words to describe it. Same thing happend to me too, when I made this it was raining outside and having this for diner was just awesome. I could have make three posts out of this one dish but I didn’t wanted to do that, its going to be long but its all worth it. so lets start it.
For Samosa outer layer :
2 cups of AP flour
salt to taste
4 tsp oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
Water as needed
Method:
Mix everything and make a nice soft dough. You need more oil for crispy samosa.
Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
For Samosa inner layer :
2 and half boiled and mashed potatoes
1/4 cup boiled green peas
1 small onion chopped
1 green chili chopped
2 tsp oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 and half tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
lime juice to taste
Method:
Mashed potatoes in a bowl. Add peas in it.
Heat a pan and add oil in it.
when its hot, add coriander seeds, when its changes it color, add onion and green chilies.
cook till its changes its color  then add turmeric powder , salt and mix it.
Add this mixture in potatoes . Mix it nicely and add lime juice and fresh coriander leaves too. I forgot to add it.
Test it for seasoning.
Prepare Samosa :
From the dough make 8 big balls.
Take one ball and flatten it , make big circle out of it.
Take a knife and cut it from middle.
Make a cone and fill up the stuffing nicely then seal it.
Make all the samosas and keep it aside.
Heat a pan with enough oil to fry it.
Fry it till becomes nice brown color from all side. Because of AP flour it will take to become brown , don’t rush it or put it on high flame, otherwise it will burn.
Ingredients for Chole
3 cups boiled chick peas
1 big onion finely chopped
1/4 cup tomato puree
3 tbsp chole masala ( I use everest brand)
salt to taste
1 tsp jeera
1/4 cup soaked and dry Soya granules ( you can use chunks too)
3 tsp oil
To Garnish :
Green chutney
Tamarind chutney
Yogurt
chopped onion, tomatoes and sev
Chole:
Heat a pan, add jeera in it. When changes it color, add onion in it and cook till it changes it color.
Then add chole masala and tomato puree and mix it well. cook till oil floats on top.
Add chick peas, granules and mix it well.
Add 1 cup of water and put it on medium flame to cook it. Chick peas has to absorb all the flavors so the lower the flame the more time chick peas has to take the flavors.
You need gravy so don’t wait till all the water is gone.
Assembly :
Take a bowl, broke samosa
Add all chutneys, sev, tomato and onion and serve it.
You can just it this way or
In a bowl , brake samosa, pour hot chole , add all the chutneys , sev, tomato and onion and enjoy it.
Thank you so much Humi for giving me a chance to share my recipe in this holy month and inviting me here.

Do check out her space for more awesome recipes @ HomeCookFood 

Kala Chenna – Ramadan An event to share #Chapter 2

~ Huma ~ 15 Comments
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrssyoutubeinstagram
Welcome to the Chapter 2 for the series Ramadan – An event to share. 
Today we have with us Suja from Pepper Bowl. I contact her few days back on FB  , asking her what she thought about Guest Posting. I don’t know what she thought but replied back  if I would like to guest post for her blog. ANd believe me in no time we were writing same sentences to each other.  This was happening so fast that she had to stop writing. And the same time I also stopped.Real Funny situation.
But foremost , I liked her enthusiasm & the positivity in her nature.Thanks Suja for accepting to be a part of this event. Today she has brought for us a wonderful Kala Chana dish which would be great for Iftars. 
Over to you Suja.

Snacking with Kala Chenna


Humi of “Gheza-e-shiriin” is in festive mood in celebrating her Ramzan.  Joining in one’s celebration is the happiest thing that spreads festive mood to everyone. We could always feel biryani flavor around us, whenever we spell ‘Ramzan’. 
To introduce myself, I’m Suja Md from ‘pepperbowl.com‘. When Humi asked me for a guest post for join her Ramzan celebration, I told her immediately that I would come up with high protein recipes. As everyone knows Kala Chenna is better healthy option for snacking time, which is loaded with tons of protein. Its good for all growing children. 

Ingredient:
Kala Chenna  – 250 grams
Chopped Onion  – 1/4 Cup
Chopped Cucumber  – 1/4 Cup
Chopped Carrot   -1/4th Cup
Chopped Cabbage  – 1/4th Cup
Chopped Chilies  – 1 tbsp(as per you wish)
Chopped Coriander Leaves  – 2 tbsp
Chopped Mint Leaves  – 1 tbsp
Chopped Capsicum  – 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice  – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:


Soak Kala Chenna for about  4-6 hours. Pressure cook it for 5-7 min or until it becomes soft and firm. 
 
Chop finely onion, cucumber, cabbage, carrot, chilies, capsicum, coriander leaves, mint leaves.
 
Mix all the chopped veggies to cooked and drained Kala Chenna. Add lemon juice and salt accordingly.
 
This is perfect, healthy for snacking time. 

Do check out her space for more awesome recipes: Pepper Bowl