Ramadhan Mubarak

   Ramadhan Mubarak to muslims all over the world.

"Ramadhan is the (month)  in which the Quran was sent down , as a guide to the mankind and a clear guidance and judgement( so that mankind will distinguish from the right and wrong)."TMQ( 2:185)

Allah' s Messenger ( peace be upon him) said: Whenever you sight the new moon( of the month of Ramadhan) observe fast, and when you sight it( the new moon of Shawwal) break it, and if the sky is cloudy for you, then observe fast for thirty days.( muslim)

Allah's Apostle said, " When the month of Ramadhan starts, the gates of heaven are opened and gates of hell are close and the devils are chained."( Bukhari)

Narrated by Abu Huraira(r.a): The Prophet said:" ..... whoever fasts during the month of  Ramadhan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven."( Bukhari)

The Messenger of Allah ( peace be upon him) addressed his companions on the last day of Shaban, saying," Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which a night better than thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night.  Whoever draws nearer( to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds  in this month shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in this month shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience and the reward of patience is heaven. It is the month of charity , and a month in which  a believer's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward  as the fasting person, without believer's reward being diminished at all." ( Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah).

Ramadhan is the month in which Allah(swt) covers you with his blessings, sends down  Mercy, decreases sins and answers prayers. So show Allah( swt) the goodness from yourselves, for the unfortunate one is he who is deprived in (this month) of the mercy of Allah.

"Fasting is the shield  with which a servant protects himself from the Fire" ( Ahmad)

On the Day Of Judgement, " Fasting will say: O My Lord I prevented him from food and desires so accept my intercession for him." ( Ahmad, al- Haakim, Hasan).

In this holy month of Ramadhan let's get closer to Allah(swt) by doing good deeds and praising Allah the Almighty.  One more thing when it comes to Ramadhan, most of the women spend a lot of time in kitchen like planning for get together, inviting guests and making special things for Iftar.  Although we get lots of reward in cooking for our friends and family, we should not forget to spend our time for Allah (swt).   The time between Asr and Magrib is the best time to be in Dhikr and seek more, also that's the peak time for us to cook for Iftar.  So sisters plan your Iftar earlier with some simple menu or something which you can make it ahead and warm it  later.  I have given a sample menu for 7 days, along with that links from last year Iftar Moments with 30 day menu plan .  This is just a sample menu, along with this include plenty of fruits and salads in your diet.

Here goes the menu

Day 1

Starter -Oats and  Sago Kanji	Starter - Uzunda Vadai	Main - Polenta Idli
Main - Vada  Curry	Dessert -Blackberry Pudding

Day 2

Starter - Vegetable  Cutlet	Main-Haleem	Main - Manakish
Main -Tandoori Chicken	Dessert - Walnut and Almond Kheer

Day 3

Starter - Turkish Lentil Soup	Starter - Turkish Pide	Main - Mediterranean Kebabs
Dessert - Semolina Syrup Cake

Day 4

Starter - Wholewheat Kanji	Main- Garlic and Coriander Naan	Main - Butter Chicken
Beverages - Nongu Paal

Day 5

Starter - Vegetable Soup	Main - Broccoli Rice	Main - Chicken Kurma
Dessert-Carrot and Almond Milk

Day 6

Starter - Morrocan Harira	Main- Garlic Rolls	Main -Baba Ganoush
Dessert - Baklava

Day 7

Starter - Falafels	Starter - Carrot and Paneer Paratha	Main - Kethal Chicken
Dessert -Fruit salad

Also for more ideas refer these links
Iftar Moments Hijri 1431- Roundup 1
                                         Roundup 2
                                         Roundup 3
Ramadhan Kareem!!!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Moroccan Harira

  Last year Ramadhan  still remains as fresh as a spring flower,  I  feel like just with a blink of eye we have reached this year Ramadhan, yes  the Holy month of Ramadhan is here in a month time.  Here is a soup which Moroccan's make specially during Ramadhan.

   Harira is a Moroccan soup served during Ramadhan and any special occasions.  It can be served as a meal by itself or you can also serve it as a starter.  Moroccan Cuisine is extremely diverse,  mostly influenced by Arab and Mediterranean cuisine.  When I think of Moroccan Cuisine the first thing which comes to my mind is Moroccan Tajine and when I think of Tajine's, the first think which I remember is , The tajine which I brought from Germany got broken :-(  Any way that's a different story , coming to Moroccan Cuisine, I love the sweetish and rich flavour of their  food.
  The large portion and their well presented food will be a real feast to your eyes when you sit and dine.  I followed this recipe from Cooking With Alia,  I love her recipes a lot . Do check her site for her yummy recipes.  I have made few changes from the original recipes.  Traditionally people use only vermicelli for Harira.  Since I didn't have vermicelli, I used some linguine pasta.  Which was not too bad, so the choice is yours.  Let's hit straight to the recipe now.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40  minutes
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
Chicken- 200 gm( boneless chopped)
Canned Chickpeas- 200 gm
Vermicelli or pasta-   1 tbsp broken
Puy lentils- 1 tbsp
Tomatoes- 2 big sized( ground into puree)
Onion- 1 medium sized( finely chopped)
Coriander and mint leaves- 1 tbsp( chopped finely)
Grated ginger- 1 tsp
Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder- 1/4 tsp
Vegetable stock- 1 litre
Flour- 1 tbsp
Oil- 1/2 tbsp
Salt - as required

Method:
Wash the puy lentils and soak in water for 1/2 an hour.   Take a large heavy bottomed pan, add  the oil, grated ginger and onion.  Fry it until the onion looks transparent.  Add the chicken, spices, chickpeas, lentils, vermicelli and tomato puree.  Finally add the stock and salt.  Cover the pan and let it boil for about 20 to 25 minutes.
Mix the flour with 2 tbsp of water, slowly add it into the soup.  Add the chopped coriander and mint leaves.  Finally add salt and pepper for taste .  Let it simmer until the soup looks slightly saucy and thick.
Serve the soup warm along with some crusty bread rolls.

Note:
If you couldn't get puy lentils, use masoor dhal or chana dhal.

This recipe goes to Souper Sundays and Savoury Sundays  and What's everyone having for Iftar

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Ramadhan Mubarak

Ramadhan Mubarak

   Ramadhan Mubarak to muslims all over the world.
"Ramadhan is the (month)  in which the Quran was sent down , as a guide to the mankind and a clear guidance and judgement( so that mankind will distinguish from the right and wrong)."TMQ( 2:185)


Allah' s Messenger ( peace be upon him) said: Whenever you sight the new moon( of the month of Ramadhan) observe fast, and when you sight it( the new moon of Shawwal) break it, and if the sky is cloudy for you, then observe fast for thirty days.( muslim)
Allah's Apostle said, " When the month of Ramadhan starts, the gates of heaven are opened and gates of hell are close and the devils are chained."( Bukhari)
Narrated by Abu Huraira(r.a): The Prophet said:" ..... whoever fasts during the month of  Ramadhan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven."( Bukhari)
The Messenger of Allah ( peace be upon him) addressed his companions on the last day of Shaban, saying," Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which a night better than thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night.  Whoever draws nearer( to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds  in this month shall receive the same reward as performing an obigatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in this month shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience and the reward of patience is heaven. It is the month of charity , and a month in which  a beleiver's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward  as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all." ( Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah).


Ramadhan is the month in which Allah(swt) covers you with his blessings, sends down  Mercy, decreases sins and answers prayers. So show Allah( swt) the goodness from yourselves, for the unfortunate one is he who is deprived in (this month) of the mercy of Allah.
"Fasting is the shield  with which a servant protects himself from the Fire" ( Ahmad)
On the Day Of Judgement, " Fasting will say: O My Lord I prevented him from food and desires so accept my intercession for him." ( Ahmad, al- Haakim, Hasan).


When I step into the month of Ramadhan every year I feel that I have got one more year to seek forgiveness and praise Allah. This is another blessed month of Ramadhan for us to Praise Allah( swt).
 Ramadhan Mubarak to Muslims all over the world.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad