The first week has now passed and I’m positive that this blessed month will fly by. I have decided to dedicate this post to our household Iftar specials. The dishes we have at my house every year and helps us through these 18 hour fasts.
My dad’s special lamb biryani, garnished with caramelised onions and lemon slices, with chicken tikka, kebabs, roasted baby potatoes that were cooked in the same marination as the chicken tikka and a side of greek style yoghurt.
Obviously I’m biased when it comes to my dads cooking – but like I’ve mentioned before here, I’ve not tasted a better biryani than his and that’s a fact. As for everything else on this plate, I wish I could feed everyone this exact dish, it has everything a punjabi dish should have, flavour, heat, coolness and a hint of sweetness.
I came across this style of yoghurt from a good friend of mine. Her mother made this beautiful yoghurt with grated cucumber, coriander, grinded cumin seeds, salt and to my surprise, sugar. Which complimented the chicken well and everything else. It brought the whole dish together and has become my personal favourite style of yoghurt.
And is it really Ramadan without the famous fruit-chaat.
In this case it was a fruit salad, I decided to miss out the chaat masala as I feel the spices ruin the natural fruit flavour. Why ruin it with heaps of spices. Simple and delicious. You can put in any fruit you like, there are no limitations.
I squeezed about 5/6 oranges for this dish, some people like to add in orange juice from a carton but I feel that takes away the originality of it.
“The household that has dates, will not go hungry” – (Sahih Muslim, Hadith)
Dates come with many beneficial qualities, these are:
Very nutritious
High in fibre
Full of anti-oxidants to fight diseases
Improves brain function
May promote natural labour
Good for bones as well as lowering cholesterol
Every year in our house, it’s tradition for us to make this lime drink, known as “skanjvee” (skanjvi?) anyways, this drink is so refreshing! and it only takes 5 minutes to make.
First you get a jug of cold water and put however much sugar you want in and let the sugar dissolve. Squeeze about 4/5 limes and there you have it. Bung it all together and add some ice. You can add in some mint, in Pakistan some people like to add in salt. But it’s not my cup of tea (or shall I say skanjvee?)
I think everyone’s house is different when it comes to Iftar and I’d like to know what you guys eat and what traditions you have during this month.
Bình luận