Tag: #ramadan

Easy Seekh Kebabs…
Stylemesisteradmin
May 12, 2019

Healthier than your Takeaway…

There was a time when I would dread making seekh kebabs because I’d struggle with getting the meat to stick to the skewer. Nowadays I’ve learnt a thing or two and and make these kebabs often (as my girls love them and I love the off Kebab Sub).

You can add more/less spices to accommodate your own taste buds.

To make enough kebabs to serve 4…

500 grams mince (I use Mutton however you can use lamb/beef too). Ideally the mince should be ‘marbled’ with fat in other words you can see the fat. If you can’t see any fat you can either ask you butcher to add some (if you use a butcher) or you can spray oil onto the kebabs whilst cooking them.

3 heaped TBSP Coriander leaves and stalks chopped finely
1 medium onion chopped finely
1 heaped TBSP pre-fried onions soaked in warm water for 10 minutes and drained.
3 green chilies chopped finely (or use chili paste)
1 TSP garlic paste
8-12 mint leaves chopped finely
1 TBSP cumin seed powder (heaped)
1 TBSP coriander seed powder (heaped)
Salt-to taste
1 TSP amchoor (green mango powder. It adds a bit of tartness)
OPTIONAL: liquid smoke flavouring

Wooden skewer sticks. If you are going to cook these kebabs on the BBQ soak the wooden skewers to avoid them catching fire.

1) Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.
2) With your hands mix the mince thoroughly.
3) Divide up the mixture into equal portions. You want to make long sausage shape skewers but thinner than the average banger.
4) Wet your hands and take the mince into one of your hands. Now shape it around the skewer. The mixture should be tightly packed around the skewer to stop it falling apart.
5) Cover the kebabs with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
6) Now you will either shallow fry or BBQ the kebabs. If you are shallow frying take a large pan and heat it on a medium heat. Fry a few kebabs at a time. Turn over and fry until the kebabs are golden all over.
7) Drain on kitchen paper.
8) Serve your Kebabs with your choice of chutneys and sauces.

NOTES:
These kebabs can be frozen successfully for up to 3 months. To freeze cook the kebabs, cool them completely and freeze them open on a baking tray for an hour. Then transfer the kebabs to a airtight container of bag.

Easy Rajmah Tikkis
Alliyah Dawud
May 10, 2019

Alu Tikkis are one of my favourite all time desi foods. My love of tikkis means I am always trying to come up with variations that are healthy and will bring a bit of va va voom to the dinner table.

I love Rajmah dhal. Its at number two at my favourite and most cooked dhal at home (Tarka dhal being at number one). Nowadays you can pick up cooked Kidney Beans in a can for around 30 pence in England. I usually use two cans to make myself Rajmah dhal and believe me pre-cooked anything saves time in the kitchen.

My love of lentils, pulses and healthier desi food brought me onto the idea of making a tikki from this bean.

This recipe combines a bit of potato with the beans. I find this definitely helps the texture of the tikkis and also helps keeps them together. Plus it reduces down the carbs in the Tikki.

This is a nice, economical recipe. You can use wonky potatoes to make these tikkis.

These Tikkis can be frozen up to a month successfully. Fry them, cool them, open freeze them on a baking sheet for around an hour and then wrap them in greaseproof paper before placing them in an airtight freezer container or ziploc bag.

To make enough to serve 4 you’ll need:

  • 1 x 400 grams Red Kidney Beans rinsed and drained
  • 200-250 grams potatoes-boiled (that’s two medium potatoes if you are not fussed my weights).
  • Salt-to taste
  • 1 & 1/2 TBSP cornflour
  • 1 heaped TBSP coriander leaves chopped finely
  • 1 TSP cumin seed powder
  • 1 TSP coriander seed powder
  • 1/2 TSP chili powder

Oil-to shallow fry

1) Mash the potatoes and the kidney beans to form a mash/dough. You can blitz the beans in a processor if that makes you feel better because lets face it. Mashing beans isn’t all fun and games.

2) Now add all the other tikki ingredients to the mixture. Using your hands mix well.

3) Using wet hands shape your tikkis. You can make medium ones using a walnut size amount of mixture. Or if you want to serve these as canapes/starters make them smaller.

4) In a large pan heat the oil on a medium heat. Fry the tikkis on a medium heat until lightly golden brown. Do not keep turning the tikkis over as this will increase the chances of breaking them.

5) Once brown on both sides drain off on kitchen paper.

6) Serve with chutneys and sauces of your choice.

NOTES: the corn flour is added to help keep the tikkis together. If you cannot get your hands on it replace with Basan (gram flour).

The beans and potatoes are already cooked so don’t worry if the tikkis are fried to golden brown within minutes. Kidney beans only cause problems if they are not cooked properly. And in this case they are already cooked.

Additional Tip: I use my trusted potato ricer to mash the potatoes. I don’t even need to peel the potato to use it. I can boil the potato whole (skin on) or bake it (skin on of course) and put it through the ricer.

Alliyahs awesome (bulk) Pakora Mix
Alliyah Dawud
May 6, 2019

My bulk Pakora mix

Ramadan Kareem by lovely folk!

For many Asians Pakoras are an essential foodie item on the Ramadan schedule. I’ll admit that as a child I associated these golden nuggets of yumminess with the holy month.

This Ramadan I will be posting recipes I find easy, economical and a bit different to the standard Ramadan feasts we are so used to. And as someone who tries to make healthy eating a part of family life I want to provide recipes I use at home and have tweaked to make them slightly better than the mainstream counterparts. I also like the idea of ‘freestyling’ in the kitchen so I sometimes don’t have exact weights for ingredients just like the average Mama won’t whilst cooking to feed her brood.

I’ll also post shorter articles during the blessed month too. Feel free as always to share the blog posts with your nearest, dearest and folk who love food!

Nowadays I enjoy Pakoras when I want however I know many that spend hours preparing the gram flour mix during the month of Ramadan.

I’m here to suggest that you mix it all in bulk…and cut your work load. Literally!

I make a big batch of Pakora mix to save time and also money. Pre-mixed boxes work out more expensive. The only real convenience they bring to the kitchen is the fact all the spices have been added. That’s it.

Here is my recipe for my Pakora Mix. I’ve made up batches and used them over 2 months so I’ve had no problems at all. I’ve listed the spices I use as standard.

I don’t actually add ‘chili’ in the form of Chili Powder until I’m making a batch of Pakoras. This works for me as I don’t give my daughters lots of chili.

If you are avoiding salt then by all means adjust the recipe to reflect that.

To make a huge batch of Alliyahs Pakora Mix you will need:

4 cups of Gram Flour (that’s chickpea flour aka Basan) sifted into a large bowl
1 TBSP baking powder-sifted into the bowl
2 TBSP salt
1 TBSP dried coriander leaves (heaped)
2 TBSP coriander powder (heaped)
2 TBSP cumin powder (heaped)
2 TBSP carom seeds-whole (heaped)
1 TBSP garam masala powder (heaped)

1) If you haven’t already done it sift the basan (gram flour) and baking powder into a large bowl.
2) Add the spices and stir to eventually distribute the ingredients.
3) Decant the mix into a airtight container.
Your mix is ready to use.

I usually make a test batch of Pakoras so I know if I need to add more spices.

NOTE: to make the Pakora mixture I add 2 TBSP of coriander leaves (finely chopped up) to the mixture.

To use the mix:
There’s two ways I use this mix.

1) Make a thick paste (it should coat the back of a wooden spoon) and dip in your favourite vegetables and deep fry until golden brown.

2) Cut up your vegetables and add 3 tablespoons of the mix. Add a little water and mix to coat the vegetables and create a sticky mix. If the mixture is too gloopy add a bit of water. If you cannot see the Pakora mix and the vegetables are not coated add more mix. It’s a bit of trial and error depending on how much vegetables you are using.

Don’t forget to add some chili powder if you need something a bit more spicy.

Enjoy your Pakoras! What do you usually serve with yours? Drop us a message below.

70 days left until Ramadan 2019…
Alliyah Dawud
February 24, 2019

70 DAYS until we are greeted by the holiest month of the Islamic year. As promised here is a breakdown of goals I am setting to get best out of Ramadan.

Life & Spirituality:

Break down your responsibilities over Ramadan and sort out your time table for the Holy month. Then you can plan your time WISELY. But the first step is to sort out your calendar/dairy.

Ideally you only want to keep the responsiblities that cannot be moved or take a back burner until post Ramadan.

These in my opinion are:
Work, responsibilities towards family (School runs etc), College/Education and of course your development as a Muslim (prayers, meditation etc).

For some these may include community volunteering and even the gym. But you get the idea.

What can be delayed/moved?
Meeting up with friends, sleep overs for the children, other social events, binge watching box sets…you get the picture.

Knowing how much time you have to commit to Ramadan activities exclusively will help you map out what you want to achieve better. It helps me not over commit and under achieve.

Long fasts….Iftaar parties are so tiring….

As Ramadan 2019 is during the hotter months (with a long day) organising Iftaars is a lot of work and can be very tiring.

  • Instead of organising Iftaars consider the following:
  • Donating food to a Food Bank
  • Volunteering the time to a Soup Kitchen
  • Send a Food Hamper to close family
  • Send cookies/Fruit platters for Iftar to friends (you can bake the cookies with children before Ramadan and package them and distribute them on the first of Ramadan).
  • Send a box of dates. We actually do this. We also send ‘fancy a date’ cones to the School for the Teachers. It’s a nice gesture and includes those that are around your children for such a long period of time to enjoy some of the festivities too.

So what are your goals for Ramadan? Why not leave us a comment below and inspire others too.

90 days left until the start of Ramadan.
Stylemesisteradmin
February 5, 2019

It’s funny how time flies isn’t it? The idea behind this countdown isn’t to scare you but rather eliminate that OMG Ramadan starts tomorrow feeling.

So with three months to go…here’s my list of suggestions to get on with.

Health:
Have you been meaning to boost your vitamins? Or are you lacking a certain mineral? Now is the time to invest in them so your body has time to adjust to them and reap the benefits.
Tip: do your own research into Black Seed Oil. It’s an amazing product and I think doing your own research will benefit you long term.

Sleeping problems? Speak to your GP now and see what options you have to help with the problem.

Smoker? Start looking at cutting back or better still quitting.

Spirituality:
The busiest time of the year for the hub of our community (the Masjid) is Ramadan. Why not give it an MOT beforehand? Does the Masjid need paintwork? Does the driveway need patching up? Look at the tasks now and get a group together to get work done before the Holy month. You will feel a lot of satisfaction especially on the first night of prayers when Masjid goers comment on how the Masjid is glowing.

Community:
If you live in the West it’s nice to let the community know about Ramadan. Its also good to let elderly in the area be aware of the Holy month and how footfall will increase especially at night. Seeing groups of people you usually do not see can be a worry for elderly people so it’s courtesy let them know the prayer time table.

Tip: if the Masjid route falls on an area with a high elderly population why not get leaflets printed at the masjid to explain Ramadan and offer to assist the elderly with chores, shopping etc? As Ramadan falls in hotter months this can also be a worry for elderly (dehydration is a common problem). Some won’t open windows (in particular of bungalows) in fear of thefts. Be community minded. This is a type of dawah we can all adopt.

Contact your local Police Station and let them know Taraweeh times so that if there is any offers on patrol around that time they can be seen around the Masjid which helps build stronger community links for the younger generations.

Clean up your neighbourhood. Organise a litter pick or get involved with one. Take pride in your area.

Work:
Let your boss know when Ramadan is and see what can be done about making life a bit less strainuous without affecting business. This could be leaving earlier if you skip lunch break or working different shifts. But you won’t know what is available until you ask your boss.

College/University/Schools:
Inform everyone about Ramadan and when it will be and end. If you have children at School ask for key dates for the diary and adjust your dairy to reflect this.

Tip: Only book things into your diary during Ramadan that you cannot avoid. A long fast, hot weather and working life will result in general lack of energy.

Family:
Even if your children are too young to fast start preparing them for the blessed month. Let them know that Ramadan is coming and you’ll be coming together as a family to celebrate.

And that’s my list! What do you guys do to prepare for the Holy month?

Drop your comments below.