Category: recipes

RAMADAN DRINKS

some Ramadan healthy drinks options to make at home.

Author: Marisa Lopez Chicote

Let us see some Ramadan healthy drinks options to make at home.  

SOBIA DRINK

Ingredients 

  •  Half a glass of grated coconut
  •  4 tablespoons of rice flour
  •  2 glasses of water
  •  Half a glass of sugar
  •  2 glasses of milk
  •  Half a glass of powdered milk
  •  1 tablespoon of vanilla essence

Elaboration 

 Put the rice flour in a bowl

 Mix the water with the coconut and leave it to rest in the fridge for 6 hours.

 Then whisk the rice flour, with the coconut water, the fresh milk and powder, the sugar and the vanilla

 Strain the mixture through cheesecloth and cool and ready to drink

QAMAR EL DIN DRINK

Qamar el Deen means in Arabic “Moon of the Religion,” many believe it was first produced in Ghouta, Syria due to the high yield of apricots there. While it’s unclear how the name originated, some believe it was named after its inventor’s good looks, while others believe it’s all thanks to a caliph who loved drinking it during the Holy Month.

Elaboration 

Cut two sheets of dried apricot leather and cut them down to size. Put them into a pot and add water. Put the pot on medium heat and let it simmer while stirring every once in a while till thickened.

Put the juice in a blender, add a teaspoon of rose water and sugar (two cups for every six cups of water). Start blending until fully combined. Put the final mix in the fridge till serving time.

About the Author: Marisa Lopez Chicote is an event planner and mother of 5, living in Cairo and Muslim since 1985 alhamdullah. I love travelling and cooking.  

TA3MEYA OR FALAFEL RECIPE

Falafel, also known as Ta3meya in Egypt, is a deep-fried patty made from ground chickpeas or fava beans, or both. Falafel is a traditional Arab food, usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa; “falafel” also frequently refers to a wrapped sandwich that is prepared in this way. The falafel are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezzak or served as part of a meze.

TA3MEYA OR FALAFEL RECIPE

Author: Marisa López Chicote

 

The Falafel history is highly contested. 

Most common theories connect the invention of Falafel with Egyptian Coptic Christians that a 1000 years ago were looking for a vegetarian dish during lent. It was made of dried fava beans and from Egypt it has spread to the rest of the middle east. Different variations of Falafel started appearing, among them the one replacing the fava beans with chickpeas beans, which is presently the most common one.

No photo description available.

Falafel, also known as Ta3meya in Egypt, is a deep-fried patty made from ground chickpeas or fava beans, or both. Falafel is a traditional Arab food, usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa; “falafel” also frequently refers to a wrapped sandwich that is prepared in this way. The falafel are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezzak or served as part of a meze.

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups of blended fava beans peeled (Foul mashus)
  • 1  chopped onion
  •  1 chopped clove of garlic
  • 2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 1  teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 3  tablespoons of sesame seeds
  • Fresh coriander
  • Fresh dill
  • Fresh parsley
  • Salt and black pepper
  • cooking oil ½ –
  • 1 teaspoon of salt to taste

Elaboration

  1. Soak the foul overnight in cold water and blend it to get a paste 
  2. Chop the onions and garlic and place in a mixing bowl.
  3. Pull the chopped leaves of dill, coriander and parsley and add to the mixing bowl.
  4. Add the egg, baking soda, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cumin and salt to the bowl. .
  5. Recommend you add ½ a teaspoon initially and then add more as required to taste after blending.
  6. Add the foul to the mixing bowl and blend into a green paste. Then gentle kneed. If two moist add a little flour, if too dry add a couple of spoons of water.
  7. Heath the oil until it is bubbling.
  8. With a wet spoon shape the mix into flat discs 4cm x 2 cm. Sprinkle lightly with sesame seeds and add to the hot oil. The falafel is ready when it has turned brown on the outside. If you find your falafel is breaking apart upon contact with the oil it is too moist. Add some flour and roll it in flour before placing in the oil.
  9. Serve with hot pita bread, salad and hummus or baba ganoush.

About the Author: Marisa Lopez Chicote is an event planner and mother of 5, living in Cairo and Muslim since 1985, alhamdullah. She loves travelling and cooking.

Qataifs Stuffed with Nuts

Author; Marisa Lopez Chicote 

Ingredients 

For the dough 

  • 1 glass of flour 
  • 2 and a half glasses of semolina fine
  • 1 sachet of baking powder, 
  • 1 tablespoon of dry yeast, 
  • 4 glasses of water 
  • A pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar

For the filling 

  • Pistachios, coconut flakes,cinnamon, raisins and hazelnuts

For the syrup 

  • 2 glasses of sugar
  • 1 glass of water 
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon juice 
  • 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water 

Elaboration:

 Syrup:

First I prepare the syrup because it should be a bit cold before we can use it. 

In a pan, add all the syrup ingredients and heat medium fire until we get a little syrup. 

Qatayefs dough :

Mix  all the ingredients and beat in the blender and let the dough rest for 10 minutes and make them in a frying pan without oil only for one side.

 Filling  

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl 

Once we have our qatayefs dough ready, we can start to filling and close. Heat cooking oil in a frying pan and fry the stuffed qatayefs and once it have a golden colour take out and cover with the syrup and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

We can do out qatayefs also in the oven to be lighter 

About the Author: Marisa Lopez Chicote is an event planner and mother of 5, living in Cairo and Muslim since 1985, alhamdullah. She loves travelling and cooking.

EGYPTIAN RAMADAN TRADITIONS: KONAFA & QATAYEFS – Marisa López

We are going to start this Ramadan 2021 talking about some of the Egyptian traditions during the Holy month 

Today we are going to talk about of one of these traditions , the konafa and the qatayefs.

 Egyptians run from the first day of Ramadan to buy the dough from the konafa and the qatayefs.

 These sweets are one of the most important rituals and customs associated with this holy month.  They became a part of the tradition in Ramadan for centuries.

 In the past, the konafa was known as “The adornment of the tables of kings and princes”.

 One of the legends tells of its origin is that one of the candy makers invented it specifically for “Muawiyah Ben Abi Sufyan”, when he was governor of the Levant (Syria and Palestine), after complaining to his doctor about being hungry during the day of the  Ramadan, what he did the doctor recommended to prevent his hunger, his name was associated with his name and it was called “Kuafah of Muawiyah”.

 Other legends say that the Egyptians knew konafa before they did in the Levant, and that it first appeared in the Fatimid era, specifically, when the caliph “Al-Mu’izz Ledin Allah Al-Fatimi” entered Cairo in the  holy month of Ramadan, when people came out after quickly breaking the fast to greet him and give him gifts and among these was the konafa, which was then transmitted to Levante by merchants and later became a Ramadan ritual throughout the Middle East area.

 As for Qatayef, no documented historical references have yet been identified indicating its origin and its association with Ramadan.  Even the legends that speak of its appearance date contradict each other.  Some confirm its appearance in the Fatimid era, others say it appeared in the Mamluk, Umayyad, and early Abbasid eras.  Furthermore, even the name “Qatayef” we do not know where it comes from or its meaning or the reason behind its name, although some believe that the reason for naming this name is due to the fact that it feels like velvet when you eat it.

 These doughs are made by the kanafani, holding a cup-shaped strainer with liquid dough that is rolled up in an iron oven with a tray to obtain the dough in the shape of a rope.  Qatayefs are baked in a round pancake shape.

 Then they are distributed by all the stores and supermarkets and in each house, we prepare it with our favorite fillings

 In my house, the ones we like the most are filled with cream or nuts mixed with grated coconut.

 In recent years, mango, Nutella or even Red Velvet fillings have become very popular.

 What is your favorite stuff for konafa and qatayefs???

I am going to share my recipe 

Konafa stuffed with coconut cream

Ingredients 300 grams of mass Konafa ghee (ghee) For the syrup 2 glasses of sugar 1 cup water lemon juice Cream 3 eggs yolk , 2 tbsp of corn flour, 3 tbsp of sugar, 4 tbsp of coconut flakes and half litre of milk and vainilla 

Preparation

First prepare the syrup, putting the ingredients in the heat until the syrup take thick point While cutting the dough Konafa with scissors or in a food processor and impregnate well with the ghee melted with hands or a brush Put on a tray a first layer squeezing well the dough, after put the cream, and another layer of konafa and put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown take Remove from oven and pour the syrup

About the Author: Marisa Lopez Chicote is an event planner and mother of 5, living in Cairo and Muslim since 1985, alhamdullah. She loves travelling and cooking. 

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