As summer rolls in, the sun is gleaming, kids are out playing, and everyone wants a cooling treat. While ice cream stands as the number one summer treat without avail, strawberry ice cream is an everlasting favorite for its unpretentious flavor and refreshing melt in your mouth luxurious feel. And as Ramadan graces us with…
I noticed a lot of people coming to read last year’s Ramadan posts and I thought it was time for a new one today. It’s the start of Ramadan and Muslim people around the world will start a month long ritual of fasting from sunrise to sunset starting tomorrow. For the first day of Ramadan…
The Scotch Egg, originally called Nargisi Kabab or Kofta goes back hundreds of years to the Mogul Empire of India. Although the London department store, Fortnum & Mason, claims to have invented Scotch eggs in 1738, clearly the inspiration came from the Mughlai dish Nargisi Kabab, which the British must have encountered as they claimed…
Millions of Muslims around the world are gathering to celebrate Eid al-Adha. The festival honors the willingness of Ibrahim – known as Abraham in the Hebrew bible – to sacrifice his son following God’s command. Thus is also the Feast of Sacrifice. This festival also marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Many…
The word Sherbet derives from the Arabic word “shariba”, “to drink.” Shariba gave rise to numerous derivatives, in Arabic and other languages, including English. Whatever it was called in any language, however, sherbet’s principal meaning remains “syrup” or its derivative, “a cooling drink of the East,” as the Oxford English Dictionary calls it. Sherbet is…
We can’t go through the month of Ramadan without touching upon the subject of dates. Dates are a staple fruit of the Middle East having been in cultivation for thousands of years. Traditionally Muslims will break their fast at the end of the day with a date as this is said to have been the…
Pistachio Rose Water Cookies are delicately flavored and somehow light and airy, yet chewy and crispy all at once. Fresh flavors of lime and rose in these cookies beckon the spring and summer to be eaten outdoors at a picnic perhaps. The unique flavors in these cookies are lovely for the summer or the holidays. They…
It’s the second day of fast for Ramadan 2015 and also the first Friday of Ramadan. Fridays are much like a day of Sabbath in Islam and the day on which a special prayer is held at Mosques called Jumah. It is a congregational prayer (ṣalāt) that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon in the…