RAMADHAN - QURAN READING

do you want to finish reading the Holy Quran this Ramadhan?

All you have to do is to read around 4.5 pages after each prayer.

4.5 x 5 x 30 = 604 pages
pages x prayers per day x days = total pages in Quran

AADHI ARUL - click to listen to song

RECIPE - PRATA & CHICKEN SALNA

salna (or chalna) is a famous side dish in madurai, usually served with prata or paratha. it's also famous in tenkasi.
whenever we stay in tenkasi, most of the time our breakfast is paratha & chicken or mutton salna. women there usually make paratha at home and they will prepare salna also. sometimes they also make idyiappam (puttu mayam) or thosai & serve with salna.
today i'll give you the recipe for prata & chicken salna.

PRATA
Ingredients
maida or plain flour (you may also use wheat or atta flour) - 4 cups
yogurt - 1/2 cup
salt - 1 tsp
baking soda - 1/4 tsp
egg (optional) - 1
cooking oil - 1/2 cup
warm water
Butter - small amt

Method
add salt, baking soda, oil, yogurt and egg to maida and mix them well. add warm water to the mix and keep stirring it to the consistency of chappati dough. cover the dough with damp cloth and let it sit for one hour.
create medim size balls from the dough. with 4 cups of flour you should be able to create at least 7 balls for a medium size prata.
on a large flat surface like your kitchen countertop, roll the ball as thin as possible. don't worry about the shape for now. start from the longest end. make a fold of about half inch toward the inner side. next, fold it again so that first fold doesn't goes inside but stays outside, in the shape of "W". continue to fold on the fashion to create "zipzag" fashion in terms of folding.
roll the zipzag pattern to come to the round shape as show above. set the pan in stove to medium heat. roll the dough in circle shape. apply some butter and put in the pan.
cook the prata on each side for about a minute until in reach light brownish color. take the cooked prata and place it on a plain surface. Smash the prata sideways to make it soft & fluffy.
serve hot with salna or other gravy.

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CHICKEN SALNA
Ingredients

Marinade:
chicken-1lb
salt-required
chilli powder- 3/4 tsp
turmeric powder
lemon juice

Dry Roast & Grind:
aniseed (perunjeeragam) - 1tsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
peppercorns - 3/4 tsp
red chillies - 4

Masala:
roughly chop everything and roast in 2 tsp oil.
Onion - 1
garlic - 5 pods
ginger - 1/2"
tomato - 1
coconut - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Method
Heat oil in a kadai (or frying pan) and fry coconut until color changes. set aside. roast the rest of the ingredients under masala until soft. grind this along with the coconut until smooth. Heat oil in pot or deep saucepan and fry chicken for 2- 3 mins. Then add all the masalas. Add required salt. Mix well and leave it to cook. once chicken is cooked add corriander leaves.
Chicken salna is ready.
you may also serve idyiappam (puttu mayam) or thosai with salna.

RECIPE - BREAK FAST (BUKA PUASA)

thinking of what to do for breakfast this evening? we indian muslims will break fast with thosai, idli, murthabak, prata, idiyappam (puttu mayam) and etc. chaya (tea) is a must during break fast. in my house my mom makes lovely karupatti chaya or inji chaya. and she makes nice soft puttu also. she'll use rice flour or ragi flour. in singapore we usually take this with banana, ghee & red sugar. but whenever we go kerala, puttu is served with kadala curry or nenthrapazham (banana) and ghee.
it's always nice to start the breakfast with a dessert. today i'll give you 2 dessert recipes. Abok Abok Sago & Suji Kheer are my favourite desserts:



ABOK ABOK SAGO

Ingredients
100g pearl sago
150g gula Melaka, finely grated
150g castor sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp pandan juice (blend three screwpine pandan leaves with a little water and squeeze out for juice)
A few drops green food colouring
250g grated white coconut


Method

Soak sago in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Wash under running tap to get rid of excess starch. Drain well in a metal strainer. Mix sago with grated white coconut, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Divide into two portions. To one portion, add pandan juice and green food colouring to mix. Add gula Melaka to the other portion. Grease a 10cm square baking tin lightly with corn oil. Spread the green portion on the base and press down firmly. Put into a steamer and steam for 10-12 minutes. Pour the gula Melaka portion over the steamed green portion and spread evenly. Press down firmly, then steam over boiling water for 20-25 minutes. Remove the tin from the steamer and leave aside to cool completely before cutting.

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SOOJI KHEER

Ingredients

50 gms sooji
3 tblsp sugar
a pinch cardamom powder
Raisins (roasted in ghee)
Almonds (sliced & roasted in ghee)
cashew nuts (sliced & roasted in ghee)
200 ml Milk
2 tblsp ghee (or oil, the flavour is nice with ghee)

Method

Heat a fry pan on slow heat. Put the sooji (semolina) in it and dry roast it for few minutes, until it starts to change the colour. Add the ghee or oil and then mix it for 2 minutes. (the ghee can also be added in the beginning in step 2 along with sooji (semolina). But if you add the Ghee later then you can manage with less amount of ghee. Once done add the milk and mix it thoroughly so that there are no lumps. Add the sugar and mix. Add the raisins, almonds and cardomon powder. Serve hot.

Tips: It just takes 5 minutes to make this recipe and it is especially good on wintery days, it helps settle the dryness of throat, and relieves soar throat symptoms as well.

RAMADHAN - PART 2 - SAHUR (early morning meals)

SAHUR TIPS

Many of us will have rice with curry during sahur. but most of us will have heartburn, indigestion & uneasy feeling after sahur. how to avoid these uncomfortable feelings?

here are some tips:

• don't sleep immediately after eating. i know some of them who'll sleep immediately after eating & they'll wake-up later to pray subuh. pls stay awake for a while to pray subuh & sleep. or some of us will not sleep after praying subuh. we will sit & do dhikir. then we will get ready to go to work.
• eat well balanced food. avoid taking rice with curry. try eating rice with light gravy, such as rasam, sambar or soup. make it simple as possible. i'll give some nice recipes later.
• drink plenty of plain water. try not to drink coffee or tea after eating. Tea makes you pass more urine taking with it valuable mineral salts that your body would need during the day. drinking fruit juices is also good.
• take more fruits & vegetables.
• avoid fried foods.
  

the above tips are also for breaking fast in the evening.

A SOUP RECIPE

Ingredients - Quantity is up to individual
fish Balls - cut it into halves or
fish Cakes - slice it
broccoli
cauliflower
tomatoes
carrot - sliced or cut
onion - sliced
garlic - chopped
ginger - chopped
cumin - a pinch
green chilli (optional)
pepper & salt
water
oli


Method

heat up a few drops of oil in a deep saucepan or a pot. fry onion. add ginger & garlic. some may prefer ginger garlic paste. add cumin.

add the carrot. stir fry & add in water. when half cooked add the rest of the vegetables, pepper & salt.

it's a very easy recipe. you may also use other vegetables like cabbage (red cabbage, round cabbage etc.), bean sprouts, snow beans etc.

you may also remove fish cake or fish balls if you don't take them. you may use tofu as alternative or just use vegetables.

try not to add potatoes, as it will produce gas in our body. same case for carrot. but you may add small quantity of carrot for flavour.

you may also use chicken nuggets as side dish.

i'll be posting more easy recipes soon.

RAMADHAN - THE MOST SACRED MONTH OF THE MUSLIM CALENDER - PART 1

fasting month will be starting tomorrow, 13/09/2007, in singapore. we muslims will be observing fast for 1 month. more time to be spent on praying & reading quran. we are also encouraged to do more dhikir.
let's take this opportunity to do more donations to poor & the needy.

1. The month of Ramadan is a month in which the Mercy and Blessings of Allah Ta'ala descend upon us continuously.

2. The whole Qur'aan was sent down to the first sky from Lawhe Mahfooz.

3. There is the night of Qadr, which is better than 1000 months.

4. The thawaab of good deed is equal to the fardh of another month. Tthe daily bread of Muslims is increased.

5. The first ten days are of mercy, second ten days are of forgiveness and the last ten days are of being freed from Hell.

given below is the link for prayer time, closing & opening time of breakfast & tarawih @ void decks & public places:

http://www.muis.gov.sg

SALAATHULLA SALAAMULLAH click here for song

coming soon - more topics on ramadhan - fasting, prayers, tips & recipes.