Balaleet - Traditional Qatari Breakfast

Though Alhamdulillah life has been busy that I couldn't put up a few important blog posts, I didn't want to miss this post which will also be the last post of this year in sha Allah. No guesses for it as today is Qatar's National Day and this year too I tried making a traditional Qatari dish. Almost 9 years in this beautiful country this indeed has become another home away home for us. The whole country is decked up and the festive feel runs in you too.. with winter holidays starting right after the joy is much.




   
   Okay coming to the recipe Balaleet- so whats that its sweet vermicelli served with a piece of an omelet. Every Gulf country has a recipe on its own. I first tried balaleet in a hotel in a Sharjah in their breakfast buffet. but I didn't know the vermicelli and the omelet has to be eaten togetheršŸ™ˆ. Then later I 've devoured them virtually through the blogposts of dearies Rafeeda and Famidha.
But I 've never dared to make them at home as I always feared that my family wouldn't like it..
my hubby would ask who will eat sweet vermicelli with omelet? šŸ˜³ ...  Tried to make the taste at a restaurant here but no luck .. they didn't likešŸ˜•.  I totally dropped the plans to try the recipe until recently I stumbled upon the recipe in Qatar living. The recipe was so easy to make and authentic my instincts told me "Let's try this recipešŸ˜¬.. It would be yummy" Surprisingly got a nod to make this and I made this delicious Balaleet for brekkie last Friday.


        True to my instincts this was the best balaleet I have ever had to date..  the whole dish came together under 15 minutes and the saffron-flavored omelet balanced the sweet rose & saffron flavored vermicelli. It's truly magicalšŸ˜šŸ˜. A must-try dish for brekkie for sure. And I am so happy alhamdulillah this will be in our menu hereafteršŸ˜

 check out my other recipes on Qatar national day  here and here and here

You Need:

 for vermicelli:
Vermicelli                     1 cup
Sugar                             1/3 cup
Rose water                    1/4 cup
A pinch of saffron
A pinch of turmeric
A tad pinch of salt & pepper

for omelet:
eggs                          2 nos
A tad pinch of saffron
A pinch of salt & pepper
oil                              1 tsp



Preparation:

Cook vemicelli in enough hot water and drain them.
In a pan add the cooked vermicelli, sugar, rose water, saffron, turmeric salt and pepper. cook for about 5 min.
  meanwhile beat the eggs, saffron, salt & pepper . heat a pan add the oil once it gets hot pour the egg mixture cook them for about two minutes flip them over. cook for a minute .. remove from pan.
Roll them and slice them into pieces.
Keep the cooked vermicelli in a plate . top them with rolled omelet and serve hot!.

Mutton Kheema filling

The one and a half month summer vacation came  to an end last week.. spent the summers here is Qatar and should say the days went quite fast.Attended some beautiful workshops, had a good rest, tried few new recipes, hand painted backgrounds for photography.. so had a funfilled vacation over all alhamdulillah.



Once a school starts a big question is what to pack in their lunch boxes?????   have to come up with new ideas so that they dont get bored. so today sharing a easy mutton kheema filling recipe with you all.. this is my go to recipe.. for samosa, murtabak, sandwiches, parathas. kari idli/ dosai..you can even toss in pasta or vermicelli for a quick meal.
Usually I make the filling semi gravy for murtabak, parathas, kari idli/dosai.. and make the filling dry for samosas and sandwiches. you can also add in veggies of you choice like peas, carrots, potatoes too.  one filling many recipes.. lets proceed to the recipe:



You need:

Mutton Kheema            300 gms
Onion( big)                    1 nos
Tomato (medium)          1 nos
Ginger Garlic Paste        1 1/2 tsp
Green Chilli                   1 nos(optional)
Oil                                  1 tbsp
Chilli powder                 1tsp
Turmeric powder           1/4tsp
Jeera powder                  1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder     3/4 tsp
Salt

Preparation:

Wash the kheema and drain them well.
Slice the onions thin. and dice the tomatoes.
Heat oil in a kadai add onions and fry till they  become translucent.
Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes. now add the tomato, green chilli and saute for a couple of minutes the tomatoes have to soften.
Add the masalas and fry. now add the kheema and saute them .
Add around 1/2- 3/4 cup of water. and cook the kheema. to the desired consistency.
Use them in samosas, parathas, murtabak, sandwiches of your choice.

Nungu Sharbat / Ice Apple Sharbat

Once again after a long break from the blog.. but this time was completely unexpected.. i think my last post was in feb 2019.. after that life has been a sheer roller coaster... Every time life gets busy blog work always gets abandoned.. feel guilty about it but blogging is something I do with complete peace of mind and need a couple of hours straight to do a single post..  All the words gotta flow from my brain to my fingers.. sometimes i even tell my husband how hard will it be to write a book?

  But saying that I try to keep my social media handles active and you can find me posting easy one page recipes now and then... why recipes in social media and not in blog? the recipes i post in social media are short easy and it takes very less time and I do it from my mobile anywhere.. no laptop required.. In Sha Allah will try to post those recipes also soon. meanwhile checkout my fb & insta handles @nilouferriyaz  for more recipe updates.. my insta handle has a lot of recipe tips too..



  So whats the recipe today.. When Rafeeda gave the topic for this month for Muslim Food Bloggers Challenge I didnt want to miss it.. as there is gonna be a break due to summer vacations.. Even in the mid I had the recipe ready but totally missed out on the date as I was totally busy. The topic given for MFBC#29 was THIRST QUENCHERS/ COMFORTABLE WARM DRINKS.. no guesses for what I am choosing today.. Since we are spending summers in Qatar this year and I have a recipe in hand I clicked when I went to India in March which was officially the beginning of Summers down south there.

  Summers mean you crave for cold drinks .. from fresh fruit juices to milk shakes to mocktails even tang.. but there is one fruit I crave every year  especially after coming to Gulf is the Palm Fruit / Ice Apple / Nungu .. Its a seasonal fruit and its available during summers(march-may) in Tamilnadu but every year I am stuck here when its summers there and when i go to India during vacations in Gulf ( July- August)  its really very rare to find oh how i have missed the fruit. This year our visit fell in the month of march and guess what had Nungu, jackfruit  to my hearts content didnt think making any recipes as i wanted to relish the fruit as such as its a rare delicacy for me..



But one day we made Nungu Sharbat I immediately thought of clicking it and posting it in instagram.. but that didnt happen may be it was destined for a blogpost.. Its a very simple and filling sharbat to make I am sharing all the variations as I dont know when I will get a chance to make them again.
Lets make them.

You Need:

Freshly grated Coconut                    1 cup aprox
Ice Apple / Nungu                            5-6 nos
Sugar

Preparation:

Grind the coconut with 2- 2 1/2  cup water and strain the milk.
Remove the thick skin from the fruit and wash.
You can chop them or put them in a chutney jar or small processor and pulse it a couple of times.
In a bowl add the coconut milk, fruit and add sugar(according to your taste). mix well and refrigerate them for a couple of hours,
Serve them cold.



TIPS & VARIATION:
adjust the consistency of milk to your taste
you can also make  them with milk , pathaneer
regular sugar can be substituted with organic jaggery powder , coconut sugar too

ROSE MILK NUNGU SHARBAT:
mix in milk, rose milk syrup, crushed nungu, refrigerate. serve cold

NANNARI NUNGU SHARBAT:
mix in milk, nannari sharbat, crushed nungu, refrigerate, serve cold.



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Pom Cukes Salad

Its 10th of the month and time for Muslim Food Bloggers Challenge. I know I am writing up the post pretty at the last moment.. but was totally caught up in a new project I ve taken up.. hopefully in sha allah it works out successfully .. So whats the topic for this months Challenge? POMEGRANATE .. yes.. the little jewels adorn the topic. Today its a simple and easy to make salad i am posting using pomegranate.. and with this post there is a new template I would like to bring to the blog.



Of lately if you have been following my instagram and facebook I  am putting up one page recipes... simple and easy to make and its one page. and in sha allah i am planning to post all the one page recipes posted there in the blog one by one and to begin  I am starting with this beautiful and simple salad.

For the past two months I am packing salads for my hubby's lunch box along with boiled eggs and sometimes grilled chicken.  its no diet.. viet.. he finds it easy to eat in his busy schedule and salads neednot be hot na.. Slowly I also started to have these salad meals.. and we both found it to filling and not feel hungry for nearly 3-4 hrs.  Making salad 5 times a week you have to don your thinking cap to keep up the enthu of eating salads..



basically I add cucumbers and lettuce either the regular / romaine / Iceberg and change the veggies with mini tomatoes, salad bell peppers, mini radishes, carrots, sometimes i try to add fruits like grapes, apples, oranges and toasted nuts.. actually raisins add beautiful sweet touch to the salad. The salad dressing is cayenne pepper/ sumac/ chaat masala/ salad seasoning..  and at last add a handful of chickpeas or rajma .


sorry to have bored you with a long list.. the salad I am posting is so versatile you can mix and match with any of the above. so lets get to todays salad... MFBC is Pom Cuke Salad. I wanted to highlight the pomegranate in this salad.. so didnt add many ingredients and kept the salad dressing simple and fresh..the heat from cayenne pepper, the cool cukes, sweet and slightly sour pomegranate makes it a perfect combo
Serve it with soft boiled eggs or with grilled chicken or fish it makes a complete meal.. so lets head to the recipe.



   
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Habbat Al Hamra - Traditional Qatari Drink

Today is Dec 18 Qatar National Day..The country is decked up with flags and lots of celebrations happening today.. As you can see my post here and here there has been special posts on QND.. This year too when I wanted to post I was confused as what to... so many recipes came to my mind but I wanted to do something very traditional.
                                                                habbat al hamra

 So when I met my bestie and was discussing with her.. she told me why not post Habbat Al Hamra... voila it clicked me because she shared me the traditional recipe she got from a Qatari.. How lucky I am alhamdulillah.. and the cherry on the cake was  her mom had prepared this drink for me .. as I had a bad cold.. when I went to visit her... So all I did was drink , click & share šŸ˜



Habbat Al Hamra - is a drink made from Asario seeds / red seeds / garden cress seeds. It has many medicinal benefits and has also been used in medication during our beloved Prophet Muhammed(saws) time. the modern version of it uses custard powder but the traditional recipe uses spices like cinnamon, ginger powder, turmeric powder all which has exceptional medicinal benefits.

                                                         Habbat Al Hamra

Habbat al Hamra also helps when you have flu and cold . This drink traditionally is served to moms who has just given birth and also served as a welcome drink to the guests who come to see the new born. This drink is not advisable to take during pregnancy as there are chances of miscarriage.



 now without any more story ...Off to the recipe:

You need

Asario Seeds/ Red seeds                         1/2 cup
Ghee                                                        4tbsp
Whole Wheat Flour                                 4tbsp
Cinnamon powder                                   1tsp
Ginger powder                                         1tsp
Turmeric powder                                      1/2 tsp
Dried lemon                                              1 nos
Water                                                        3 cups aprox
Sugar to taste
Pinch of Salt

                                             

Preparation:

Soak the seed in water for around half an hour
Heat a pan. Add ghee. then add the flour and fry till they are slightly browned.
Then add cinnamon powder, ginger powder and turmeric powder. and fry for a couple of seconds.
Add the dry lemon.
Now add the soaked seeds and around 3 cups of water, salt ( water depends on the required consistency)
Add sugar to taste.. and cook till it done. it should be little thick and porridge like consistency.
Serve hot.



In Sha Allah will update the recipe with the photo of the asario seeds soon



  
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