Achieving Balanced Fasting Habits
The holy month of Ramadan is when we all try to give up bad habits, learn a thing or two about endurance, patience and gratefulness. It’s also all about the gatherings, delicious food and long nights with friends and family. Throughout Ramadan you can’t help but feel at ease and peaceful, if only you can shut out the traffic and heat outside. Did you know that the word ‘Ramadan’ comes from the Arabic root ‘Ar-Ramaad’, which literally means scorching heat or dryness? So this Ramadan, let’s all try to do something new,where we actually learn to forgive and forget and enjoy the true essence of Ramadan.
Do’s& Don’ts of Eating
We all can’t help but splurge when it comes to the amazingly delicious dishes of Ramadan, especially after fasting for almost 16 hours. Need I remind you ofkattayef, konafa bel eshta, basboosa and the ongoing list of heavenly desserts that we really never seem to care about except during Ramadan? Long story short, we need to pay a little attention to our eating habits.
This year, try breaking your fast with a salad or soup first instead of digging into the stuffed pigeon right away. Then wait for 15-20 minutes and maybe have some rice topped with your mom’s famously delicious molokheya. If there is still room for more, maybe indulge in a small piece of pastawith béchamel. Make sure you leave the dining table not feeling like you just ate everything on the table.
Give yourself an hour or two before you start enjoying your Om Ali or puffy kattayefstuffed witheshta. As for the last portion of the evening, and by that we mean the sohour of course, give up the taameya and omelet and try enjoying yoghurt topped with honey and your choice of fruits or maybe go a little crazy with a small serving of homemade foul. Finally, please don’t forget drinking A LOT of water. You have 8 hours so try to drink at least 1.5 liters of water; trust me you will need it.
On the occasion of Ramadan, try making this creamy classical rice pudding (Roz B Laban) this year and head over to our Facebook page to tell us how it turned out.
Rice Pudding Recipe
1 ½ cup uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Once the water boils, add and stir rice into boiling water. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer the rice for 20 minutes.
- After the rice is cooked according to preference, in a clean saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt.
- Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
- Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, and beaten egg; cook for an additional 2 minutes while constantly stirring. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
- Finally, for additional taste, try garnishing it with caramelized dates or mix date bits while you cook it, for an extra kick of flavor. Could be served hot or refrigerate if you prefer it served cold.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-rice-pudding/?scale=4&ismetric=0
