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More information on Remembrance Day
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Eid is the largest Muslim holiday. It marks the end of Ramadan during which Muslims fast from sunrise until sunset. Eid, thus, is the first day when they are not fasting. Traditionally, the food served on Eid differs from culture to culture. That being said, we did find a few common food items in Eid celebrations around the world. We wanted to share these recipes with you, so that Muslims and non-Muslims alike can indulge in the many flavors that mark the end of Ramadan.
Enjoy!
Beef Rendang
This is a festive beef dish made in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The simplest recipes are often the yummiest. Of course, you can change the amount of the spices depending on your taste.
You will need:
1.5kg steak cut into cubes (or 3lb 5oz)
1.75 liters coconut milk
10 small onions, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground ginger
4 tsp chilli powder
1.5 tsp turmeric powder
2 Indonesian bay leaves (aka salam leaves).
Note: All these ingredients can be found at a grocery store, with the exception of the Indonesian bay leaves. If you can not find the Indonesian bay leaves, feel free to use regular bay leaves and some salt.
The process:
Simply put all the ingredients in a wok, and give it a few stirs. Let it simmer for three hours, or until most of the sauce has evaporated. Make sure to stir it regularly. Once the beef is cooked, serve it over boiled rice.
Isn’t that such an easy recipe?
Kheer
Kheer is a traditional South Asian rice pudding, often served for breakfast.
You will need:
1/4th cup long grain rice (washed and drained)
5 cups milk
3 cardamom seeds (crushed)
2 tbsp almonds (blanched and slivered)
A pinch of saffron threads, soaked in a little hot milk
Two tablespoons rosewater
1 tbsp skinned pistachio nuts (chopped)
1 tbsp raisins (optional)
2-3 tbsp sugar or as desired
The process:
Put the rice, milk, rosewater and cardamom in a pan, bring to boil and simmer gently until about an hour later. At this point, the rice should become soft (the grains should start to break up) and the milk should also become thicker. Add almonds, pistachio, saffron and raisins and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved. When the kheer reaches a consistency similar to porridge, remove from heat and serve either warm or chilled.
So UeaTers, try these at home, and leave us a comment to let us know how much you loved the rich flavors of Eid!
Beef Rendang
This is a festive beef dish made in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The simplest recipes are often the yummiest. Of course, you can change the amount of the spices depending on your taste.
You will need:
1.5kg steak cut into cubes (or 3lb 5oz)
1.75 liters coconut milk
10 small onions, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground ginger
4 tsp chilli powder
1.5 tsp turmeric powder
2 Indonesian bay leaves (aka salam leaves).
Note: All these ingredients can be found at a grocery store, with the exception of the Indonesian bay leaves. If you can not find the Indonesian bay leaves, feel free to use regular bay leaves and some salt.
The process:
Simply put all the ingredients in a wok, and give it a few stirs. Let it simmer for three hours, or until most of the sauce has evaporated. Make sure to stir it regularly. Once the beef is cooked, serve it over boiled rice.
Isn’t that such an easy recipe?
Kheer
Kheer is a traditional South Asian rice pudding, often served for breakfast.
1/4th cup long grain rice (washed and drained)
5 cups milk
3 cardamom seeds (crushed)
2 tbsp almonds (blanched and slivered)
A pinch of saffron threads, soaked in a little hot milk
Two tablespoons rosewater
1 tbsp skinned pistachio nuts (chopped)
1 tbsp raisins (optional)
2-3 tbsp sugar or as desired
The process:
Put the rice, milk, rosewater and cardamom in a pan, bring to boil and simmer gently until about an hour later. At this point, the rice should become soft (the grains should start to break up) and the milk should also become thicker. Add almonds, pistachio, saffron and raisins and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved. When the kheer reaches a consistency similar to porridge, remove from heat and serve either warm or chilled.
So UeaTers, try these at home, and leave us a comment to let us know how much you loved the rich flavors of Eid!
In UeaT’s opinion, the best thing about the holidays is the food. And the cookies. Gingerbread. Chocolate chip. Pecan. Shortbread. Caramel. Chocolate. Cookies!! You can buy them. Or make them. We prefer to make ours at home. It takes less than an hour to prepare a warm, buttery batch of cookies, and they make excellent presents. Just wrap them up in cellophane, or put them in a cookie tin. Cheap and yummy. Everybody’s happy!
First up, Lemon Shortbread Cookies with Cornmeal. These cookies are awesome because they melt in your mouth, but also provide a gritty texture. And the lemon flavor is subtle, and warm. These crumbling cookies are a delight to make (it takes only 25 minutes from start to finish) and a delight to eat.
(recipe adapted from Poppytalk)
You will need:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cornmeal, or a bit more if you really like the gritty texture
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, unsalted
1/2 cup icing sugar (if you don’t have any at home, you can put regular sugar in a grinder until it turns to a powder, or simply use regular sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon zest from one lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
What you need to do:
- Start off by preheating your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, using your electric mixer, blend all the sugar and butter until it is fluffy. It helps to have the butter softened.
- Gradually, add the vanilla extract and the lemon zest and juice. Keep mixing for a minute.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, cornstarch using a whisk or a fork.
- Slowly, add your dry mixture to your butter and sugar mixture. You don’t need the electric mixer at this point…it is best to use a form and mix by hand. Mix until they are just combined (you can not see the white flour anymore), but don’t over-mix it.
- At this point, the mixture should be soft and doughy. Break off a small piece and form a ball with your hands (about two inches in diameter). Lay the dough-ball onto parchment paper (which should be spread over your baking sheet) and slightly flatten the ball with a fork.
- Keep doing this until you have used up all the dough. Remember to give the cookies a couple of inches space to be able to expand.
- Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes…the bottoms should be slightly golden. Take them out and leave them to cool.
And thats it!! 25 minutes and you have awesome cookies ready! Enjoy!
Reminder: The Weekly Local Farmer’s Market will be CLOSED today (November 11, 2009) due to Convocation. We will return with our regular fresh goodies on November 18, 2009.
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