Egyptian Food Made Easy Cookbook
New release
The first year I moved from Egypt to Canada, it was during summer and we were fasting during Ramadan. It was the longest Ramadan ever!
I was willing to drop off my kids at the daycare. I was so exhausted, and I was heavily breathing.
The teacher asked:"Are
you ok?".
"Yes," I said.
Then she responded:"Do you need a cup of water?"
I said:"Thank you, but I'm fasting”.
She looked perplexed when she asked one more question: "Fasting?
In this weather? And not even a sip of water? Why?"
I told her:"It's Ramadan. Muslims are supposed to fast.”
With more curiosity and empathy she asked:
"What's
Ramadan? Is that's why you're wearing that headcover? And what's the moral
behind the fasting?"
And I wasn’t sure how to respond. My ideas were racing and my mind went foggy.
I don't know was it my blood
sugar that seemed too low to respond faster to her flood of questions or was it
me lacking the answer. I never asked myself those questions before. Honestly, I
was born a Muslim. Usually, a born Muslim will go with the flow.
We were taught that fasting in Ramadan was obligatory on every
Muslim.
Honestly, the same thing will happen to you if you are only
with your own people, your own cult for a long time, where no one asks those
kinds of questions or else they will be thought of as doubters or non believing beings.
Then, I started to ask myself the exact same questions. Not
doubting my faith, but exploring my new self and renewing my beliefs. After
searching, exploring and navigating many resources in English and Arabic, I realized the essence of belief.
I
realized that to appease someone you really love, you show your love and commitment in many ways, maybe those ways are tough, hard on you, to
some folks they seem not making any sense or weird, but that's how you show
your loyalty to someone you cherish. Now, tell me how it should be with your God?
The older we get, the more we realize our need for
something bigger than us, a divine wholesomeness with extraordinary powers, which we can rely on if things go out of our control, complain to when things go wrong and unfair, someone omnipotent enough to admit His Almighty capabilities to solve anything and you
entrust Him Almighty enough to manage things for your betterment.
It's a spiritual need and it
must be fulfilled. People who believe in the supreme divinity will call it God,
and folks who believe in visible mundane things will call it anything else, it maybe science, mother earth, the universe, tacos, whatever…
And no matter how you wanted to express your divine love and
fulfill your spiritual needs, no matter the way you've chosen to worship the
God, whether you pray in a synagogue, church or a mosque, whether you keep your
hands gathered close to your chest, you hum some mantras, or litany, or you bend and
subjugate mumbling some verses from your holy book in secrecy, or you meditate on your yoga
mat, you get that feel and connection!
The spirit of Ramadan to Muslims is like the spirit of Hanukah
to Jews or the spirit of Christmas to Christians, it's the month of giving and
forgiving. The month of sharing and gatherings.
As a Muslim, you are supposed
to practice five pillars to consider yourself as one.
1-You must witness that no
God but God and Mohamed is his prophet, and regarding prophecy, Muslims should
love and believe in all prophets, including Moses, Jesus, Jonah, Elijah, etc.
Equally and revere them as much as Mohamed. Peace be upon them all.
2-Secondly, Muslims pray five times a day at different times
of the day. The prayer itself includes yogic movements and reciting some verses
from the Holy Book, the Quraan.
3-Then Muslims should fast in Ramadan for the whole month.
It's obligatory unless you're a kid, physically unable, pregnant, elder, or
traveling. Fasting starts from sun dawn until sunset, no food, and no water.
Muslims follow the lunar calendar, so Ramadan never falls the same day
according to the Gregorian calendar, and it comes 11 days earlier each year. Every month
starts when the moon begins as a lunar eclipse, and when it is observed as a full moon, that means the month is halfway through, and when the moon completely
vanishes, it means that the month has ended.
Ramadan is so special to Muslims because it's the month when
the Quran was revealed. Also, Muslims believe that all the good deeds are
multiple folds rewarded in this month.
The spirit of Ramadan to Muslims resembles the spirit of
Christmas to Christians or Hanukah to Jews, Diwali to Hindu. It's the month of
giving and forgiving, the month of sharing and gatherings and after it ends
Muslims celebrate with a feast.
4- Alms and charity: To achieve social justice and equity, every Muslim
is obliged to give a share from his total earned money to help those who are
needy.
5-Pilgrimage. Muslims are supposed to perform the rituals of pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca,
where they circumambulate around the cubic figure Kaaba.
Well, Islam is well known for its diversity and inclusivity; whether you're a revert or born as a Muslim, you get there with your own
culture.
Eid Celebration
One of the most delicious yummy traditions we -as Egyptian Muslims do-
in Ramadan and Eid is making special treats.
I'm going to share with you one of the treats we-Egyptians- call it Eid cookies, and we are making them to celebrate this occasion.
It's easy and simple.
Ingredients:
For every cup of all-purpose white flour add
one-third of ghee or melted butter, two-thirds of a tablespoon baking soda, a speck of salt, two tablespoons of sesame seed, a speck of Mahlab" cookies spice
and it's optional", one or two tablespoons of
ground sugar- if you don't have any, mix a cup of granulated normal
sugar in your blender for one minute until it becomes a powder-.
Recipe:
1-Mix all the
ingredients and make small balls, then squish it with a cup, then decorate it-
sometimes I use kitchen utensils.
Maybe you can stuff it with your favorite nuts or keep it
plain. Both are scrumptious!
2- Put your rounded cookies on a tray sprayed with oil or
butter, then put them in the oven for 17 minutes at 350 F.
3- Let the cookies cool off, then add the rest of your
powder sugar on top of the cookies.
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