{Ramadan Special} – Masala Aleesa from Rafeeda of The Big Sweet Tooth
I always wanted to pay visit to UAE during Ramadan….I have got so many cousins there who keep on telling about Ramadan celebrations at their place….Its the time of the year they look forward to the most…and they always want me to be there with them to experience the magical Ramadan at their place…InshaAllah one day I am going to make it…till then I have got Rafeeda of The Big Sweet Tooth sharing her experience about being in UAE….her Ramadan celebrations and recipe which she loves making more often during Ramadan…Know about Rafeeda and her blog through her words…Welcome Rafeeda!
Assalamu alaikum friends…
My joy knew no bounds when Lubna asked me to do a guest post as part of her initiative to feature Muslim bloggers from all over the world who would come along to share their experiences about Ramadan and a recipe close to their heart. Being relatively new to the blogging world, I accepted with trepidation her invitation and set off to think what I should offer her. It was not easy deciding on a recipe, as Lubna is a well-established blogger who clicks absolutely amazing pictures that are accompanies by lip-smacking recipes, and the work I do is so amateur compared to what she does. But I really appreciated that she wanted to include me as a part of the series and here I am!
A little about myself – Rafeeda, who blogs at “The BigSweet Tooth”. Basically from Kerala, I am a working mother of two daughters and the wife of a gentleman to the core! Having lived my life entirely in the UAE, apart from the vacations spent back home, I am a total expatriate in all sense. I have literally spent all the Ramadans that I can remember in the UAE, apart from very few days – to be precise, 9 days – that I fasted back home in 2009.
Ramadan in the UAE is like a festival – the whole atmosphere is charged up. Since Ramadan entails fasting from dawn to dusk, the whole UAE irrespective of which religion you are, ensure that the spirit of Ramadan is kept alive. You don’t find people eating or drinking on the streets and the non-Muslims really respect the sentiments of the Muslim population. Likewise, close to the Iftar times, there is a lot of buzz going on. The masjids and the local charity tents will be full of volunteers taking in food from the generous hearted and are distributed to people who cannot afford to pay for their Iftar. There is a lot of giving that happen in this part of the world, which may be one of the reasons that the UAE is a very blessed country!
Just like I mentioned before, my memories of Ramadan has always been in the UAE. In the initial days when we were in school, we used to be forced to heavy meals for suhoor (in the morning) which used to be normally rice and curry, and similarly we used to be made to eat heavy for iftar and dinner time as well. However, slowly when my parents became a bit more religiously inclined, Alhamdulillah, the importance of food reduced and the dependence on Ibadah (good deeds) increased. As of now, we have very light meals which are more filled with fruits and liquids, with fried specialties featuring only if umma or I are really in a mood to cook some! Not to mention, the Iftar parties that we keep having at our relatives’ or family friends’ places or my uppa’s friends’, we always enjoy the time we get to go out of the house! Normally, we finish off our Eid shopping before Ramadan, so that there is no mad last minute rushes and Ramadan is quite relaxed.
Today I am sharing with you a very traditional recipe that I learned only after marriage. I have to say this is not a specialty of the place I come from – Malappuram, but is very much made towards the northern side of Kerala – Thalassery and Kannur. The local Arabs have a recipe called “Harees” which is very similar to this, and we keep getting a share from somewhere or the other throughout Ramadan. For the past few Ramadans, I have been ensuring that I make this for dinner, as it is so filling and ensures that you really do not get tired that easily! I learned the recipe for the Aleesa from a lot of friends, but the masala part is my twist to it. As I like to have Aleesa with chicken curry, I thought to incorporate the curry element into the traditional recipe and it was a success. Let me share with you how I go about it…
Masala Aleesa
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
- 1-1/2 cup whole wheat
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 cup water
- 2 chicken drumsticks or 1 chicken thigh-leg piece
- 2 large pcs cinnamon
- Salt to taste
FOR MASALA:
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 2 large onions, sliced
- 2-3 green chillies
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 250 gm boneless chicken, cleaned and cut into small pcs
- 1 heaped tbsp chicken masala powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- Salt to taste
PREPARATION:
- Wash and soak the whole wheat overnight, minimum 8 hours.
- Drain the soaked whole wheat, add the coconut milk, water, chicken and cinnamon along with the salt in a pressure cooker. Cook for three whistles on high flame and then leave on low flame for around 40-50 minutes. Switch off the flame and let the pressure go by itself.
- Open the pressure cooker lid, carefully pick out the cinnamon sticks and dispose. Also, take out the chicken pieces and separate the meat from the bones. Dispose the bones. Nicely beat the cooked aleesa with a ladle or beater till the whole mixture is nicely beaten. Set aside.
- When the wheat is getting cooked, let us prepare the masala. Heat coconut oil in a small pressure cooker, fry the fennel seeds for a few moments. Add in the onions and green chillies and cook till it becomes soft. Add the ginger garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes and cook till it gets mashed up. Now add in the chicken masala powder and the boneless chicken and mix well. Leave it on low flame for 5 minutes.
- Now close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for one whistle, and then lower the flame and cook for 10 minutes. Switch off and let the pressure go by itself. Open the lid, sprinkle the garam masala powder and mix well. Adjust seasoning. Cook on high flame till the stock gets coated completely on the chicken.
- Allow the chicken masala to cool completely. Grind it coarsely in your grinder. Add this grinded chicken masala into the prepared aleesa and mix till well incorporated. Keep on low flame with closed lid for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to mingle in. Serve warm garnished with coriander leaves.
NOTES:
- Ensure to soak the whole wheat overnight, to reduce the cooking time tremendously.
- The ingredients to the masala are totally my level of spiciness. Increase on the green chillies for more spice or add in pepper powder if you like the taste of it.
You can find Rafeeda @ Blog | Facebook.
Thank you Rafeeda for sharing beautiful memories and yummy recipe.
Gheza e shiriin says
Beautiful post Rafeeda.love the entire writeup along with your recipe
Rekha Vengalil says
Hi Lubna, here from Rafee's blog.. You have a beautiful space. Thank you ladies for a wonder post and delicious recipe.. 🙂
Navaneetham Krishnan says
The mixture of flavors are inviting, similar to what we use over here – coconut milk, spices etc etc. Its new dish for me yet its exciting with lovely flavors.
Rafeeda AR says
thank u so much for this opportunity lubna… so glad to see my recipe and write up here… 🙂
Hasna Hamza Layin says
Dats a wonderful twist rafeeda! We usually prepares chicken fry separately to accompany Areesa
Shama Nagarajan says
yummy..
Zareena says
You know what Lubna, I thought of trying this aleesa this ramadhan. Nice post. Bookmarked this.
Venisri Senthan says
Masala Aleesa, totally new to me. Looks mouthwatering and delicious! Thanks for sharing this special guest post, Lubna and Rafeeda. Ramadan Mubarak to both of you :)-Love2cook Malaysia-
Corporate to Kitchen says
Love the flavours in there & beautiful post Rafeeda. Nice to see 2 of my fav bloggers
Rafeeda AR says
thank u so much everybody… ur words of encouragement is what keeps me going… 🙂
Ambreen (Simply Sweet 'n Savory) says
Wonderful recipe & great writeup, Rafeeda! It sounds almost like haleem!
Shree says
nice recipe Rafee n great post Lubna! the dish seems to be as yummy as its name !
Corporate to Kitchen says
The recipe sounds very interesting & Rafee I can imagine the festive mood in UAE during Ramadhan! Lubna I am already following your blog & love r=seeing all those latest yummy Ramadan special recipes.