IRANIAN RICE

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
May peace and blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad, the final messenger

Salam & hi to all,

do you know how Iranians cook their rice? went to my client's restaurant in Kota Damansara, to collect some payment and at the same time, to give him some moral support by ordering some of their food.

having nothing to do, i asked his permission to enter the kitchen to observe and learn how they cook their rice. For iranian food fans out there, here is something to share.

Type of rice
you dont have to buy an imported iranian rice which is terribly expensive (RM 20 per kg). just get any basmathi rice


step 1
soak the 1 kg rice grain for 3-4 hours with 1/3 cup salt


step 2
boil water in a pot, and put the rice grain in it for about 10 minutes. wait until they become semi soft


step 3
pour 1 bottle cap/ 2 tablespoon of lime juice in the boiling pot


step 4
throw the water and all into a strainer, rinse lightly (not thoroughly) with running tap water.


step 5
put the rice in another strainer, and steam it for 20-25 minutes



step 6
to decorate the rice for serving, mix a bowl of rice with zafran/safron (not artificial coloring) you can get zafran in liquid form or powder. you can decorate the way you like.


step 7
some like rice with butter, you can mix it with butter if you wish. oh ya, dont forget, iranian rice is so nice to eat with kebab (chicken/beef/lamb) this is chicken kebab.


i love eating iranian food, especially the authentic gormeh sebszi. good thing about iranian cooks is they dont know how to use monosodium glutamate...but the impractical thing is, they spend time hours and hours in the kitchen !

for me iranian chef are patience cook in preparing their food thus, they deserve a compliment....and therefore i will keep the complaint to myself.

but.....scientifically/medically speaking, plastic when heated releases particles that might cause cancer to our body if being consumed, that is one point i failed not to complaint about.

i intend to get a stainless steel strainer for them as a gift once their cheque is cleared, insyaALlah.

CAT'S STORY

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
May peace and blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad, the final messenger

Salam & hi to all...

Alhamdulillah, i have just recovered from mild food poisoning, was bed ridden for 2 days. My system seemed very weak nowadays, eating something with lots of preservatives or too spicy can cause me to this sometimes. I didnt really enjoy eating during eid, in other word it wasnt a food party for me after all compared to the previous years where i would do 'cookies tasting/testing' to every cookies served on the table haha...i lost some of my eating appetite and i hope it isnt a sign of any internal deseases..

Anyway, our topic today is about cats and its about cats of my own. i was given a big test from Allah SWT and i dont know what to do actually. My cats have gone crazy these few days and the change of their poo and pee pattern really drives me mad! its home soiling and i couldnt sleep in my own room for the stinking urea smell! i have thrown few pillows and today, i am going to get rid of my mattress. *sigh*

i know its about patience and its either i get rid of them all or try to find alternatives solution to this problem. i know they are trying to communicate with me as most cat psychologists tell so in the net on the changes of the poo pee habits. Ok, i am open to any communication, no problem with that, but meanwhile, they have to understand that i couldnt allow them to sleep in my room and make my pillows and mattress as their toilet anymore!

i have browsed some photos over the net and this one really looks nice. My car porch isnt as big as shown in this sample photo, but i think if i were to transform the porch into this, it would be their haven!



looking back at their photos, i think i am going to keep them but this time they are going to be in semi outdoor until they behave and we shall start our 'communication' haha...

disturbing my daughter while performing her solah

2 of them disturbing me at my work station

neighbour's cat, Olen...always a guest

Panda with his normal pose

Canon, who loves running tap water

Kiera, who loves to jump onto anyone's shoulder with her long sharp nails *ouch*


I read in some FB posts that our prophets loved cats and frankly speaking, i love cats too not just for their cuteness, but for their understanding during my hard days..they have their own way of listening, and whenever i talk to them, i know that they sympatize :p

FANCY MEAL

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
May peace and blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad, the final messenger

Salam & hi,

I reached home late today, at almost 6pm, therefore i didnt have the chance to go to the supermarket to shop for groceries. slept few times while driving, luckily it was during a long queuing at the traffic light.

I tried to catch a nap, but couldnt. tired and sleepy but couldnt sleep! i need at least 20 minutes nap. then something came across my mind. Food! I was thinking about eating donuts since yesterday, and guess what, it gave me the energy to get up, and drive to Big Apple Donuts to get 'rid of those mind distractions' :p


mouth watering donuts !


so this is my meal for breaking fast today. simple. i was looking for anything that is green in my refrigerator, due to my green vegetables were out of stock. Opened the refrigerator, and saw a medium sized avocado. ok, looking green enough haha....so a small portion of white rice, cherry tomato, fried fish in spicy chilly sauce and avocado..hmm..right match?


something wasnt right with the combination, and i mean the taste not the color. just could not take it with the fish and rice. the avocado looked quite inviting still. i must have it, else it would be damaged. got an idea to make it as desert. Luckily i still have some honey, yeay!


look at the shiny creamy avocado slices with honey. the taste? better than ice cream, no kidding! simply delicious!!


then....again 2nd desert, haha...a cup of herbs coffee, 7 figs and 1 donut filled with lemon cream cheese...superb!!


to be honest, i couldnt finish the coffee nor the figs. eaten 5 figs and put back the remainder in the container. brought the coffee and warm water to my room to drink it after Maghrib prayer. after finished conducting the prayer, sitting and leaning to the wall, i played with Torch Light, my kitty and enjoyed drinking slowly my herbs coffee...


and he enjoyed drinking my warm water, haha...cute :)


this is not my normal style of eating, but once in a while, i think its ok to enjoy some fancy meals. I didnt run for many days now, and yet....craved so many sweeties *sigh*..anyway, today, my works were smooth, most of my outstanding jobs had been delegated and completed...i felt blissfully cheerful, what a nice happy day, Alhamdulillah :)