Two friends got together and created Potsandpatterns to share their experiences of food and life in general. Today one of them Shaima Al Tamimi is sharing with us how Ramadan & Eid is celebrated in Emirati household. Over to you Shaima.
Hello to the readers of Gheza-E-Shiriin, I am Shaima Al Tamimi, a hardcore foodie since I could remember. I live between Abu Dhabi and Doha, so i pretty much have love hate relationship with my suitcase. I started this blog with my school friend Latifa Al Shamsi. Pots and Patterns is our outlet to store the labour of our hobbies and share it with the world.
As we welcome Ramadan
into our lives, just like the new year, we take it upon us to explore and
better ourselves. Spiritually, it is a time to intensify connections with God
through prayer, charity and rekindling relationships with relatives and
friends, most of the time over iftar gatherings.
If you are not familiar
with Ramadan, I’ve written about our rituals here a couple of years ago.
Today, I’m sharing a
recipe that is not only delicious and refreshing, but also very close to my
heart. When I was younger (and until today), my dad would dabble in the kitchen
every now and then to whip up delicious dishes for us; a famished family of 6. His
cooking style is very adventurous and at times, is based on re-inventing
recipes according to whatever takes his fancy. This white cheese veggie dip has
made it to our Iftar table for many years and is immediately wiped down with
warm wholemeal toast followed by a cold glass of the Arab gulf’s favourite
berry cordial drink, Vimto. When my dad is too tired to make this before we
break fast, my baby brother makes it instead. It is not iftar without this
creamy veggie dip.
So here goes the
recipe:
1 cup White Cheese
2 chopped medium
tomatoes
3/4th cup chopped parsley.
Olive Oil
With a fork, mash down
the white cheese on a plate until its soft and creamy. Add the chopped
tomatoes and mash through again.
Mix in the parsley and
finish off with generous drizzles of Olive Oil.
Enjoy as a dip for
bread or crudites and even use as sandwhich spread.