Understanding and Appreciating Ramadan.

We moved to Dubai a year and three months back. It was both an unexpected and a sudden move but one that we welcomed. They say that there are two gifts that you should give a child. One is roots and the other is wings. Moving to a country that is unfamiliar to you, experiencing a new way of living, becoming one of “them” and making it your home is part of the roots and wings course.

In little more than a year, home for Sara means only one place on the globe; Dubai. What do you like about Dubai we ask her? I love that park with swings, all my “best friends” are here, I like going to the beach (with truckloads of beach toys), I love my school because it is the best in the world, she says. UAE is my favorite country in the world,she adds. I smile. What is home after all; a place where you are surrounded by friends & family and where you make memories and this is exactly what my five year old is happy doing. Dubai is her home.

There is another side to it though and that is embracing the culture of the country you start calling home and ever since we moved to Dubai we are helping her do that. Be it learning the national anthem of UAE or taking baby steps to learn Arabic. Social science lessons at school were very pretty interesting this month where she studied both India and UAE and it made me grin with joy that the school was making her revisit her roots and helping her understand and see UAE closer.

Last year during Ramadan we were not in the city. This year things are a little different;  we are here, Ramadan has come much earlier, Sara has graduated from kindergarten and is a “big girl” now which means she can understand and appreciate Ramadan more than she could the year before. At school the children were taught about Ramadan and how some of her Muslim friends might be keeping their first Ramadan and it would be nice to support them.

We too have been discussing the significance of this holy month with her. I want her to understand why this month is so special for all her friends who are observing it and how she can be a part of this.

A couple of weeks back she got an opportunity to be a part of the Haq-Al-Lailah celebrations here where she received dates and sweets from some of our friends and we made fruit bars to share with everyone. We also had a little chat with her about the why’s and what’s of Haq-Al-Lailah. I am looking forward to doing the same with her for Ramadan and ofcourse Eid. I’d like her to appreciate the traditions associated with Ramadan and how sharing and giving are the fundamental principles behind it. Just like during Diwali when we share what we have with the less fortunate and thank God for what we he has blessed us with I’d like her to do her own little bit this year during this month of introspection, charity and gratitude.

Here’s what we have planned. 

• She is going to be giving away toys and clothes (some new and some old) that belong to her to the needy. Giving away what is hers will make her understand that sharing is about having a big heart. 
• She has a little piggy bank where she has been collecting coins for over a year now. It is not a huge amount but they are a invaluable for her. They are hers. We are going to take some of them and buy some icecreams or a candies or a doughnuts (clearly her list and not mine :)) for some children who have never had one for no childhood is complete without licking a lollipop or licking the ice-cream off your lips. 
• Sara loves to bake and we have planned an entire afternoon of baking some yummy goodies that we are going to pack in pretty boxes and give away as gifts to both the underprivileged and our lovely neighbours for only when you make something with your own hands you realize the amount of work that goes into making someone happy. Sharing them with her neighbors and friends will teach her the importance of building a community spirit.

All of the above are really simple gestures for often simple is most meaningful.

I also came across some lovely books for the kids for the Non-Muslim expat children to understand Ramadan better. They ofcourse are great for kids who are observing their first Ramadan this year as well.

  Ramadan & Rashad's Ramadan and Eid-al-fitr

My First Ramadan & Ramadan Moon

My little chefling & I wish all those who are observing Ramadan; Ramadan Kareem and are sharing a healthy recipe we often make at home. Also here is a little gift to all those little kids who are fasting with their mums and dads this year. 

A countdown calendar of sorts to encourage them and reward them for nothing excites a kid more than a star sticker (take it from me). You could print this and give your little one a star sticker at the end of the day for being able to complete their fast successfully and ofcourse to keep a track of how many days until Eid :)

Brown rice, spinach and pomegranate salad

This power packed wholesome salad is a great way to introduce your children to the joy of eating brown rice and green leaves.  It is a salad but doesn’t quite feel like a salad for it has rice and kids love rice. There are dates and peaches take care of the sweetness that they love and cutting down any little bitterness from baby spinach. In addition this one pot meal has the goodness of the coconut oil, the anti-oxidant properties of turmeric & pomegranate and the vitamins and minerals from dates and ofcourse the good fats from the peanuts. Just what the little bodies will need after a day of fasting.

Ingredients (Makes 4 large portions)

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 tsp coconut nut oil
• 1/8^th  tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar or any other of your choice
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp sumac or any dry herb available
• 2 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt
• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 cup peaches or any stone fruit
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• 100 grams baby spinach
• 1 cup salted peanuts

Instructions:

1. Cook the brown rice according to instructions on the pack. Simply add turmeric to the water in which you are going to cook it.
2. Combine the vinegar, olive oil, 1 tsp of sumac, salt, chilli flakes, lemon juice and salt if using to make the dressing.
3. To the dressing, add the dates, red onion, nectarine, pomegranate seeds and leave it to develop flavours.
4. Place the spinach in a large salad bowl.
5. Just before serving, dress the salad. Add the boiled rice. And mix gently Sprinkle the remaining sumac and the peanuts and shake some extra olive oil on top if you like. 

Images : Personal Album. All images belong to orangekitchens and are subject to copyright. The printable is only for personal use. 

Galeries Lafayette Gourmet Festival 2013.

It’s been a little over two months that we made Dubai our home. There are times when I feel that I have been living here forever. You know how it is when regular work, home and school schedules begin and you forget about all the packing, unpacking and setting up you've been doing ever since you decided to change your postal address.

It begins to feel like you are finally home. This is my home. After all, home is where the heart is. And my heart is divided between my love for family and food.

Food. The very thought of how much there is to explore in this new city for the three of us makes me giddy with excitement. Each weekend looks promising. You know how it is when you have been living in a city forever (Read: eight years) and you've already had a taste of a LOT of places and figured out your favorites; the comfort of going to the same place because sometimes that’s all you want to do. That started happening to me. It is nice to know where you’d like to have your cup of coffee and where you’d like to dig into that creamy risotto or that prawn curry that sets your tongue on fire.

And this move to Dubai has taken that all away from me. In a good way. I am clueless. And that’s the part that I love about our move the most.A whole new world. For DH and my little chefling.

As soon as we landed here we got a Taste of Dubai (pun intended).And just last week I had the lovely opportunity of attending the Galeries Lafayette Gourmet Festival that was on from the 8^th to the 12^th of May 2013.

Much as I like going to the hidden gems in the city (Thanks Ishita for your post on Bu Qtair; we loved it) I also like going to food festivals which give me an opportunity to observe and learn and taste and meet all under the same roof. N times multiplied.

A lot of readers of Orange Kitchens are not from Dubai and so let me first introduce Galeries Lafayette to all of you. Established in 2009, the high end Parisian department store aims to bring the French spirit of fashion, beauty, food and home to Dubai. The interiors are gorgeous and it is massive! You may want to read all about the store here. I obviously am more partial to their gourmet section. Fresh and diverse produce, nine kitchens, interesting products sourced from all over the world and an inspiring Gourmet Culinary Director behind it all.

Chef Russell Impiazzi. I met him a day before the festival started and he was kind enough to give me what he called was his “five dollar” tour:). He is a man who is passionate about his work and who wants more and more people to experience fresh and quality produce and lend their taste buds to simple, traditional and delectable food. And thus was born the very idea of this first gourmet festival at Lafayette.

Bringing the producer to the store floor and connecting them with the audience. Five days of sampling exceptional produce, interacting with the people behind each of the products and of course learning and educating one by attending master classes. That for me was the festival in a nutshell.

Saying hello to fellow Dubai food bloggers whose work I have admired was the icing on the cake for me. 

I also got to taste the liquid pot of gold, Balqees raw yemeni honey…thick and amber and listen to Raith Hamed founder Balqees narrating interesting tales. So what is raw honey? Unlike the commercial honey the raw  honey comes straight from the farms and isn't pasteurized or processed which means that the nutrients and antioxidants in the honey are all intact.

We also taste ChoCo’a silky and luscious Belgian truffles.Tempered chocolate rolled with hands and coated with cocoa.

We sampled Unifrutti’s organic produce and I find myself liking their mantra of think green, eat green and be green. The red pepper from Netherland was a beauty.

And then I gave my taste buds the chance to experience heritage angus beef. Succulent served with a mild black pepper sauce and a divine mushroom sauce.Its grass fed.

What clearly stood out for me were the three that follow.

The truly exotic and fresh produce from Rungis...purple potato salad, smoked garlic smeared on bread, glazed asparagus, roasted beetroots, multi-hued roasted carrots, watermelon radish, fresh bay leaves, heirloom tomatoes and more all explained by Tony Colley himself and how the chef at the station made the vegetables shine.

The exceptional almost velvety hand cut smoked salmon by Al Fumo and very endearing Bahir Keldany who had the enthusiasm of a child and the wisdom of his many years of experience behind him. The fish that he sources is from the very best of the Northern Atlantic waters and yes he refuses to share his secret spice mix:)

And of course my master class on cheese where I ended up stuffing myself (Read: Educating) with at least 30 varieties of cheese. The section has over 240 varieties from cow, goat and sheep milk mostly from France, Italy, Spain and England. Over the one hour session Manjeet my tutor for my culinary lesson took me through the origins, the similarities, the differences of over 30 of these. Sharp, pungent, sweet, hard, semi hard, soft..we have it all. Chartreux, Perail, Morbier, Ossau Iraty,Valençay, Brebirousse, Coulommier, L'occitane, Le Roule, Cantal, Fourme d'ambert, Taleggio, Mahón, Oveja, San Simón, Manchego and more. You can see that I take my classes very seriously!

Big thanks to Chef Russell for taking out the time to meet me. Thanks to Cynthia for the invitation. And to the entire team at Lafayette for putting it all together. Another round of thanks for Soul Communications for their hospitality.

Disclaimer: All views expressed here are my own and I wasn’t asked to write any of it by either Lafayette or Soul Communications. I had such a great time there that I just had to share with all of you here. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

Image: Personal Album. 
While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.

My first taste of Dubai.

A lot of you who follow my other blog, purplehomes are aware of our impending move to Dubai. And about two weeks back finally the big move happened.

And the city welcomed me with the “Taste of Dubai” festival. My heart did a happy dance when I came across it while sitting at home at New Delhi. And exactly a week later there I was enjoying the warm sun, the mad-mad crowd and my first culinary experience in my new home, Dubai.

So the Taste of Dubai is a three day long food festival that over the last five years has become a must attend on every food lover’s calendar. And I have to say I was all curious and excited considering it was a first time for me.

And it didn't disappoint me. Sponsored by Philips the festival was held at the Dubai Media City. With 30 restaurants offering more than 150 dishes the festival was my introduction to the world of food here.

People lazing on the grass with a mug of beer or glass of wine and listening to the wonderful music being played live on their entertainment stage, the atmosphere was sizzling.

We did the usual bit of roaming around and exploring the many many food stalls under those beautiful white canopies. 

The gorgeous Crate and Barrel booth had me salivating and Lakeland had lil Sara drooling but what really caught my attention were the Local Harvest and the Crescendo World booths.

Local Harvest is an initiative by the Abu Dhabi Farmer’sService Center (ADFSC) to showcase the diversity of fresh and safe local vegetables.  The vegetables and fruits are delivered the day after harvest as compared to imported products which usually take five days or more to reach the UAE. They partner with big retailers and large corporate customers to provide them with quality local products. A lovely initiative to open up marketing and selling channels for the local farmers. Bring it on I say.

                                 

Crescendo World. They produce spices, oils and vinegars. And they had tons of beautiful, thick, fruity ,syrupy, fragnant vinegars on display. I ofcourse wanted to come back home with their entire range of aceto balsamico, balsamic and crème vinegars. Read more about how they produce and where they retail here.

The big things that I was looking forward to were the Philips Chefs Theatre and the Kenwood Cookery School.

The Philips Chef theatre boasted of culinary greats like Gary Rhodes, Vineet Bhatia, Reza Mohammad, Gizzi Erskine and many other big names demonstrating and sharing their cooking secrets, answering innumerable questions and interacting with the audience.

One session that I really enjoyed was of Chef Atul Kochhar’s. The Indian born, British based chef, restaurateur and television personality is one of the most critically acclaimed chefs in Britain for his take on modern Indian cuisine. Atul was the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star, which he maintained with the opening of his first solo venture- Benares restaurant in London in 2007. He put together seared scallops with cauliflower (where he played on the different textures of cauliflower).  It was a sheer pleasure to watch him cook and engage the audience with his awesome sense of humour.

Unfortunately I couldn’t be a part of the Kenwood Cookery School where one could cook along with some hugely talented chefs. They were all sold out by the time I reached the venue. I am sure the lucky guys who got a chance to be a part picked up some great professional tips to hone their cooking skills.

There were a lot of other things too. Dine in the dark with Chef Andy Campbell. A test of your palate where one had to taste three canapés in the dark and guess the 20 ingredients that went in the canapés ( out of a list of 100). The prize was to die for. A 5000 AED dining experience by Chef Andy at your own home! DH had participated in something similar years back at London I think but this time he focus was the beverage theatre where Jack Daniels, Fuller Ale’s and Sake were calling out his name:)

A lot of other booths were holding fun contests as well. And we had fun winning some too!

Hmm..there were a couple of things that didn’t go down that well with me. The ground was bursting with people and there wasn’t even space to stand. To make one’s way to a specific booth required some serious muscle power :) Now for me this was the first time there so I am not sure if the festival is always this crowded or over the years it has just become too big for the ground. Anyone listening? Why have an insurance company, dentist, people selling clothes and jewellery in a food festival! And hello! Portion sizes anyone! I am sorry but I want more food for my buck. Fine dining or not. We are at a fair people! And we are hungry after all the sessions, shoving and pushing and ofcourse meeting a lot of lovely people.

A beautiful experience over all. And this time since I had just moved to Dubai I am looking forward to being a part of it next year with some more planning and with more time on hand to experience all that I missed.

And before I end this post I must thank Sarita of Turret Media and Katie and Lindsay of Total Communications for giving me a Media pass that provided me with access to Taste of Dubai for the full weekend and for being so very kind. Thanks ladies.

And here are some interesting facts that were put together by the team of Taste of Dubai:

A Taste Tally:

• ·         More than 150 dishes
• ·         30 restaurants – 12 new to the festival
• ·         International celebrity chefs: 10
• ·         6,790 potatoes used to produce the famous Rivington Grill chips
• ·         33 Philips Chefs’ Theatre Displays
• ·         15 – 30: The cost in AED of all dishes
• ·         Number of kilograms of black cod ordered for the famous Nobu dish: 70
• ·         26 Kenwood Cookery School interactive sessions
• ·         2,700 pieces of handmade Ravioli for Ronda Locatelli
• ·         Satisfying gastronomy spread across 31 hours (3 days)
• ·         5 international and regional bands performing

Eat well. Stay Fit.

Images : Personal Album
While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. 
They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.