The festival of doughs

Three days ago, we said goodbye to Ramadan. We were sad because all the special treats in Ramadan have gone. We will miss Ramadan so much with all of its special things we used to do in Ramadan especially eating the breakfast everyday together with family. We will miss making worships in Masjids, Mesaharati, Ramadan lamp, Ramadan sound, Amar Eddin , Tamarind. Konafa and Atayef. 

We also said welcome to feast . It's "Eid Al - Fitr". This is like a reward for the worshiper for his faith and his fast. As we like to prepare for Ramadan , we also like to prepare for Eid. We buy new clothes and make some outing programs. Also we make some kinds of cakes like cookies, Pettifor and biscuits. All family girls gather in the  family house and start make and bake cookies and Pettifor. 

 You can imagine the amount of doughs we make for family.

The doughs are very soft and we all have fun playing with them and put them in the biscuit machine.

 Ummm . Ok This looks soooo hand made :D . We like it also . Anyway they will look good in the oven.

 This was Ghorayeba. It is a melt-in-mouth cookies in Egyptian style. I love it . I think I ate 1 kilo of this? If you like me to share the recipe please leave a comment below.

We like how biscuit shape is up to. We like to taste and we also like when the very first punch of baking is not accurate. We have fun with everything because we all are together.

 And this was the cookies we made. If you like me to share any of these gorgeous recipes please leave a comment below. I like to hear from you and know your feedback . See next post.

It's time to Ramadan

In this time of the year following the moon sights and shapes we meet the holly month "Ramadan". This is the month that we fast from the sunrise to sunset. Not only fasting from eating and drinking but also from all other desires as well as from fighting with others, insulting others, making laugh of others and harm others. Instead we help others as hard as we can. It is a holly month because the holly Quran has revealed in this month.

First of all , if you are interested to know more about Ramadan and know the meaning of some expressions I use in this post please visit What makes Ramadan very special part 1 and part 2 .

Few days ago, I went to hyper market to buy "Yahmeesh Ramadan". This is an Arabic expression for special food we eat in Ramadan as Egyptians. Let's have our tour.

First of all you can see the Ramadan lamp or "Fanoos Ramdan" as a decoration. This is special in Ramadan. Have a close look.

Actually I was taking shots with my phone camera. It still works isn't it?

These are dried fruits. Apricot, plum, grape, date and fig. We make a beautiful fruit salad with these tasty fruits and eat it before Iftar. If you like to know what is "Iftar", "Sohoor" and "Fanoos Ramadan" please visit What makes Ramadan very special part 1 and part 2 .

This is dried Apricot. I like to eat it as it is beside eating it with the salad. It is full of sugars and calories and gives power.

This is called "Amar Eddin. It is dried apricot in a sheets shape. You leave it over the night in a water until it melts and drink it. This is special for Ramdan. Love itttt.

This is dried date. Because it is the most famous fruit in Ramdan, it was in the middle of the hyper market. 

Oh, yeah . this was a close shot.

These are the sweets we eat in Ramadan beside Konafa and Atayef. These special for Ramadan and Iftar Eid. These are the most awesome sweets ever. To know what are konafa and atayef please visit What makes Ramadan very special part 1 and part 2 .

This is the date we eat the very first thing in Iftar when we hear the Ramadan cannon. To know what "Iftar" and "Ramdan Cannon" mean please visit What makes Ramadan very special part 1 and part 2 .

Beside it, there's the dried grape as well as the dried fig.

These are the nuts we stuff our sweets with. I like them because they give power and very tasty especially in Ramadan.

If you are interested to know more about Ramadan and know the meaning of some expressions I use in this post please visit What makes Ramadan very special part 1 and part 2 .

I hope you liked the tour and these lovely Egyptian traditional foods in Ramadan. Wait for me for more traditions and traditional recipes. Thank you for reading. See you next post.

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What makes Ramadan very special - part 2

Let's continue our talk about what makes Ramadan very special in Egypt. 

 Ramadan food and drinks (Yameesh Ramadan)

This is an expression for some special foods we used as Egyptians to eat in Ramadan. Dried fruits, nuts and sweets are very common food to eat after Iftar. Let's talk about what makes Ramadan very special and  I will introduce some of items, expressions and things that used to be in Ramadan.

Ramadan cannon (Madfa'a Ramadan)

This cannon is very old tradition that is executed when the Iftar time is up and we used to hear it since years ago. This is called the sound of Ramadan. when you hear its sound you know its time for the breakfast with the sound of Athan.

Konafa man

We liked the Konafa man since we were young. We like to watch him making konafa circles and the irresistible smell comes out from his tray.

Atayef man

This is a kind of sweets that is very similar to pancake. It is baked and stuffed with nuts and honey. It is very tasty and this is called the taste of Ramdan.

Ramadan drinks

Karkade, Tamarind, Khoshaf, Amar Eddin, Errisoos and Sobya. These are the Arabic names of special drinks and salads we eat and drink in Ramdan during Iftar. I will make some recipes for these drink very soon so be waiting for me.


I hope you liked the post and wait for me for more traditions and traditional recipes. Thank you for reading. See you next post

What makes Ramadan very special - part 1

Ramadan is very special month for Muslims especially here in Egypt because we used to eat and drink special foods, see special scenes and hear special sounds. These are not my pictures but I would like to introduce some items, scenes and things that we  used to see and hear in Ramdan. I will show you what makes Ramadan very special in Egypt.

The worships

Of-course the worships we do make Ramadan very special. People fast and this is one of the worships that really has benefits on the human body and it gives a chance to cure colon and stomach diseases as well as washing stomach and liver. People meet all at night to pray and after the prays they talk and know each other. This makes Ramadan very special because you meet your neighbors and friends every day at night to pray in the beautiful architecture Masjid.

Helping poor people is one of the main worships we all do in Ramadan. Helping others is washing your soul from selfishness and ego.

Ramadan bag (Shantet Ramadan)

It's a bag that holds some food like legumes, oils and rice. You buy it from the store with nominal proce and give it to poor people around your area. Shantet Ramadan is sure one of those marks of Ramadan.

The breakfast (Iftar)

Because all people have the breakfast at the same time. Families eat at the same time on the same table. All families members are grouping on the same table and eat. This breaks the habits of families who has kids who eat alone after training and a dad eats alone after work.

The date

Date is the very first thing we eat in the breakfast. It comes with several types. Dry dates and this is used in the dried fruits salad. Medium wet date (Tamr ) and this is eaten as it is and it is tasty and has sugars that gives you power to  enjoy the rest of your day. Also the very wet date type (Agwa) which we stuff some food with it.

The type in the bags is dried date. The type in the yellow boxes is medium wet date and the type in the clear box is "Agwa".

The Beneficent Tables (Mawa'ed Al- Rahman)

If you are walking in the street and the Iftar time comes, you will see big tables everywhere around the streets that have food for anybody . You can set-down, eat and fill your stomach for free without anybody to ask you for money, who you are or where you are from. The only thing  you may be asked for is if you liked the food taste. Mawa'ed Al - Rahman makes Ramadan special month.

Sohoor

This is the meal we eat before the sunrise. We used as Egyptians to eat beans and yogurt. Beans because it is full of protein so you can feel full-stomach and yogurt to help you from being thirsty next day .

The bean station (arabeyet el fool)

This is like a very very old traditional station moving around in the street that has a man who sells the beans for Sohoor. you find some crowded near it every night and you may meet your neighbors there.

The Mesaharati

I couldn't  find an English expression for the guy who walks in the street at night before Sohoor and call you to wake up and eat your Sohoor before you miss its time. He calls everybody by his own name. Children like him because they like to hear their names called by Mesharati in the street.

Ramadan lamp (Fanoos Ramadan)

This is a beautiful light lamp that Mesaharati used to carry with him at night to lighten up his way while waking people up. But this was so many ten years ago and now Fanoos Ramadan became very traditional and used as accessories and children toys. It has beautiful designs and architectures.

Wait for me for the next posts to continue. I would like to hear from you. Your opinion, your feedback and your encouragement words. See you next post