POWERING THROUGH RAMAZAN - HALWA E SOJEE

By Humaira

A few years ago we visited Morocco on our family vacation. I found people quickly warmed up to me when they learned I am Muslim.  We often talked about the upcoming month of fasting called Ramazan in Arabic (better known as Ramadan in the West).  To my surprise, everyone was looking forward to the start of Ramazan. 

How could this be?  Shouldn’t they dread a whole month of not eating, drinking or doing anything pleasurable from dawn to dusk?  The answer was a resounding, "No." 

Muslims around the world see Ramazan as a month of blessing, filled with introspection, charity, fasting and kinship with their fellow brothers and sisters.  It’s also one of the five pillars of Islam so any healthy and able Muslim over the age of 12 fasts.

Young Turkish protestors taking time off to break their fast

Ramazan falls in the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar.  Since the lunar calendar is 12 days shorter than the solar calendar, Muslim holidays move each year.  This year Ramazan started on August 10th and will end around September 9th depending on the sighting of the moon.

Muslims fast from sunrise to sundown to remind them of the suffering of the poor and the duties of a Muslim to help others less fortunate than them.  The fasting also helps Muslim practice physical and mental self-control.  Families get up early for suhoor, a meal eaten before sunrise.  Most Afghans choose filling food such as eggs, cheese, bread, halwa and of course lots of tea to sustain them through the day. 

After the sun sets, iftar or breaking of the fast is done with dates and a cup of tea for a quick burst of energy.  Most families prepare a large meal of delicacies to reward themselves for the hard day but many take the time to share their good fortune by feeding the poor a few times a week.   Needless to say, in the Islamic world all restaurants are closed during the time of fasting and work days are cut short.  So, don’t plan your visit to a Muslim country during the month of Ramazan.

It all ends with a three day celebration called Eid al-Fitr, which means the “Festival of Breaking the Fast”.  During Eid, Muslims dress in their best clothes, visit family, and mend broken friendships. They give treats to children, contribute to their local mosques and they feed the poor. 

Many of my best childhood memories are of the first day of Eid, when we donned our new clothes, gathered at my grandfather’s house, played tirelessly with our cousins all day and collected Eidee (gifts of money) from our uncles and aunts.

I find it hard to fast in my fast-paced American life and to recreate the magical Eid experience of my childhood for my children.   However, in our family Jeja (my mom) was a diligent observer of Ramazan.  She looked forward to the month of fasting and observed it with pride, enthusiasm and diligence.  Now, she is 78 year old and is no longer able to fast.  

Muslims in Strasbourg, France praying during Ramaza

In celebration of the month of fasting, I would like to share Jeja's favorite dish halwa e sojee , semolina flour halwa.Afghans don’t know how to make a small amount of halwa, since it’s usually made in large amounts to be shared with others.You can easily half this recipe and reduce the baking time to 15 minutes.  I wish you a peaceful and rejuvenating month of fasting.

Halwa e Sojee

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

4 cups semolina flour

3 cups sugar

6 cups boiling hot water

2 tsp. ground cardamom

Heat oven to 300 degrees

In a large bowl, mix the sugar with the boiling water and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Set aside. 

In a large, preferably non-stick pot with a fitted lid, heat the oil on high heat.  Once it's piping hot, add the flour and stir for 10 minutes or until golden. It’s important that you continuously stir so the flour doesn’t burn, yet it gives it time to cook and turn golden.  Remove the pot from the stove and put it in the sink. 

Slowly add half of the sugar mixture to the pot, being careful that it doesn't splatter on you.  Stir quickly and return to the stove.   Set over medium heat, and stir as you add the rest of the sugar mixture.  Keep stirring for 2 minutes, the halwa will start to thicken.   Reduce temperature to medium- low, add cardamom, stir for another 3-4 minutes until mixed well and it turns a darker shade of brown, being sure that the bottom doesn’t burn. 

Wrap aluminum foil around the lid and set it on top of the pot.  The aluminum foil will insure a tight seal as the halwa continues to cook.  Place the pot in the oven and cook for another 20 minutes.   Serve with pieces of pita bread.

Serves 8-10 people

My mom, Jeja cooking halwa.

(Some of the information about Ramazan was taken from Fact Monster and Wikepedia)

Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.

CARDAMOM, ROSEWATER MILK FUDGE FOR MOM - SHEER PAYRA

By Humaira

As a parent, it’s natural to draw upon childhood experiences to recreate special holiday memories for our children. When my family moved to the United States, we not only lost our home but in a way we lost many of our traditions since it was hard to recreate the festive atmosphere of Afghan holidays such as Eid, Nowroz and the month of fasting, Ramazan, while following an American calendar where the dominant celebrations and days off of school stems from Christian holidays.

The only celebration that is universal is Mother’s day. In Afghanistan, school teachers encouraged us to make paper flower bouquets or works of art for our mothers. I usually wrote a card to my mother and one to my my sister Nabila, who was eight years older and played an active role as my care giver. Im sad to note that I won’t celebrate mother’s day with my mother but I dedicate this post to her, my sisters (who are both amazing parents) and all the moms around the world.

Perhaps this year with your bouquet of fresh or paper flowers, you can make a tin box full of sheerpayra, Afghanistan’s answer to the milk fudge. Sheepayra has the juxtaposition of cardamom and rosewater scent against the crunch of the walnuts, almonds and pistachios. It turns out making sheerpayra requires a great deal of precision and patience, the two qualities I lack. So, I created a fast and easy recipe by slightly modifying my friend Helen Saberi’s sheerpayra recipe from her Afghan Food & Cookery*.

In Afghanistan, sheerpayra is served on Eid holidays, weddings and baby’s sixth day celebrations.

SHEER PAYRA

Afghan Rosewater, Cardamom Fudge

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water

1¼ cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups powdered milk

1 teaspoon rosewater

1 teaspoon cardamom

2 tablespoons walnuts, finely chopped

2 tablespoons almonds, finely chopped

2 tablespoons pistachios, finely chopped

Lightly butter a glass or metal pan, approximately 7x11 inches and 1-2 inches deep.

Time is of essence in this recipe. For best results, have all your ingredients measured and accessible in your work area before you go to the next step.

Add the water in a heavy bottomed sauce-pan, cook the sugar and salt over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar melts, around 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat up to high, bring to a boil, stir constantly for 2 minutes, a white foam will form on the syrup and it will thicken. 

Remove pot from heat and move to your work area. Drizzle the powdered milk in the pot, as you stir, a creamy smooth mixture will form. Add rosewater, cardamom, almonds and walnuts. Mix well, making sure the nuts are distributed evenly in the batter.

Pour the mixture into the pan, scraping all the extras from the sides of the pan. It should spread out but if it doesn’t, use the back of a spatula to flatten it evenly. Sprinkle with pistachios and set to cool, approximately 1-2 hours.

Cut with a sharp knife in 2x2 inch squares, serve with a cup of black tea or coffee. Store the extra in in an air tight container or ziploc bag. Do not refrigerate, keep at room temperature.

My mother with her daughters and some of her grandchildren.

 * Afghan Food and Cookery by Helen Saberi