On the weekend I went to Muwalla's vegetable/fruit souq

MOP seems to know every souq in Oman. Probably because he used to sell dates from his farm at Bahla and Nizwa souq as a child. Apparently, Sinaw is good for camels, Nizwa is good for goats, Mutrah is good for fabric, Seeb is good for kumas, Al Khodh is good for dishdshas, ect, ect... And apparently, Muwalla is THE BEST FOR VEGEATABLES AND FRESH FRUITS.

So on the weekend we headed out to Al Muwalla fruit and veggies souq to get some bargains. I wanted to go to Barka castle but I spent too much money on stuff for my new house this month so next month's grcoery budget suffered. So, buying fresh from the farms was the solution so we wouldn't have to live on potatoes, hot dogs and Raman noodles.

Hey, if you are an expat and are TIRED of spending WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much money for fresh herbs like mint and basil, or tomatoes, and strawberries, at Al Fair and Sultan Center, Muwalla vegetable souq is the way to go. It is, a. less crowded than Lulus, b. no check out counter line ups or weighing staions to cue at. My kind of vegatable/fruit buying heaven.You have to use cash and know Omani money, like rial nas is one rial 500 baisa, and there are no Westerners there to speak of that I saw except maybe chefs from Omani restaurants, [and me] but this place is well worth the effort for the prices on the strawberries and tomatoes.

I bought bushells of spinach (yummy with feta cheese on pita bread), boxes of tomatoes and strawberries, fresh mint for chai maghraibi (Morrocan tea), and corn. The corn was a rip off because I only bought one husk. This tend to be sold by the bushel or box. Other than that, good shopping. And close enough for a twice a month jaunt from Muscat.

OPNO LOVES... Bateel in Shatti

Right near the beach, this little sweet shop [called Bateel] in Shatti, Muscat, is perfect for me.

The Complete Middle East Cookbook

While Tess Mallos' "The Complete Middle East Cookbook" is not complete, it is a GOOD starter book for anyone delving into Arabic and Mediteranean food.

It was the first cookbook I ever owned after all the handwritten french ones my family passed down to me.

How to Make Omani Halwa

Yes, I can make halwa. HOW Omani IS THAT! HA!

Vimto: the official drink of Ramadan

FB convo between A & OPNO, subject: Vimto, the official drink of Ramadan

OPNO: "Am so excited for Ramadan here. For the following reasons: a. because I won't be the only one fasting, and I really need this Ramadan, b. the guy for taraweeah [night prayer] will ACTUALLY be able to read arabic..."

A: "is your first here in the Oman?"

OPNO: "First fasting. ...And C. Vimto is cheaper here. Back home, Vimto costs more than a bottle of wine."

A: "French Canadians, ha!"

OPNO: "Mmmmmmmmhmmmmm. I love Vimto. To me is the official drink of Ramadan."

A: "My mam buys alot of Vimto."

In case you have no idea what Vimto is, which would be totally rare unless you are one of those expats who have never associated with an Omani before [they exist, I grew up in a cove of them], it is a non-alcoholic syrup cordial which is the equivelent of the Muslim's red wine. It tastes nothing like wine, but is made from a sugary syrup-y base by pouring into chilled water, it can be an aquired taste/ once aquired: it is delicious.

Myself, I hate the pre-mixed sugary Vimto in juice boxes. I prefer the glass bottle Vimto syrup that I can mix to taste. Before Islam I came from a family that prided themselves on their hosting skills and their well-stocked bars. :) Yes I know. I should not be talking about Ramadan and bars but besides, I still like to host with the same flair, but I have replaced my red wine with Vimto. I still like to keep pretty wine glasses and cute (halal) cocktail utensils for making halal drinks like non-alcoholic margaritas ect. Which is WHY the stores in Oman stock up on pretty wine glasses and such;).

Food Review: dining at the Capri Court @ Shangri-la Barr al Jissah

Last night a friend took OPNO to Shangri-la's Capri Court for a bite of Italian to celebrate the fact that I would be moving to my new place.

It was too humid to sit outside so we sat in, the decor being white wine-celler style walls, candelabras, red glasses, and a blown glass chandelier in red. The non-smoking sign detracted slightly from the decor, and the servers were many of differentiating accents. I liked the girl [cute philipino] with the pepper and parmesan. Her way of talking was sweet. The others, and I am being picky, had that formal air I don't like outside of a truly formal dining experience (which requires that staff [in my opinion] to generally all be from the country the food is being served of).

I ordered the one dish with pesto and M the lasagna. Capri Court serves wine and pork for you non-muslims out there, but for us this limited the menu. On top of the OPNO rarely eats seafood. We were given complimentary air-dried beef on a jam-sauce and we ordered a salad with walnuts and pears with soft cheese. The cheese was delicious but it was a rather awkward dish to share.

My dish was terribly green and little dry compared to how I like my pesto Italianno but hey, I ate it, and the parmesan on top was good. Anything cheese I tend to like BTW. I only complain if I can't eat it at all.

My friend didn't their dish at all and left most of it, and were kinda grumpy that their treat for me and big splurge was a limited dining experience. But just think, I had told M, if L were with us? L who complains if they don't bring us the big teapot for Morrocan tea at Kargeen's, LOL!

I cheered them up at least. "At least the bread they gave us was delicious!"

I am always the pessimist until somebody else takes over that role. Then I convert suddenly to the other side of the coin.

All in all, the food wasn't great, but the bread and parmesan were, but maybe if you like wine and pork it is better?

The drive to Shangri-la is always lovely, and afterwards I went home and had a snack and chai:) . Since I didn't pay, I enjoyed myself anyways. It would probably be different, if I had been the one hosting.

Thank you M, and no really, you don't have to take me out again just cuz your first attempt at spoiling me didn't work out. I appreciate every kindness you and your family and our friends have shown me, and will always be grateful, lack of fine dining aside:p

Food Presentation Ideas for Ramadan

It is all in the presentation.
Try using a simple cookie-cutter to glam up sandwhich meats and cheese, and breads.

Try decorating a cake with a Ramadan-themed cake topper????

Why not make a crescent shaped gift-box and fill it with chocolates? Easy to re-use or to store for other things.

Moon, Star, and Palm Decorations for Ramadaan

While looking for cute Ramadan decorating ideas (which honestly, I might be too tired to do while working and fasting) I stumbled upon this great blog http://www.ramadanchallenge.com/ which has lots of tips and crafts ideas. I promise, more to come, inshaAllah.

Yummy Ramadaan Recipes: crescent Moon cookies

K, this recipe is mine, not traditional Omani, but I love to do it for Ramadaan.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Sticks of butter (1 Cup), softened
2 1/2 Cups sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:
Blend flour, baking soda, and baking powder together. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg to the butter and sugar and mix well. Add vanilla extract. One cup at a time, add the flour mix into the wet ingredients. Mix until it's nice and doughy.

Flour your hands, and roll dough into pieces about the size of a golf ball. Squash it down and shape it into a crescent, and then flatten it down. Another option is to roll the dough out and cut it with crescent cookie cutters -- be sure to flour your cookie cutters before you use them, or the dough won't come out as well.

Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 350 for about ten minutes, until the sides begin to brown.

Make icing with the following ingredients:
1 8-oz block of cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
4 Cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. milk

Blend the cream cheese and butter together, and then gradually add in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and mix well. Blend in the milk (add a little more if your icing doesn't seem creamy enough). After your moon cookies have cooled, Use this to frost them.

Optional: add silver sprinkles to your cookies while the frosting is still wet, or dip half the cookie in chocolate and frost the other half in white.

How to make Omani Coffee [Qhawah]

• demitasse-sized cups water
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. crushed cardamom or 5 seeds
• 2 tsp. Arabic coffee
  

Boil the water with the sugar and the cardamom. Remove from heat. Stir in the coffee. Then place over heat, while holding the pot. Let it foam up, remove from heat, and allow to heat to foaming again. Serve immediately.

Note sugar and coffee are approximately equal. Adjust to your taste. Cardamom should be enough to leave strong smell and fill the taste.

Omani Food: lamb biryani

INGREDIANTS
3 tablespoons ghee
2 medium onions or 250 g, sliced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
2 cups water or 500 ml
1 cup yoghurt or 250 ml
3 tablespoons omani mixed spices
1 dried lime, cut into halves
1 kg lamb, pieces with bones
2 cubes Mutton Bouillon
3 medium tomatoes or 450 g, peeled and diced
3 cups basmati rice or 600 g, washed and drained
5 whole cardamom pods
5 whole cloves
5 whole black peppers
5 cinnamon sticks
Pinch salt, to taste
9 cups boiling water or 2¼ Liters, extra quantity to boil the rice
½ teaspoon saffron filaments, soaked in ¼ cup or 60ml rose water

DIRECTIONS

Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a large pot (reserve 1 tablespoon), add onions and cook until they become golden brown in color. Add garlic and ginger, stir then add water, yoghurt, Omani mix spices, dried lime, lamb pieces, Mutton Stock cubes and diced tomato. Stir to boil. Cover and simmer on low heat with occasional stirring for 1½ hour or until lamb is cooked. Set aside.

Meanwhile place rice, whole spices and salt in the extra boiling water, cook for 8-10 minutes or until rice is ¾ cooked, remove and drain.

Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of ghee in a large pot, Put half the quantity of cooked rice in the pot, add the lamb mixture over the rice and top with the remaining rice.

Sprinkle saffron and rosewater mixture on top of rice.

Cover the pot; cook on low heat for 25 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

Omani Food: chicken biryani

A base for almost ALL Omani staples is biryani rice.

INGREDIANTS:
1 pound of basmati rice
3 pound Chicken, skinned and jointed
1 large Onion, thinly sliced
oil, for frying
9 ounces of plain, unsweetened yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon fresh ginger paste
large pinch of saffron, dissolved in 1 cup of warm milk
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup of fresh chopped coriander leaves or parsley
2 teaspoons garam masala powder (mixed spices) or curry powder
2 pieces of cinnamon stick, 6 cloves, 6 cardamoms

DIRECTIONS
1.Wash and drain the Chicken. In a bowl, mix together Chicken, yogurt, salt, turmeric, cumin powder, garlic, and ginger paste and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
2.Soak rice in cold water for 30 minutes. Deep fry Onion until lightly browned and crisp. Remove onions from oil and drain on kitchen paper.
3.Bring a large saucepan of water to boil and add 3-4 teaspoons of salt to make the water very salty. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, and drained rice. Allow to simmer 3-4 minutes or until the rice is about half cooked. The rice will increase in size, but will still be hard in the center. Remove from heat and drain the rice thoroughly.
4.Put the Chicken into a large saucepan with the marinade. Sprinkle on half of the fried onions and half of the chopped coriander. Then add the rice and sprinkle on the remaining fried onions, the remaining chopped coriander, the chilies, lemon juice, garam masala, and saffron milk. Sprinkle on 3 tablespoons of oil.
5.Make 5-6 holes in the mixture with a wooden spoon handle. Cover with a lid and place on medium heat until steam rises from the holes. Then, reduce temperature and cook on low heat for 45-50 minutes. Move saucepan in a clockwise direction a few times to ensure even cooking.
6.To serve, fluff the rice a little with a fork, remove the saucepan lid, turn large plate up-side down and cover saucepan with it. Hold the pot and plate tightly together, turn both upside-down. rice should come out on the plate, with the Chicken on the top.