Home Remedy for Fever & Flu - Persian Chicken Soup

I have been drafting a post related to places i visited in Iran since last 2 weeks. Waiting bff to pass me some photos but you know..man..always like that..tomorrow..tonight..another 1 hour..but no-thing! Until i got fever + flu (is it really because of waiting o-O).

So, i treat myself with chicken soup persian-way. I fall in love with this soup when bff's friend Rezai (hi, i heard you become lecturer now) cooked this for iftar and it was so appetizing. Sour-hot-spicy, best combination for blocked-nose.

Here is the easy-peasy recipe (for 1@2 person):

Ingredients:
2 chicken wings @ whole chicken breast
1 medium onion**
1 medium potato*
1 ripe tomato**
1 small carrot*
1 cup of coriander leafs
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup of rice noodles - cut 1/2 inch length
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of blackpepper
salt to taste
juice of 2 limes
(*roughly grate)
(**diced)
4 cups of water

Methods:
1. Put all of the ingredients except lime juice in a pot, boil for 10 minutes.
2. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the water reduced 1/3.
3. Add lime juice before serving.
4. Serve hot.

Talking about home remedies, i believe every culture has its own recipes, for example:

Fever:
Persian: chicken soup
Malay: chicken soup with lots of ginger & white peppers

Menstrual aching:
Persian: tea + nabat (rock sugar with saffron)
Malay:  tea + grind young guava leaf

Cough:
Persian: warm milk + honey
Malay: tamarind drink without sugar
Chinese: sugar cane drink + lots of lime juice

That's all i can think right now about home remedies. If you guys have others, please share ok. Sometimes we cannot rely only to doc's, following mum's secrets also helps! Till then, keep healthy always. :)

Breakfast & Bread Pudding

Breakfast is the last thing i think in a day. Not the first. I rarely eat breakfast back to JB. Always before sleep i will tell to myself, tomorrow i want to eat breakfast, but the next day i just skip it. Not like when i am at my mum's, i will not skip breakfast even i wake up at 11 because my mum must serve yummylicious breakfast (nasi lemak, pratha, nasi goreng kampung, beehoon goreng...nom!calories!nom!calories!). And, when i was in Tehran, breakfast is a must. Everyday, they served me with freshly baked bread (noon barbari), jams, cheese, cream cheese, roasted walnuts, butter and tea. They also told me that Persians eat breakfast like that particular day they will go to war. Yes, the benefits of breakfast not to be argued anymore. Therefore, I bought 1 pack of Gardenia and cream cheese from Cold Storage with hope that i will eat breakfast every morning to have healthier life. But..yaah, I didnt do that. Only 2 days. So, before the bread expired, i decided to bake bread pudding tonight. I follow recipe from here http://www.myresipi.com/top/detail/140. TQSM. It is yummy!

Persian breakfast Table (Google image)

Cold Weather in Hectic City, Warm Persians in Wonderful House

My experience during winter in Tehran is unforgettable. It is not a bad winter like what is happening in European countries right now. Since i arrived, there isnt  any new snow rain. The snow is melting. Even it is cold, Tehran city never sleep. There are lots of vehicles on the streets, traffic jams, pedestrians, businesses, offices all are operating adding the air pollutions which has been Tehran's most problem in the century. At some places especially in the city near the square they put a scaling machine to measure the pollution indexes. It is better for travelers to have mouth mask. Pity me that my nose got a little bleeding caused by the unhealthy air.

By the way, back to my acquaintance's home, it is full of warmth. Well it is not only because of the heater, but they warmly entertained me in every aspects. What I want to eat, where i want to go, they  try to comfort me. Their house is 3 rooms 3rd floor apartment. The floor is fully equipped by Persians carpets that are well known with its quality. What we must know about Persian is that cleanliness is their priority. So, make sure you are always clean near Persians! All in all i am so grateful to them (mother, father, son, daughter and lil granddaughter). Without them, my trip to Iran will be dull. Kheili mamnun..motchakeram..dastshomadardnakone..dooset daram..omidvaram dobare mibinametun.

Persian Carpet (google image)