Me---FOODS---Bff How we deal to our different appetite

Last week I had a dinner at KFC with bff. After arguing about where to eat (as always), we always end up at KFC. And of course that is his choice! I realized that the most unique moment between me and bff is during time to eat. Every time, without fail we argued about where to eat, what to eat. Sometimes I found this as fun and challenging, just like I have to fight for my right. I don't know whether this thing happened to other mix-culture couples or not. But for us, yes! Because we are in "my region", I have many choices to eat. I have my favorite foods, easy to find and cheap. But for him, less choice and most of them expensive. It's not that I am a cheapo but I can't stand to eat middle eastern food regularly. The portion is too large for me, when I can't finish it would be a waste and therefore I'll eat all and results in my weight! It's a different story if I cooked it by myself. Once in a while is ok for me. Then, bff couldnt eat much Malay or fusion foods. The only "Asian" food that he never say no is tomyam and of course less spicy. Our arguments would be like this:

Me: Nahar koja berim? (Where to have lunch?)
Bff: Har koja dustari. (anywhere you like)
Me: Ok. Berim X (malay foods) (ok. lets go x)
Bff: Na...unja dusnadaram, shulughe (No, I dont like there, too crowd)
Me: Pas, to begu koja (Then, you tell me where)
Bff: Berim Y (Persian foods) (Lets go y)
Me: with a bored face..??na..unja dusnadaram, ghaza irani nemikham emruz (no..i dont like there, i dont want iranin food today)
Bff: E! (get angry) khob age injuri berim KFC (if like this lets go KFC)
Me: Have to accept..Ok..

OR

Bff: Sham koja berim? (Where to have dinner?)
Me; Berim Y (persian foods) (lets go y)
Bff: Na..to dusnadari, bekhatere man gofti (No, you dont like, you said that because of me)
Me: Na, vaghan ghaza irani mikham. mirza ghasemi mikhoram (No, seriously i want iranian foods, i'll eat mirza ghasemi) (actually yes, i said because of him, and mirza ghasemi is the simplest food less carbohidrat and fat-coz im on diet :)
Bff: Na, berim X (malay foods) (No, lets go x)
Me: Na..to dusnadari, bekhatere man gofti (No, you dont like, you said that because of me)
Bff: E! (get angry) khob age injuri berim KFC (if like this lets go KFC)
Me: Have to accept..Ok..

See..we always end up at KFC which make me sick! Lately I choose 1 piece chicken only coz I cant take it anymore (mind the calories). Bff realized this. And our arguments gets longer like this recently:

.......

Bff: E! (get angry) khob age injuri berim KFC (if like this lets go KFC)
Me: Have to accept..Ok..
Bff: Na..dusnadari KFC. Berim Z (24hrs mamak restaurant). Man emshab kheili delam KFC mikhad vali bekhatere to nemirim (with pity voice) (No..you dont like KFC. Lets go Z. Actually I really want KFC tonight but because of you, we dont go)
Me: pfttttt............

Like seriously, I dont know when we will have the same taste buds for foods. I think never! Because I am a MALAY and he is a PERSIAN!! FULLSTOP.

Life so far

After some quiet time, again I opened this blog. My mood in writing has been swing for some times due to some circumstances. It might come to the ups and down from life. My study is the biggest factor. I am so tired already, waiting to finish my proposal write up because I am lazy..too lazy. I can say the worries of life lies behind it. there's too much to think, about everything. internet could be the second factor. Everytime i turned on the computer, 80% of my time spent for un-academic sites. it's all my bad i know and i should blame myself for that. Lets move to more interesting topic rather than study.

Till then, bye!

Loobia Polow

For recipe: http://chiliandsaffron.blogspot.com/2011/05/loobia-polow-rice-with-green-beans.html

But this time I substitute meat with mince meat .

Served with salad shirazi

Have a nice food!!

Chicken in Tomato Sauce - Morgh-e-Robbi

Hehe. A funny name that I put in this recipe. I really don't know what the recipe name in Farsi. And I am not sure whether this is Persian dish or no because bff asked me to cook like this, so I consider it as Persian dish. lol. Lets check out the recipe.

Ingredients:
~ Chicken
~ 1 medium onion, finely chopped
~ 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
~ 1 tspn turmeric
~ 2 tbsp rob (tomato paste)
~ Juice of 1lime
~Some water
~ Cooking oil

Methods:
1. Heat some all, fry chicken until brown all sides, set aside.
2. In the same pan, fry the onion and garlic, when translucent add turmeric.
3. Add the tomato paste, fry until you get the dark red color.
4. Add in the chicken, pour some water covering the chicken.
5. Let it boil, then with low heat simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce thicken.
6. 10 minutes before turning off the heat, mix the lime juice, taste with salt. Done!

Serve with your choice of salad and Persian rice. This time my tahdig come from the unfinished burger king french fries :P

Roasted Chicken for Weekend

5 days straight in a week eating lunch outside made me sick! If can I want to avoid eating outside. For me it's better to have simple home cooked meal rather than spending money on restaurants foods. But what to do, that's the convenient way when you have to go work. No choice. I am too lazy to prepare packed lunch before going out home. Sometimes I did but because I prefer not to sacrifice my sleep by wake up earlier, I have to face the reality of outside foods that most of the times not satisfying. So when weekend come, there's lots of recipe I want to cook. My nieces always wait for weekend to come so "maksu" will cook something special. One of my favorite is rasted chicken. After trying several recipes, this recipe gave the most khoshmazeh (delicious) taste. So from now on, I'll stick for this recipe.

STEP 1:

Ingredients:

~ Whole chicken

~ Ginger

~ Salt

~ Water

Methods:

1. Boil water with lots of ginger and some salt. Place the whole chicken in the pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes. 

2. Drain off the chicken. Let it cool down.

STEP 2:

Ingredients:

~ Sweet soya sauce

~ Oyster sauce

~ Pounded garlic

~ Black pepper

Methods:

1. Mix all the ingredients and rub it on the chicken.

2. Marinate for 30 minutes

STEP 3:

1. Roast the chicken in oven for 1 - 1.5 hour 180c

The result: Juicy and tender flesh. 

Academy Googoosh; Ermia vs hejab

Ask any Iranian, if any of them does not know who Googoosh is? Googoosh is one big name in Iran's music industry. Me too love her music but not as a person. Sorry for her hard core fans but I just dont really like her appearance particularly in her video clip. But I admit her voice is marvellous! After she went out from Iran, her career boom! I'm not sure where she is now (maybe in America), but now she owns television channel, Manoto. I did follow some of the Tv programmes, for instance Befarmaeed Sham. Recently Googoosh created a phenomenon among Iranian around the globe by introducing so called American Idol, Persian version.I did not follow much but I watched several Delsa (one of the contestant)'s clips from Youtube, until I found out the competition has finished and Ermia win the title. Just last night I watched one of her clips as below:

My comment is: no way, how come she win it? Her voice is good..but in this song, oh! she ruined it. She couldn't sing high pitch song. Then, I just did not continue to watch her other clips. But..maybe fortune on her side that she got the title of The First Winner of Academy Googoosh. Also maybe the hejab has brought miracle to her. She is the only woman that wears hejab in a circle of non-hejabis. So it gives her the point of attention there. Just like when Shila Amzah won the 2012 Asian Wave Singing Competition in China. Apart from their good voice of course, who knows?!

Whatever it is, whenever a competition  reached the conclusion, there must be criticisms. Normally it is about the quality of the winner sort of..but this time, I found it a bit different in one of the people's criticisms. They are questioning about the appropriateness of a girl with hejab to join in singing competition? I was like wt%&?...What's wrong with that? Hello..this is 2013 and our world has became more civilized. Just because a woman is a Muslim, and she wears hejab, doesn't mean she has impossibility to do things she is allowed to. I am against of so called rule by radical Muslim saying that woman's voice is aurah that she cannot sing. For me, there's no different between man and woman. What is more important, whatever we are doing, we just need to know the limits. As long as you are inside the control area, we are OK. 

Back to the story of Ermia, I think she did not do any wrong in joining the competition. Plus, through the above video, she behaved well in delivering the song, not over dancing or wearing sexy outfits, just nice with her hejabi appearance. So why need to critic her just because she win the competition and she wears hejab? Or maybe this is a new phenomenon in Iranian outside Iran music industry because there was none of the female singer wears hejab?? Maybe...

If I look in Malaysia's music industry, previously we have very limited number of hejab-wearing female singer. Just after the emergence of Yuna Zarai, the fashion of female musician has changed.  Of course there were lots of criticism during that time, but then our society has started to accept that there's no problem with hejab and music. Hejab is not a barrier indeed. Some other female singers came into the industry after that. For example Najwa Latiff, Ana Tasneem. In fact some of them who previously without hejab has changed their appearance by wearing hejab. For example Shila Amzah and recently Siti Nurhaliza! And their career did not end after the changed! What a shock when now Yuna Azrai is spreading her fame in America and the industry accepted her the way she is. Refer to this link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-33816_162-57491459/malaysian-muslim-singer-yuna-making-mark-in-u.s/

She even got the chance to sing a song for a new movie soundtrack for 'The Croods' film with Owl City. 

For more information about Yuna:

Facebook

Twitter

Youtube

Oh yeah, if I want to compare our local artist that has made name in "outside" with Iranian artist, of course Iranian has achieved way bigger fames. In this writing I just want to highlight that hejab is not a barrier for Muslim woman in any fields, name it and we can prove it..coz I am a hejabi :)

Shirini - e Keshmeshi (Raisins Biscuits)

This year I get the chance to bake this for bff. This is one of the shirini (refer to dessert) that Persians have during Nowruz. The recipe is so simple and easy.

Ingredients:

~ 2 cups of flour

~ 1 cup of raisins

~ 1 half cup of sugar

~ 2 tspn vanilla essence

~ 3 eggs

~ 1 cup of butter

Methods:

1. In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until it blend well or until the color change to slightly white.

2. Add in egg, vanilla essence, raisins and lastly flour. Mix well.

3. Scoop little and place in baking tray.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the bottom of the biscuit slightly brown in 180 degrees.

Nowruz Celebration at UTM

The Iranian Student Society of UTM organized Nowruz celebration this year. Started at 430 pm but we arrived just before the countdown. Friends from Singapore joined us. We had quite a great time despite the boring event arrangement. Not worth the ticket price. I spent most of my times talking to bache (kids) that playing around. They were just excited to speak Farsi with me. One girl shout at me. "Chera to Malayi??!!! Chera Irani nistti??!!!" (Whay you are malay, not Iranian?) One girl said why you are kind to Iranian, why you like Iran? She said most of her dad's friend said Iran is bad for having nuclear and such drug trafficking. Another girl very eager to say that she knows malay language, came to me and count satu, dua, tiga...terima kasih..even before I went back, she came again with her dad to say that she really can speak Malay and attend very good school here and her teachers love her. So cute!! One boy keep on telling me to watch Iranian cartoon (barnameh koodaki) at Youtube and told me all the cartoons he knows. Then it was so touching when he said "man kheili dustaram eid to Iran hastam" (I like to celebrate Nowruz in Iran) "in kafsh jaize nowruz ke ghablan az Iran kharidam, negaredashtam baraye Nowruz" (I bought this shoes from Iran for Nowruz present and I keep it until today). It reflects my mind to bff which until now 7 years did not celebrate it at Iran. I hope he will next year. Inshallah..When I wanted to go I said khoda hafez to him and he said "khaleh waissa!! maman in khanoom malayi hast vali farsi harf mizane" (aunty wait, mom she is malay but can speak farsi). A girl gave me a cup of cappuchino from the available coffee machine and said "khaleh in baraye shoma chon ma doostim" (aunty, this is for you because we are friends). In such I was overwhelmed to get to know these kids because they were so cute and entertaining and kind in their ages. Also in this jashne (ceremony) I met some Iranian that I know and be able to wish "Eyde shoma mobarak" or "Sale No Mobarak (Happy New Year). All in all, I am very grateful for this wonderful memory which I wont get it elsewhere if I never met bff 6 years ago..

This parche (flag) given by the kids. They said for Nowruz jaizeh (gift). But I forget to take it home:(

Sofreh 7 Seen at UTM..

Nowrooz Mobarak 1392

Happy Persian New Year to my Persian family and friends. May this year brings all the joys and happiness to us. This is my 6th Nowruz. and I am very grateful to be given this chance to explore and love another culture. There was a special statement given by bff that I will remember forever and this was happened yesterday just right after the countdown. Thanks love.

Sofreh 7 Seen

This is my latest video talking about Nowruz. Enjoy..

100 saal be in saalha

Nowruzetun Pirooz!!

Vegetables Rice with Fish - Sabzi Polow Ba Mahi

During Nowruz, Persians normally have Sabzi Polow ba Mahi either for nahar (lunch) or sham (dinner). Since this year Nowruz is celebrate at 7.01 p.m. and I am going for the countdown at university which they provide dinner, I made this dish for lunch.

This time I tried to use fresh sabzi but I couldnt find the complete set. I used fresh cilantro, parsley and spring onion and dried dill. For fish, I used red snapper. Check out my simple recipe..

Ingredients:

For rice:
~ 2 cups rice, soak in 2 tbsp salt and water for at least 20 minutes, this time i soaked overnight
~ 2 cups of mix fresh vege (cilantro, parsley and spring onion), chopped finely
~ 2 tbsp dried dill
~ 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
~ 2 tbsp saffron liquid
~ 2 tbsp salt
~ 2 tbsp cooking oil
~ Water
~ Potato slices for tahdig

For fish:
~ 1 tbsp turmeric powder
~ 1 tsp salt
~ Cooking oil for frying

Methods:
1. Boil water with salt and some oil. Drain the soaked rice and put in the boiling water. After 5 minutes, add in the vege and chopped garlic. When the rice expanded, aldente drained it. Mix the dill with the drained rice.
2. In the same pot, pour oil and place potato slices at the bottom. Put in the mixture of rice and vege on top of the potato, place the pot on gas with medium heat until steam come up, cover the pot with paper towel, slow down the heat and let it steaming for about an hour.
3. While waiting for the rice to be cooked, deep fry the fish.
4. Served with your choice of pickles, this time I had with my home made torshi sir (pickle garlic) dated 1 and half year back, lime and piaz-che (spring onion).

For another version of this recipe using dried sabzi, please go to this link http://chiliandsaffron.blogspot.com/search/label/Rice