EAT SWEET ON THIS EID: Try these three saviyaan recipes to sweeten your Eid

No Eid table or trolley is complete without a bowl of delicious saviyaan, fine vermicelli cooked in sweetened milk.

In fact, saviyaan is the official traditional sweet dish of Eidul Fitr also known as meethi (sweet) Eid, served as breakfast in every home first thing in the morning of the first day of Eid, to mark the commencement of festivities after Eid prayers.

There are many varieties of saviyaan, such as sheer khorma, qiwami, zafrani, saviyaan kheer and badami kewra saviyaan. At the end of the three days of Eid, guests manage to sample almost all varieties at the several homes they visit.

The magic of saviyaan is that most of the different versions have almost the same ingredients: vermicelli, milk, ghee (clarified butter), cardamom, dry fruit and sugar as staples, and condensed milk, khoya, rose water and saffron as optional.

Sheer khorma

Sheer khorma is a decadent version of saviyaan loaded with thick, creamy milk and khoya; rich with dried fruits and nuts such as dates, raisins, coconut, pistachios, and almonds; and delicately flavored with cardamom, saffron and rose water.

The thickness, sweetness, and serving temperature of sheer khorma — chilled or hot, thick or not — is a personal preference.

Ingredients:

1 cup vermicelli, crushed

1 litre full cream milk

1 can condensed milk

1/2 cup khoya, crumbled

1-2 pods green cardamom, crushed

1 pinch saffron strands, soaked

1 teaspoon rose water

½ cup almonds, soaked, skinned, and slivered

½ cup pistachios, soaked, skinned, and slivered

¼ cup golden raisins

1 cup dried coconut flakes

6-7 dried dates, deseeded, soaked and slivered

4 tablespoons sugar, or to taste

Desi ghee as needed

Method:

In a sauce pan, put one crushed cardamom into milk and bring to boil, then lower the flame and let it keep cooking for another 10 to 20 minutes while the rest of the procedure is underway. In a frying pan, lightly toast the nuts, raisins, coconut and dates separately till they release their fragrance and their oils. Add the toasted dates to the boiling milk to soften them further.

Now heat some ghee and stir-fry a crushed cardamom in it. Add the vermicelli and stir-fry on medium flame till it darkens slightly. Add this carefully into the hot milk, avoiding any splatters.

Add the sugar and condensed milk and stir it into the cooking milk till it dissolves. Add the rose water, saffron strands and khoya, stir, and turn off the flame. Stir in the toasted nuts, cover the lid for a few minutes to let these ingredients emulsify in the steam, and then serve piping hot or chilled as desired.

Qiwami saviyaan      

Qiwami saviyaan is a classic Lucknavi recipe, and since keeping recipes and flavours authentic to uphold culinary traditions is an integral part of the rich Lucknavi heritage, you can be sure these saviyaan will become one of your favourites.

This recipe uses saffron, khoya and condensed milk for a delicately rich and creamy flavour. The saviyaan are kept dry and cooked with a minimum amount of milk and syrup.

Again, the sweetness of qiwami (sheera or syrupy) saviyaan should be adjusted according to personal preference.

Ingredients:

2 cups vermicelli, crushed

3 cups full cream milk

1 cup condensed milk

½ cup khoya, crumbled

3 pods green cardamom, crushed

1 pinch saffron strands, soaked

1 teaspoon rose water

¼ teaspoon orange food colouring (zardai rang)

¼ cup almonds, soaked, skinned, and slivered

¼ cup pistachios, soaked, skinned, and slivered

Desi ghee as needed

For the sugar syrup

1 ½ cup water

2 cups sugar

1 pod green cardamom, crushed

Method:

In a pan, heat two cups of water, add sugar and green cardamom and boil until a thick syrup forms. Set aside. In another pan, heat ghee and stir-fry the green cardamom till it becomes aromatic. Add vermicelli and stir-fry till it darkens slightly. Set aside.

Heat the milk in a pan. Add the condensed milk and khoya and cook till the mixture thickens. Add this thickened milk to the prepared sugar syrup, with saffron, food colouring and rose water.

Pour in enough of this mixture into the fried saviyaan so that the saviyaan can cook through to a dry texture, without becoming too gooey. Start with a high flame to bring it to boil, and when it starts to bubble, turn the flame to low and cover with a lid, until the saviyaan are cooked completely and no liquid remains. The saviyaan should become dry, not soggy or mushy.

Garnish with the nuts and serve warm.

Meethi saviyaan

Meethi saviyaan are sugar-syrup based and don’t use use milk. The beauty of meethi saviyaan is in its simplicity: crispy fried vermicelli, sweet syrup and a generous amount of khoya for a delicious treat.

Ingredients:

2 cups vermicelli, crushed

1 ½ cup khoya, crumbled

1 pinch saffron strands, soaked

¼ cup almonds, soaked, skinned, and slivered

¼ cup pistachios, soaked, skinned, and slivered

desi ghee as needed

For the sugar syrup:

1 ½ cup water

2 cups sugar

1 pod green cardamom, crushed

Method:

Prepare sugar syrup by cooking sugar (and green cardamom for fragrance) in water till the sugar dissolves completely and becomes a thick syrup. While it is still warm, sprinkle the crumbled khoya in the syrup, add a few strands of pre-soaked saffron, and stir. Pour into a serving bowl and set aside.

Heat ghee in a wok and deep fry the saviyaan till they become crispy. Drain excess ghee. Add the crispy fried saviyaan into the khoya-syrup, folding in some and leaving some atop, for a soft-crispy texture.

Garnish with more khoya and nuts. Serve hot or cold. While eating these saviyaan piping hot is a delight, waking up the next morning in anticipation of eating chilled left over saviyaan is a pleasure of its own kind.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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AAA Associates serving humanity by arranging Daily Iftari for 500 deserving people

ISLAMABAD, MAY 6: AAA Associates, Pakistan Leading group of Companies, has been arranging Iftari from 1st of Ramazan till 30th Ramazan at Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rawalpindi. 

The Iftari arrangement is meant to serve that section of society which has been deprived of food in this holy month of Ramazan.

AAA Associate, under its corporate social responsibility, carried out this drive to feed poor in most respectable manner by inviting 500 people daily in RCCI to serve with Iftar. 

Pakistan is a third world country where millions of people, every day, go to bed without having a meal. The World Food Programmed states that 43 percent of the country’s population remains food insecure, and out of that, 18 percent of people are facing an alarming dearth of food. It further explains that six people out of ten in Pakistan are food insecure.

The food insecurity is the major reason of increasing hunger in Pakistan, whereas food production is sufficient to feed all the population in the state. In spite of being productive in the farming sector, there is a food insecurity. There are children dying in the laps of their mothers because of starvation.

AAA Associate Managing Director Lt. Col Shahzad Ali Kiani (Retd) stated that “We believe in serving Humanity in best possible manner by fulfilling their basic need of Food and shelter.

Being an Organization, we are collaborating on many projects with Local NGOs and Government to end food insecurity in the country. Feeding deprived section of society in the holy month of Ramzan is just one of the initiatives of AAA associate to uplift the community”.

AAA Chairman Mr. Shiekh Fawad Bashir share his views “Our aim is to transform the industry and our employee lifestyle who not only work as professional but contribute towards their community development. Under our CSR ambit, we are determinant to contribute toward the society which helped us to grow and become leading business group of companies of Pakistan. 

We can only achieve excellence by elevating the most deprived community of our society through these small steps which ultimately serve a big purpose of hungry free Pakistan”.

AAA Associates - an amalgamation of a group of companies, aiming at a different niche, envisioned to implement innovative business practices. The organization has been exceeding the expectations in Real Estate, Construction, Aircraft Maintenance, IT Solutions and Marketing plans.

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Spice Up Your Iftar With This Chatpati Chana Chaat

You must try this chatpati chana chaat if you’re looking for a recipe to spice up your iftar. Here’s everything you will need to prepare the delicious platter

Half kg chickpeas

Half tablespoon baking soda

Two tablespoon besan

One tablespoon food colouring

Half cup tamarind or imli pulp

Salt to taste

Two boiled and cubed potatoes

Half tablespoon chaat masala

One cup yogurt

Half tablespoon red chilli powder

Half tablespoon crushed red chilli

One tablespoon roasted and crushed cumin seeds

One tablespoon crushed coriander seeds

Four tablespoon coriander leaves

Four to five tablespoons curry leaves

Two chopped green chillies 

Papri

Soak chickpeas and add baking soda. Then boil chickpeas until they are soft. Add salt as well.

Take oil in a pot and fry the chickpeas with zeera, curry leaves and coriander seeds. Mix besan with water and add it to the chickpeas along with imli pulp. 

Now add spices and salt and mix well.

When chickpeas have cooled down, add potatoes, coriander leaves and tomatoes. Serve with crispy papri.

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COURTESY SAMAA.TV

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Women Must Eat More Plant-Based Protein, Experts Reveal | 6 Best Plant Protein Sources

The importance of protein is no secret to the world. It is the foundation for a healthy body. It is one significant nutrient that not only contributes in maintaining healthy bones and muscles, but also helps in overall growth and development. Hence, experts around the world time and again stress upon the importance of including good amount of protein in our everyday diet, especially among women. This helps reduce the bone density loss that comes with ageing. 

A new study further recommends that plant-based protein has a better effect on women's health than the other ones. According to the new research, postmenopausal women, who ate high levels of plant protein had lower risk of premature death, heart-related diseases et al, when compared to women who included lesser amount of plant-protein in their diet. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Benefits Of Plant Protein

For this study, the researchers analysed more than 100,000 postmenopausal women, aged between 50 and 79. It was a large-scale study where participants were given a questionnaire detailing their protein intake in regular diet (both veg and non-veg protein). After a detailed survey, the researchers found that women having good amount of plant-based protein in their daily diet lived longer than the ones who ignored protein in their meal.

The Key Findings:

-Postmenopausal women who had good amount of plant-protein intake had a 9% lower risk of death from all causes, a 12% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 21% lower risk of dementia-related death.

-Higher consumption of processed red meat was associated with a 20% higher risk of dying from dementia.

-Higher consumption of unprocessed meat, eggs and dairy products was associated with a 12%, 24% and 11% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, respectively.

-Higher consumption of eggs was associated with a 10% higher risk of death due to cancer. However, as per the researchers, it is still unclear why eggs were linked to higher cardiovascular risks and deaths due to cancer.

"Our findings support the need to consider dietary protein sources in future dietary guidelines," the researchers stated.

Considering this, we say, include a good amount of plant protein in your daily diet for a healthy living.

Here are 6 Great Sources Of Plant-Based Protein:

• Chickpea
• Dal (moong dal, masoor dal etc)
• Green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale etc)
• Soya bean and other soy products
• Nuts (almonds, walnuts etc)
• Chia seeds

(Note: The food suggestions are not a part of the study).

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COURTESY food.ndtv.com

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Italian Food Week: Food lovers enjoy mouth-watering Italian cuisines in Islamabad

 

Italian Food Week is a regular feature and we celebrate it every year, says Ambassador of Italy Andreas Ferrarese

ISLAMABAD – Food enthusiasts in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi thronged to the Zigolini restaurant, Islamabad Marriott Hotel to enjoy mouth-watering Italian cuisines.

The hallmark of the event was a special cooking session spearheaded by Ambassador of Italy Andreas Ferrarese and his wife Albana Ferrarese.

Ambassador of Italy while speaking on the occasion said Italian Food Week is a regular feature and we celebrate it every year.

He especially thanked his wife for helping him organize the event in a befitting manner. Likewise, the ambassador also appreciated role of General Manager Marriott and other embassy staff for making the event a total success.

The Italian ambassador cooked pasta, which the guests enjoyed very much. He told the audience he used to cook this dish when he was a student for it was a cheap dish and easy to cook as well.

It may be mentioned here that Zigolini had unveiled its new menu last year during an exclusive launch event.

The guests sampled through the latest culinary delicacies. Famous for its pasta and pizzas, Zigolini prides itself over serving long-time guests, who will be happy to hear that little has changed Italian taste-wise. The brick-oven, which cooks a pizza in around 90 seconds remains intact. ”Of course, every pizza is thrown by hand and rolled in a specific way to puff up very quickly in the oven.

Other Italian delicacies include a little Dolce (sweet in Italian) putting a modern spin on classic Italian desserts. For instance, there’s Tiramisu with Mascarpone Cream but dessert lovers should also look out for the delicious Panna Cotta with Berry Coulis, Lemon Delight with Lemon Curd, or Homemade Gelato Ice-Cream.

As one of the most popular Italian restaurants in the capital, Zigolini has maintained a premium mark since its inception in 2012. It has more to offer to guests than ever before.

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COURTESY DNA NEWS

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