Ramadan Recipies

Do you have a favorite recipe that you think will make this Ramadan one to remember?

If so we would love to hear from you. Send all recipes to us at akulion@gawab.com and we would be happy to place them here for others to try.

We should try to make simple things to eat that won't weigh us down but have some nutritional value.

We have received some recipes already - we hope you like them Insha'Allah .May Allah reward the contributors. Ameen.

Please keep them coming and we will try to put up as many as we can and thanks to those who are sending them it is so great to have tried and true new recipes.

You can choose to have them for Suhoor or Iftar its up to you

We have also received some links to homepages featuring recipes, so if you are just fresh out of ideas you can check here: (have you got any of these please share)

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Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "Eat a pre-dawn meal, for there are blessings in it." (Bukhari and Muslim).

Sweet Potato / Pecan Pancakes

Prep: 15 min, Cook: 5 min.

1 cup cooked sweet potatoes, peeled, and roughly mashed
½ cup of pecans gently broken
2 eggs
1/3 cup of whole wheat flour
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk, plus extra
1 cup sour cream (or if overseas mix lebnah with equal part of yogurt)

Combine sweet potatoes and eggs in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and set aside. Sift flour and baking powder together in another bowl. Stir into sweet potato mixture. Stir in melted butter and milk, adding more milk if necessary to create a thick, lumpy sauce which will coat the back of a wooden spoon. Heat a heavy nonstick skillet or griddle over medium high heat to 375°F. When hot, lightly brush surface with oil. Add about 1/4 cup batter per pancake to skillet and cook 2-3 minutes or until small holes appear in batter and bottom is browned. Turn cakes and cook about 1 minute or until browned. Repeat process until all pancakes are cooked. Serve immediately or keep warm in 200°F oven until ready to serve. Serve with sour cream.

This recipe serves 6 people. Due to the nature of this recipe, it adjusts the number of servings in multiples of 6 only.

Stewed Apples / for flavoring add what you desire:

1 cup fuji apples, cut into bite sized slices (I prefer unpeeled but you may peeled)
1 cup of dates pitted and cut to your preferred size but this could be nuts for the protein

for flavoring add what you desire: maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, or powdered cardamom
Combine apples in a pot. Mix thoroughly and add water and maple syrup if desired or honey. Cook gently, for health reasons I only cook them until just soft as I don’t like killing them and making them apple saucy too much. If I can get away with it I will not add maple syrup at all and let my children get use to eating them w/their natural flavor but many a “muslimah” cannot handle that!! Hehe so for flavoring add what you desire and play around with it.

I combine the pancake above and put the stewed apples on top and then a dollop of the yogurt/lebna mixture (sour cream hard to find here in the Middle East)

Spicy Tea

Prep: 2 min, Cook: 5 min.

cloves
cinnamon sticks
cardamom cloves
ginger
Optional: whole black pepper
Optional: tea bag or hibiscus (we call it in Mid EAST - Carcaday)
Optional: milk, soy milk or oat milk

Combine your spices (but not tea bag) and boil. Once it boils for 2 min, you can add milk and a tea bag or delete any of them…….. as you like, let stand for 3 min and serve

For sweetener, again it is up to you……. try to use honey though stay away from the sugar this month.

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Cheesy Ramadhan Sahoor Bake

Prep: 15 min, Cook: 1 hour and 15 min.

Ingredients

v shred potatoes with a bit of spices to taste, such as finely chopped onions, one egg, ground up garlic paste, shredded carrots, 2 tsps of shredded carrots of butternut squash, spike – ms dash – or lowry’s seasoning salt- arab spice mix your choice (*if you don’t have time see below for a decent substitute)

4 cups Mild or Medium Cheddar Shredded Cheese

1 pound of ground lamb or beef (or mixture)

7 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

(*substitute) 8 frozen hash brown patties

Directions
Place potato mixture or hash browns in a single layer in a greased 9-inch x 13-inch x 2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and meat. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt and mustard. Pour over cheese and meat. Cover and bake at 350°F for one hour. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer until edges are golden brown. Check if done by inserting knife. If it comes out clean, breakfast is ready to eat. Makes 8 servings

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Potato Pancakes

4 large potatoes, grated
1 Medium onion, grated
1 TB (tablespoons)parsley, chopped
1 egg
2 TB flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp baking powder

Squeeze out excess water from potatoes and onions. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Heat 1/2 C oil in a skillet. Drop about 2 TB mixture into oil. Flatten with spatula and fry about 4 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. Stir mixture before frying each new batch. Serve hot with sour cream and/or applesauce

Pineapple Cobbler

A cobbler like a pineapple upside down cake.
Servings: 10

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup milk
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 (4 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, halved

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a 9x13 inch baking
dish, melt the butter in the oven.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, white sugar, and milk until
smooth. Pour batter into the prepared dish.
3. In a separate bowl, toss pineapple with brown sugar until fruit is
well coated. Drop pineapple mixture by spoonfuls into the batter.
Sprinkle with cherries.
4. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden.

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Narrated Anas: Zaid bin Thabit said, "We took the "Suhur" (the meal taken before dawn while fasting is observed) with the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) and then stood up for the (morning) prayer." I asked him how long the interval between the two (Suhur and prayer) was. He replied, 'The interval between the two was just sufficient to recite fifty to Sixth 'Ayat."Bukhari Hadith 1.549

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Pear Cake

4 pears(washed, peeled and cored) you can also use plums or apples
1/4 cup melted butter(cooled)
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

1. Place all ingredients(except pears) into a blender and blend until mixed well.
2. Slice the pear and arrange it nicely onto the bottom of a large buttered pie pan(glass preferable)
3. Pour the batter onto the pears
4. Place glass pan onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until lightly brown.
Best when served warm. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
You can also sprinkle some powdered sugar on the top when it is warm.

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Hush Puppies

Yes, these are the little bread balls that go with fish. But they're so good and yummy with other things.

1 C corn meal
1 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
dash pepper
1/2 C chopped white onions
6 chopped green onions
1 beaten egg
3/4 C buttermilk

Mix together dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Let batter set about 5 minutes. Drop by spoonfuls in hot oil. Fry until golden. Serve hot.

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Stuffed French Toast

My family enjoys this recipe and is so great during Ramadan. You prepare it the night before and then bake it in the morning. The original version of the recipe came from Joan RIvers' Bed & Breakfast.

8 Slices whole wheat bread, crusts removed
2- 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
8 eggs
1/3 C maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 TB honey

Cut the bread and cream cheese into cubes. Place half the bread cubes in a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Add cream cheese cubes and top with remainig bread cubes. Beat together remaining ingredients and pour evenly over bread. Give a light sprinkling of additional cinnamon. Cover with plastic wrap and palce in refrigerator overnight. In the morning bake at 375 degree F for 45 minutes. Serve with warm maple syrup mixed with a little cinnamon.

Stratta

This is a make-ahead and bake in the morning for sahoor.

16 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 pound shaved smoked turkey
1 pound grated colby or cheddar cheese
4 ounces Parmesan
2 small cans sliced mushrooms, drained (optional)
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp dry mustard
3 C milk
cornflake crumbs

Butter one side of bread. Layer bread, buttered side up in a 9x13 pan, then meat, cheese, and mushrooms. Repeat this process again. Mix eggs, dry mustard, and milk and pour evenly over top. Refrigerate overnight. Put buttered cornflake crumbs over top before baking. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

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This is one of my most requested recipes. It was given to me by my mother several years ago (though she doesn't usually measure, she did for the sake of her children!) Personally, I've never tasted better. Try it and see for yourself!

Hummus

2 cans chick peas, reserve juice
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. Tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 tsp.salt
1/4 cup cold water

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil

Heat the chick peas in a saucepan. In a food processor, add beans, tahini, water, salt and garlic. Mix until smooth, about 4 minutes. It should be the consistency of dip; if not, add 1/4 cup of juice from the beans (I almost always add the juice; it's more smooth this way). Then add the olive oil and lemon juice; mix again for 2 minutes.

Put in a shallow bowl, sprinkle olive oil and paprika on top, and garnish with fresh parsley and mint leaves.

This can be eaten with pita bread, crackers, salad, whatever you'd like; if you want it thicker, omit the ban juice.

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Sahl ibn Sad reported that the Prophet (saws) said: "The people will always be with the good as long as they hasten in breaking the fast." (Bukhari and Muslim)

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Yummy Lentil Soup

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups dry lentils
8 cups water
1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vinegar
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.
Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender.
Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 hour.
When ready to serve stir in spinach, and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper, and more vinegar if desired.

Green Beans in Olive Oil

6 Servings

2 lb. Green Beans washed
1/2 lb. Onion
1/2 lb. Tomatoes
9 Tb. Sp. Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic
3/4 Tb. Sp. Salt
1/2 t. Sp. Sugar
3/4 Cup Water

Cut both ends of beans. If beans are too long cut in half. Cube onions.
Thickly slice tomatoes. Peel garlic cloves and cut into four. Sauté onions and tomatoes in olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Add beans, salt, garlic and sugar and sauté all until beans turn bright green. Add water , bring to boil and cook over medium to low heat until beans are soft. About an hour or a little more.
Serve cold..

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Eggplant in Olive Oil (Imam Bayildi) easy way

About 8 servings

2 Large Eggplants (3 lb.) peeled in strips and cut into 2"x1" pieces
2 Spanish Onions (1 1/4 lb.) divided into 4 and sliced
12 Cloves of Garlic peeled and cut in half
1/2 Green Bell Pepper sliced
1 lb. very ripe Tomatoes cubed
2 t. Sp. salt
1/4 t. Sp. sugar
1/2 bunch flat Parsley, leaves only
10 Tb. Sp. olive oil

Mix everything except eggplants and olive oil by hand or pressing by spoon.
Starting with onion mixture, layer eggplants and onion mixture alternately in a large
enough pot. Finish with onions.
Pour olive oil over. Cook over low heat covered. About an hour. If vegetables
gives off too much juice, they usually do, after they are cooked take them to a bowl.
Reduce the juice by boiling gently and pour over vegetables.Serve cold or at room temperature.

Feta Cheese Lasagna

8-10 servings

1 Box Lasagna Noodles cooked
1/2 lb. Butter or Margarine
For Filling:
1 lb. Feta Cheese
1/2 Bunch Dill or Flat Parsley leaves
1/2 t. Sp. Black Pepper or more to taste
2 Large or 3 medium eggs

For Sauce:
9 Tb. Sp. Butter
9 Tb. Sp. Flour
3 Cup whole Milk
4 Medium Eggs
1/2 t. Sp. Salt
1/4 t. Sp. Black pepper
3 Tb. Sp. grated Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Filling:
Slice feta cheese and soak in cold water 1 hour to take the salt out. Then crumble with a fork. Mix with chopped parsley leaves and black pepper. Add 3 eggs and stir well.

Sauce:
Melt butter and add flour stirring with a wooden spoon. When bubble starts add warm milk while stirring. Careful not to have lumps! On a low heat simmer to make a thick sauce. Add salt and black pepper. Add eggs one by one , stir well after each egg . Add parmesan, stir well.

Putting together:
Grease an oven pan (10" by 14" about) with butter. Put one layer of cooked lasagna. Sprinkle 2 Tb. Sp. of melted butter. Pour 1/2 Tb. Sp. of sauce on 6 or 7 places. Repeat this until you use half of lasagna noodles. Spread the filling evenly. Finish with the rest of the lasagna the same way. Cover the top with the remaining sauce. Decorate with slices of orange colored cheese (optional). Bake at 350 degree F. for an hour or little more until cheese melt and sauce becomes light brown.

Let stay about 15 minutes and serve warm.

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Zucchini Pancakes (Mucver)

3-5 Servings

2 1/2 Cups Chopped and squeezed Zucchini (grating is easier)
1/2 lb. Feta Cheese chopped or crumbled with a fork
1 Cup Dill and Parsley leaves chopped
1/2 Cup Flour
5 Eggs, large
1/2 t. Sp. Black Pepper
1 Cup Vegetable oil to fry
Optional
3 Green Onions and half Red Bell Pepper chopped

Mix every thing except eggs thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add eggs and stir well. Don't beat.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Put heaping table spoonfuls of mixture in hot oil and flatten to 1/3 " thickness. Fry 4 or 5 at a time. When one side is golden brown turn to fry the other side. Drain excess oil on paper towel.
Arrange on a flat serving plate. Serve with garlic yogurt or red onions and lettuce .(optional) Serve warm or cool.

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Now Here is Something Really Special

Whole Stuffed Camel

Not a joke, this is an actual recipe. My kids went to a Bedouin camp exhibit and everyone got a copy of this recipes (although not everyone got a taste). My translation into English. Who knows, next time you want to have a "different" type of barbeque, why not go for it?

Serves a friendly crowd of 80-100

1 whole camel, medium size
1 whole lamb, large size
20 whole chickens, medium size
60 eggs
12 kg rice
2 kg pine nuts
2 kg almonds
1 kg pistachio nut
110 gallons water
5 lbs black pepper
salt

1. Skin, trim and clean camel (once you get over the hump), lamb and chicken.
2. Boil until tender.
3. Cook rice until fluffy.
4. Fry nuts until brown and mix with rice.
5. Hard boil eggs and peel.
6. Stuff cooked chickens with hard boiled eggs and rice.
7. Stuff the cooked lamb with stuffed chickens.
8. Add more rice.
9. Stuff the camel with the stuffed lamb and add rest of rice.
10. Broil over large charcoal pit until brown.
11. Spread any remaining rice on large tray and place camel on top of rice.
12. Decorate with boiled eggs and nuts.

Baked Eggplant

Serves 4-5

1 medium eggplant Boiling water
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup salad oil or olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 medium green pepper cut in
1/4-inch cubes
1 tomato skinned and chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried basil or I teaspoon fresh chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or
1 teaspoon fresh chopped
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 Cup bread or corn flakes crumbs
2 tablespoons butter

1. Wash eggplant and cover with boiling water. Add I tablespoon of the salt and boil 20 minutes. Turn it several times to cook evenly, since it will ride on the top of the water. Drain and rinse in cold water.

2. Peel the eggplant and cut in 1/4-inch cubes.

3. Heat the oil in a skillet and lightly saute the onion. Stir in the eggplant, green pepper, tomato, basil, oregano, remaining V2 tablespoon salt, and pepper.

4. Place in a greased medium casserole, cover with crumbs, and dot with butter.

S. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 30 minutes, or until well-browned.

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Fig and Lemon Chicken

Chicken thighs roasted with figs and lemon slices in a lemon, vinegar and brown sugar glaze. Yet it's easy and delicious.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients 12 chicken thighs
2 lemons, 1 sliced, 1 halved
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 pounds dried figs
salt to taste
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Preheat the chicken thighs in oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Squeeze juices from halved lemon into a small bowl, then stir in brown sugar, vinegar and water; set aside.
Place figs and sliced lemon segments in the bottom of an 11x16 inch baking/roasting dish. Arrange chicken thighs on top, then pour vinegar mixture over chicken. Finally, sprinkle with salt and dried parsley to taste.
Bake/roast at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 50 minutes, basting frequently (turn figs if they begin to brown).
With a slotted spoon, remove chicken, figs and lemon slices from baking dish and place on a warm platter. Skim fat from cooking juices, then pour over chicken as sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Beef Meatballs

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons grated Italian cheese (Parmesan and/or Romano)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg
1/4 cup cool milk
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Direction:
Mix ingredients in given order one by one. After completely mixed by
hand, let stand for at least 20 minutes. Form into meatballs (golf
ball size) and fry slowly until golden brown. Do not turn until
completely done on one side and do not crowd pan. If not using teflon
pan, cook in 2 tablespoons oil.

To make it taste real mouthwatering dunk it in rich tomato sauce. Here is the tip for such a yummy sauce:

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup grated cheese
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
No 2-1/2 can Italian Tomatoes
2 6 oz cans tomato paste
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Saute onion and garlic in butter for 5 minutes. Crush tomatoes into
medium pieces. Add all ingredients except baking soda, mushrooms, and
meat balls. Simmer in covered saucepan for one hour. Stir sauce often
and keep heat low. Add browned meatballs and simmer 30 minutes.
During last 15 minutes add mushrooms. During last 10 minutes add
baking soda. If sauce is too thick, add water. If sauce is too thin,
cook uncovered for 15 minutes.

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Spinach and Feta Cheese Borek (Ispanakli Peynirli Tepsi Boregi)

by Sibel Karakus

Ingredients:

for filling:
7 oz. canned spinach
4 oz feta cheese
for pastry:
6 large tortillas
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoon oil
sesame seeds or caraway seeds

Baking pan:
12x10x2

Heat the oven to 375 F. To make the spinach-feta cheese filling, drain the spinach and squeeze it dry. In a small bowl, mix crumbled feta cheese and spinach.

To prepare the pastry, separate egg yolk and white, keep yolk for glaze, mix milk and egg white. Oil the baking pan. Place 2 tortillas on the pan in a way that some part of tortillas will be hanging over the sides of pan and the bottom of the pan will be covered by tortillas. Brush the layer with some of the milk mixture. Place another layer and brush it with milk mixture. (You can tear the tortilla according to your pan's shape). Brush one more layer with milk mixture. Spread all of the spinach-feta cheese mixture. Place another layer on top of spinach mixture and brush it with milk mixture. Put the last layer, and pour the remaining milk mixture. Fold the hanging sides of first two layers on the top of the last layer. Brush egg yolk over the top. Sprinkle sesame seeds or caraway seeds (or both)

Bake 20-25 minutes (until top will be light brown and crispy) Let the borek stand for 10 minutes before serving

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Syrian Lamb with Green Beans and Rice

4 to 6 shoulder lamb chops, fat removed and bones in for flavor
3 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions chopped
2 large cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 small red pepper
1 teaspoon chopped dried Greek oregano
1/4 cup water
2 pounds fresh green beans, snapped and cut into bite size pieces
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté the chops in butter so they are brown on both sides. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf, red pepper and seasoning and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the green beans and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 1 hour on a medium fire checking occasionally to be sure the lamb mixture is not boiling too rapidly. The beans will be cooked more than we are used to but they will be bathed in the lamb tomato mixture which is divine.

Rice pilaf:
1 stick butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup broken vermicelli
1 bay leaf
1 small red pepper, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 cups basmati or long grain rice
4 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper, to taste

In the melted butter sauté the vermicelli, bay leaf, and red pepper until the noodles are golden. Watch carefully and add the garlic so it sautés too. Noodles should be golden. Be careful not to brown. Add the rice and cook for a minute. When ready to serve add the chicken stock and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 25 minutes.

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Chicken Biryani

This is a delicious Pakistani/Indian rice dish which is often reserved for very special occasions such as weddings, parties, or holidays such as Ramadan. It has a lengthy preparation, but the work is definitely worth it. Now I was at my friends house whose husband didn't' like to eat much meat and she did a lot of substituting when it came to her biryani such as French cut green beans and carrots etc. Give it a try!! For biryani, always use long grain rice. Basmati rice with its thin, fine grains is the ideal variety to use. Ghee is butter that has been slowly melted so that the milk solids and golden liquid have been separated and can be used in place of vegetable oil to yeild a more authentic taste. Servings: 7

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 small potatoes, peeled and halved
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons ground cardamom
1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken pieces cut into chunks

2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
1 pinch powdered saffron
5 pods cardamom
3 whole cloves
1 (1 inch) piece cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 pound basmati rice
4 cups chicken stock
1 ½ teaspoons salt

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or ghee) fry potatoes until brown, drain and reserve the potatoes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and fry onion, garlic and ginger until onion is soft and golden. Add chili, pepper, turmeric, cumin, salt and the tomatoes. Fry, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add yogurt, mint, cardamom and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are cooked to a pulp. It may be necessary to add a little hot water if the mixture becomes too dry and starts to stick to the pan.
2. When the mixture is thick and smooth, add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat them with the spice mixture. Cover and cook over very low heat until the chicken is tender, approximately 35 to 45 minutes. There should only be a little very thick gravy left when chicken is finished cooking. If necessary cook uncovered for a few minutes to reduce the gravy.
3. Wash rice well and drain in colander for at least 30 minutes.
4. In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil (or ghee) and fry the onions until they are golden. Add saffron, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger and rice. Stir continuously until the rice is coated with the spices.
5. In a medium-size pot, heat the chicken stock and salt. When the mixture is hot pour it over the rice and stir well. Add the chicken mixture and the potatoes; gently mix them into the rice. Bring to boil. Cover the saucepan tightly, turn heat to very low and steam for 20 minutes. Do not lift lid or stir while cooking. Spoon biryani onto a warm serving dish.

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Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allah for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him" (Qur'an 2: 185)