Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Simple Udon soup recipe in thermal pot
This is not necessarily something that needs a thermal pot, but the thermal pot was helpful in getting the flavours out of the vegetables without boiling for long periods of time.
Ingredients (serves about 10 bowls of udon)
2 litres of water200ml of kikoman or other japanese light soya sauce
4 table spoons of "Doshi" or the other term for it is "Bonito Bullion??" basically japanese fish flakes
4 table spoons of sugar
(the above in my mind are the basic ingredients, the rest below is up to you to alter the flavour)
I used stuff that is available and cheaply too here
1 stalk of leek - 79c new zealand - chopped fine
3 stalks of celery - less than a dollar - chopped fine
1 large onion chopped
Honestly no good way to say how to cook this except to dump all in the pot, simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes and then keep in thermal pot for about 3-4 hours.
In order to get a nice hot bowl of udon, I used instant udon (about $1 per packet).Boil the above soup in a pot, preferable just enough for 1 serving ( about 300ml per serving) then when boiling add in udon for between 1-3 minutes.
Transfer all contents into a bowl
Add on additional ingredients to flavour the udon eg - fish balls (sliced), strips of seaweed, japanese tofu skin or break an egg in the soup during last stages of boiling.
I will upload the picture soon
Ingredients (serves about 10 bowls of udon)
2 litres of water200ml of kikoman or other japanese light soya sauce
4 table spoons of "Doshi" or the other term for it is "Bonito Bullion??" basically japanese fish flakes
4 table spoons of sugar
(the above in my mind are the basic ingredients, the rest below is up to you to alter the flavour)
I used stuff that is available and cheaply too here
1 stalk of leek - 79c new zealand - chopped fine
3 stalks of celery - less than a dollar - chopped fine
1 large onion chopped
Honestly no good way to say how to cook this except to dump all in the pot, simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes and then keep in thermal pot for about 3-4 hours.
In order to get a nice hot bowl of udon, I used instant udon (about $1 per packet).Boil the above soup in a pot, preferable just enough for 1 serving ( about 300ml per serving) then when boiling add in udon for between 1-3 minutes.
Transfer all contents into a bowl
Add on additional ingredients to flavour the udon eg - fish balls (sliced), strips of seaweed, japanese tofu skin or break an egg in the soup during last stages of boiling.
I will upload the picture soon
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Thermal Pot Lamb rib curry
Was going on a day ski trip so a nice hot lamb curry after skiing will be awesome.
The last time we did it, because of the oil that comes out of the lamb, there was a thick layer of sickly oil.
This time, trying one with less oil. Here is what was done.
Ingredients
1.5kg of lamb ribs
4 tablespoons of curry powder
2 onions2 tea spoons of salt
2 cinnamon sticks
2 anistar
2 cloves
5 medium sized potatoes
1 tablespoon of oil
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of yogurt
At about 7pm the night before:
Stir fry in the oil the onions with the anistar, cinnamon and cloves until the onion is golden. Add in the tomatoes and then curry powderCook in the curry powder until fragrantAdd in the lamb and then yogurtAdd water to almost fully cover the lambbring to simmer and simmer for about 15 minutestransfer to thermal pot and let simmer for another 5 minutes before transferring into the actual pot itself.Close the pot to let cook inside the pot.
At about midnight, the inner pot was removed and leave to stand. The idea is to let the oil float to the top and with the cold weather here in new zealand, the oil should harden.
7 am, the oil has hardened somewhat so easily removed from the top layer. After removing the oil, the potatoes are added in (after cut into cubes) and then bring to simmer again for about 15 minutes.Then pot is closed and the inner lining put inside the outer lining and all is set.
By about 12 noon we will have hot curry in the ski fields.
Finally ate at about 4 pm actually because we were delayed getting to ski fields, still nice and warm and the hot curry sure hit a spot after cold skiing.
Hope this recipe works for all
The last time we did it, because of the oil that comes out of the lamb, there was a thick layer of sickly oil.
This time, trying one with less oil. Here is what was done.
Ingredients
1.5kg of lamb ribs
4 tablespoons of curry powder
2 onions2 tea spoons of salt
2 cinnamon sticks
2 anistar
2 cloves
5 medium sized potatoes
1 tablespoon of oil
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of yogurt
At about 7pm the night before:
Stir fry in the oil the onions with the anistar, cinnamon and cloves until the onion is golden. Add in the tomatoes and then curry powderCook in the curry powder until fragrantAdd in the lamb and then yogurtAdd water to almost fully cover the lambbring to simmer and simmer for about 15 minutestransfer to thermal pot and let simmer for another 5 minutes before transferring into the actual pot itself.Close the pot to let cook inside the pot.
At about midnight, the inner pot was removed and leave to stand. The idea is to let the oil float to the top and with the cold weather here in new zealand, the oil should harden.
7 am, the oil has hardened somewhat so easily removed from the top layer. After removing the oil, the potatoes are added in (after cut into cubes) and then bring to simmer again for about 15 minutes.Then pot is closed and the inner lining put inside the outer lining and all is set.
By about 12 noon we will have hot curry in the ski fields.
Finally ate at about 4 pm actually because we were delayed getting to ski fields, still nice and warm and the hot curry sure hit a spot after cold skiing.
Hope this recipe works for all
Sunday, July 20, 2008
my teaching of Islam to my kids
To Sophia, Addeana, Hannafi and Hammadi,
Islam as a Simple Guide to life
When each of you were born, Allah has given me not only the pleasure of having you as a child but also a responsibility, a big responsibility. It is my responsibility to make you a good person. When we were in Singapore, I was never able to have the time to fulfil this duty, and this duty is one of the reasons why we move here to New Zealand, where life can be simpler and we can have time to spend with each other before you all grow up and lead your own lives. But before that happens, let me do my duty in teaching you to be the best that you can be. Remember it is said in the Quran that the best among you is the pious one. So if you are to be the best that you can be then being pious, that is to be good in the eyes of Allah, is one of the things that I have to try and make you to be.
Another reason I want to make you pious is that in life, we all have to make decisions, and I want to give you the tools, to teach you, to be able to make these decisions well. The decisions will never be wrong if you chose them based on the guidance of our beautiful religion Islam.
I am sure in your young minds, Islam seems so difficult to follow. Actually, Islam is a simple religion, a simple way of life. You have been told of so many rules and restrictions. You were told that you cannot do this and that and never told the reason why. I don't like that, I want you to know the reason. If you understand the reasons then you will see that it is easy to not only be a good muslim but also easy to go to heaven where I hope we all will be together again after this life on earth. You will find life easy to live and also simpler to live. You will be liked by not only your friends and family and all who meet you. You will be seen as a good person by all. And if you are seen as a good person by all, then you can stand tall and proud and I will be proud of you, just like I am proud of each of you now.
What is "life" in Islam?
Life in Islam is a journey, a journey that has only 2 possible destinations, heaven or hell. If you remember this then any choice you need to make in life is easy. If you need to decide something then decide on something that will bring you closer to heaven. For example, if someone asks you to go to a party and you are not sure if you want to go or not, then ask yourself which one brings you closer to heaven. If you have to decide what job to take, then ask yourself, which one brings you closer to heaven. Then every single decision you make will be easy and will bring you closer to heaven by the will of Allah.
Is getting to heaven difficult? It is not, all of us can get to heaven as prophet muhammad has said
“All of my ummah will go to heaven, except those who refuse”. - al muslim
Those who refuse are those who refuse to follow his words and the path that has been shown by Prophet Muhammad to us. So what is this path that Prophet Muhammad wants us to follow. It is an easy path, a simple one but it is the devil that puts things in your path, to pull you away from this path so that you may join him in hell in the hereafter.
How do you stay on this path and what do you do? Now you all play computer games and you understand about stages in your games. Well look at yourself as a person in a very real game. This game is the game of Life. At the end of your life, you will be judged by at which stage you are in, so here are the stages. If you complete and reach all the stages in this life then Heaven is there waiting for you, but if you do not complete the stages then at the end of the game you will not have enough to bring you into heaven. Also for you to be able to be accepted in the next stage, you must fulfil the stage before that, but keep in mind you are preparing yourself for the next stage.
Let me explain to you what these stages are.
Basic stage
To complete this basic stage one has to do 2 things
a) belief in the six tenets of Islam
b) perform the five pillars of Islam
a) the six tenets of Islam are
- to believe that there is only one almighty god
- to believe in the existence of prophets
- to believe in the existence of angels (malaikat)
- to believe in the existence of the holy books
- to believe in the day of judgement
- to believe that all good and bad comes from the almighty Allah
Simple isn’t it, all you have to do is belief, just like any basic stage of any game, it is simple to do. Next it is the:
b) the five pillars of islam which are
- to perform belief and recite the 2 kalimah " there is no god other than Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah"
- to perform prayers 5 times a day
- to perform fast in the month of Ramadhan
- to give alms for the poor at least once a year
- to perform the Haj if one has the ability to do so.
Do you know that just by doing the above that your entry into paradise, or heaven is guaranteed, that paradise will be your final destination? Easy isn't it. It is easy, so all you have to do is the above. But if you want to get to Heaven easier then there are several other stages.
The Muslim Stage
This is the next stage that you must try and achieve.
Prophet Muhammad said that “a Muslim is a person whom another muslim is safe from his hands and words.”
A muslim will not kill or hurt another muslim in any way through their actions like hitting or hurting, murder, rape or doing things that will harm other muslims.
A muslim will be careful of the things he say and he will make sure that his words do not hurt another muslim directly or indirectly.
You may ask, why would I want to hurt another muslim with my hands or words. Sometimes we do not do so intentionally, but we must be mindful, always remember what you say and what you do. For example, if you bring a muslim friend to a party and then at the party the muslim friend ends up drinking and doing bad things, then that muslim friend was not safe from your hands and your hands, your actions have made him do bad things.
Or you may have a friend whom you know secrets about, and if you tell his or her secrets and it ends up hurting him or her, then your words have caused harm to him or her, your friend is not safe from your words.
So remember when you do things or say things, make sure that the things you do don’t end up hurting another muslim, always do good then you will have passed the Muslim stage and be a Muslim yourself.
The Mukmin Stage
The stage after the Muslim Stage is the Mukmin Stage.
Prophet Muhammad said that “a Mukmin is a person who other people trust with their lives and property”. This means regardless of if they are muslims or not.
If another person, regardless of faith is able to trust another with their lives and property then it makes the that is trusted a very good person in the eyes of humanity.
Again with this concept a Mukmin will not commit murder, theft, trickery or attain wealth in dishonest means. A Mukmin, is a person who is deemed trustworthy by all of mankind.
Looking at this then for a Muslim to be a Mukmin he must be trustworthy, he will not hurt another human being regardless of the persons faith, race or religion. He will not take anything that is not his. Islam does not teach you to be good only to fellow Muslims but to all mankind.
So if you are thinking of doing something, like when you are walking down the street and you see a nice ball at the fence of a house, if you are a Mukmin then you will not take it because it does not belong to you. If you take it then you are not trustworthy. Also if someone lends you something, then you must always return it because if you don’t then the person is not able to trust you with his property.
The Muhajir Stage
Prophet Muhammad said that “a Muhajir person who migrates himself away from doing evil”
The simplicity of this is that a Muhajir will not perform acts that is deemed sinful. A Muhajir will not put himself in a place where evil is prevalent like gambling dens or other places of ill repute. He will stay away from sins onto himself like lust, alcohol, gambling etc.
For example if you have a group of friends and they ask you to do bad things when you go out together like vandalise or smoke or drink alcohol. Then if you excuse yourself and bring yourself away from them so that you don’t do these things then you are a Muhajir.
The Mujahid Stage
Prophet Muhammad said that “a Mujahid is a person who struggles to keep himself steadfast in the eyes of Allah.”
The Mujahid then is highest in that he struggles to keep himself steadfast, to not only to not transgress on other humans and individuals, not only stay away from sins but also struggles to gain the approval of Allah.
The easiest of this is a man who fights in the name of Islam and purely with the intention of gaining the favour of Allah.
The highest level acheivable is of course to die in Jihad, to die a Mujahid for a person who dies in Jihad goes automatically to paradise. However it must be thought that the stages come in order, that one cannot go away thinking that to die in a battle without being a Muslim or a Mukmin then one goes to paradise. As I said before you must first achieve the lower stages.
How do you struggle to keep yourself steadfast, you actually do it everyday my children. Each time you take wudhu’ and feel that it is cold, then you are struggling to keep yourself steadfast in the eyes of Allah. Each time you struggle to get yourself out of bed to pray Subuh then you are a Mujahid.
Conclusion
I hope you understand what I have been trying to say in the above. It is OK if you don’t we can discuss it as we go along, if you have decisions to make then we will discuss the decisions based on what we spoke above. Just like the 3 question test before we buy anything, the above I hope will guide you in making your decisions.
I love all of you and I hope we will all be together again in the hereafter, as a happy family which we are now, Insyallah.
Islam as a Simple Guide to life
When each of you were born, Allah has given me not only the pleasure of having you as a child but also a responsibility, a big responsibility. It is my responsibility to make you a good person. When we were in Singapore, I was never able to have the time to fulfil this duty, and this duty is one of the reasons why we move here to New Zealand, where life can be simpler and we can have time to spend with each other before you all grow up and lead your own lives. But before that happens, let me do my duty in teaching you to be the best that you can be. Remember it is said in the Quran that the best among you is the pious one. So if you are to be the best that you can be then being pious, that is to be good in the eyes of Allah, is one of the things that I have to try and make you to be.
Another reason I want to make you pious is that in life, we all have to make decisions, and I want to give you the tools, to teach you, to be able to make these decisions well. The decisions will never be wrong if you chose them based on the guidance of our beautiful religion Islam.
I am sure in your young minds, Islam seems so difficult to follow. Actually, Islam is a simple religion, a simple way of life. You have been told of so many rules and restrictions. You were told that you cannot do this and that and never told the reason why. I don't like that, I want you to know the reason. If you understand the reasons then you will see that it is easy to not only be a good muslim but also easy to go to heaven where I hope we all will be together again after this life on earth. You will find life easy to live and also simpler to live. You will be liked by not only your friends and family and all who meet you. You will be seen as a good person by all. And if you are seen as a good person by all, then you can stand tall and proud and I will be proud of you, just like I am proud of each of you now.
What is "life" in Islam?
Life in Islam is a journey, a journey that has only 2 possible destinations, heaven or hell. If you remember this then any choice you need to make in life is easy. If you need to decide something then decide on something that will bring you closer to heaven. For example, if someone asks you to go to a party and you are not sure if you want to go or not, then ask yourself which one brings you closer to heaven. If you have to decide what job to take, then ask yourself, which one brings you closer to heaven. Then every single decision you make will be easy and will bring you closer to heaven by the will of Allah.
Is getting to heaven difficult? It is not, all of us can get to heaven as prophet muhammad has said
“All of my ummah will go to heaven, except those who refuse”. - al muslim
Those who refuse are those who refuse to follow his words and the path that has been shown by Prophet Muhammad to us. So what is this path that Prophet Muhammad wants us to follow. It is an easy path, a simple one but it is the devil that puts things in your path, to pull you away from this path so that you may join him in hell in the hereafter.
How do you stay on this path and what do you do? Now you all play computer games and you understand about stages in your games. Well look at yourself as a person in a very real game. This game is the game of Life. At the end of your life, you will be judged by at which stage you are in, so here are the stages. If you complete and reach all the stages in this life then Heaven is there waiting for you, but if you do not complete the stages then at the end of the game you will not have enough to bring you into heaven. Also for you to be able to be accepted in the next stage, you must fulfil the stage before that, but keep in mind you are preparing yourself for the next stage.
Let me explain to you what these stages are.
Basic stage
To complete this basic stage one has to do 2 things
a) belief in the six tenets of Islam
b) perform the five pillars of Islam
a) the six tenets of Islam are
- to believe that there is only one almighty god
- to believe in the existence of prophets
- to believe in the existence of angels (malaikat)
- to believe in the existence of the holy books
- to believe in the day of judgement
- to believe that all good and bad comes from the almighty Allah
Simple isn’t it, all you have to do is belief, just like any basic stage of any game, it is simple to do. Next it is the:
b) the five pillars of islam which are
- to perform belief and recite the 2 kalimah " there is no god other than Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah"
- to perform prayers 5 times a day
- to perform fast in the month of Ramadhan
- to give alms for the poor at least once a year
- to perform the Haj if one has the ability to do so.
Do you know that just by doing the above that your entry into paradise, or heaven is guaranteed, that paradise will be your final destination? Easy isn't it. It is easy, so all you have to do is the above. But if you want to get to Heaven easier then there are several other stages.
The Muslim Stage
This is the next stage that you must try and achieve.
Prophet Muhammad said that “a Muslim is a person whom another muslim is safe from his hands and words.”
A muslim will not kill or hurt another muslim in any way through their actions like hitting or hurting, murder, rape or doing things that will harm other muslims.
A muslim will be careful of the things he say and he will make sure that his words do not hurt another muslim directly or indirectly.
You may ask, why would I want to hurt another muslim with my hands or words. Sometimes we do not do so intentionally, but we must be mindful, always remember what you say and what you do. For example, if you bring a muslim friend to a party and then at the party the muslim friend ends up drinking and doing bad things, then that muslim friend was not safe from your hands and your hands, your actions have made him do bad things.
Or you may have a friend whom you know secrets about, and if you tell his or her secrets and it ends up hurting him or her, then your words have caused harm to him or her, your friend is not safe from your words.
So remember when you do things or say things, make sure that the things you do don’t end up hurting another muslim, always do good then you will have passed the Muslim stage and be a Muslim yourself.
The Mukmin Stage
The stage after the Muslim Stage is the Mukmin Stage.
Prophet Muhammad said that “a Mukmin is a person who other people trust with their lives and property”. This means regardless of if they are muslims or not.
If another person, regardless of faith is able to trust another with their lives and property then it makes the that is trusted a very good person in the eyes of humanity.
Again with this concept a Mukmin will not commit murder, theft, trickery or attain wealth in dishonest means. A Mukmin, is a person who is deemed trustworthy by all of mankind.
Looking at this then for a Muslim to be a Mukmin he must be trustworthy, he will not hurt another human being regardless of the persons faith, race or religion. He will not take anything that is not his. Islam does not teach you to be good only to fellow Muslims but to all mankind.
So if you are thinking of doing something, like when you are walking down the street and you see a nice ball at the fence of a house, if you are a Mukmin then you will not take it because it does not belong to you. If you take it then you are not trustworthy. Also if someone lends you something, then you must always return it because if you don’t then the person is not able to trust you with his property.
The Muhajir Stage
Prophet Muhammad said that “a Muhajir person who migrates himself away from doing evil”
The simplicity of this is that a Muhajir will not perform acts that is deemed sinful. A Muhajir will not put himself in a place where evil is prevalent like gambling dens or other places of ill repute. He will stay away from sins onto himself like lust, alcohol, gambling etc.
For example if you have a group of friends and they ask you to do bad things when you go out together like vandalise or smoke or drink alcohol. Then if you excuse yourself and bring yourself away from them so that you don’t do these things then you are a Muhajir.
The Mujahid Stage
Prophet Muhammad said that “a Mujahid is a person who struggles to keep himself steadfast in the eyes of Allah.”
The Mujahid then is highest in that he struggles to keep himself steadfast, to not only to not transgress on other humans and individuals, not only stay away from sins but also struggles to gain the approval of Allah.
The easiest of this is a man who fights in the name of Islam and purely with the intention of gaining the favour of Allah.
The highest level acheivable is of course to die in Jihad, to die a Mujahid for a person who dies in Jihad goes automatically to paradise. However it must be thought that the stages come in order, that one cannot go away thinking that to die in a battle without being a Muslim or a Mukmin then one goes to paradise. As I said before you must first achieve the lower stages.
How do you struggle to keep yourself steadfast, you actually do it everyday my children. Each time you take wudhu’ and feel that it is cold, then you are struggling to keep yourself steadfast in the eyes of Allah. Each time you struggle to get yourself out of bed to pray Subuh then you are a Mujahid.
Conclusion
I hope you understand what I have been trying to say in the above. It is OK if you don’t we can discuss it as we go along, if you have decisions to make then we will discuss the decisions based on what we spoke above. Just like the 3 question test before we buy anything, the above I hope will guide you in making your decisions.
I love all of you and I hope we will all be together again in the hereafter, as a happy family which we are now, Insyallah.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
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