Hubby is starting an evening shift job in a couple of weeks. He's always been at home (here or in Morocco) for Iftar during Ramadan. We're guessing he'll get a dinner break at around 8 pm, which will work, but I'm trying to put together some meal plans to help make it special since he won't be with his family or me. It's a fairly large company, so I hope he'll meet some other Muslims there. He likes sammiches, so that will be easy, as will walnut-stuffed dates and milk. Harira will be doable if we get a little thermos. My guess is he won't stuff himself at Iftar and will probably snack later on a break. He doesn't have much of a sweet tooth. Any other ideas for packable stuff?

When Wadi was working at the restaurant and couldn't be home for iftar I would make him a pack with the following:

paratha breads (i think it's indian bread, but wadi loves it and it's easy to make from frozen - just cook it in a pan http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2060/214806...3ebf8f.jpg?v=0)
hardboiled eggs with cumin
those spicy moroccan sausages (much better hot of course, but he'd eat them cold)
laughing cow cheeses
dates
a pastry

how do you get the cumin into the hard boiled egg?

injection

Jenn!,
where do you get your merguez (moroccan sausages)? Can you get them at a local butcher/Arabic shop, or do you order them somewhere?

Simo loves Merguez and we haven't found a source for them outside of visiting Queens, NY!

Yeah, we buy them from the arab stores locally - all of them seem to have them. That's too bad - let me know and I can send you sausages! LOL

Great ideas, Jenn! He loves hard-boiled eggs and cumin. I'll check some specialty stores for the bread and sausages. I'm going to try making melwi (layered flat bread served with honey) since he'd like that before sunrise. Haven't tried making it since he arrived, and my results before then were less than stellar.

Queens rocks!!!

What can't you find here????

Recipe, please... you know where!

and sorry but what's Iftar????
Rajaa

It's the meal to break fast during Ramadan.

ok so it's not just one day??? Thanks sorry if it was a stupid questions just didnt' know what it was called.

I have had great success making melwi since his sister visited and showed me how. The problem of course is that I can't make it fresh every day. I make a huge batch (did this just yesterday morning), and freeze them. He then can heat them in the microwave. He loves it with the laughing cow cheese.

Do you have a recipe?

No, I would love the recipe if you could post it (haven't searched Sultan's Kitchen if it's already there). Mine has come out way too dense. I watched his mom make it, but not from the beginning, and I think there must have been yeast or baking powder in there that I didn't know about. Great to know it can be frozen.

Hubby also likes a kind of casserole made by shredding the melwi by hand when it's still hot and mixing it with meat, veggies, and spices, fenugreek being one of the primary ones. It comes out almost like a pasta dish. I've eaten it but never tried making it. It would be pretty labor-intensive for most workdays, but if I can get the melwi right, I might try the casserole on the weekend or for Eid if I find the recipe.

Thank you!

I make a pretty big batch, so you can cut it down if you want. (Hopefully my memory serves me well...lol)

Melwi

Mix together:

4 1/2 C white flour
3 1/2 C semolina
1 t yeast
1 t salt
2 t sugar

Using the kitchen Aid add 2 C water, then gradually add 1 more C (more or less) until the dough is soft and smooth, but not sticky. Roll about 2 to 3 inch balls and place on greased sheet (I use Pam). Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.

Melt 1 Cube butter (margarine will work, but not as good) in the microwave. Add equal amount of oil.

Dip the ball in the butter/oil mixture and flatten into a circle on the counter. Get it good and thin (flipping it over to ensure that the butter coats both sides). Then fold it in thirds one way, then the other. Cover and let it sit another 5 minutes.

Spray Pam on the griddle and heat to 350 degrees. Flatten the balls again, using a little more of the butter mixture. It will be about 4 inch square.

Fry until golden brown on both sides.

Growing up, I worked at Wendy's....and that was when breaking the fast was in the late Spring...I think was 6 or 630. OUCH. I had to be around all that food and during the busy dinner rush. I had to find few minutes to eat a few things and the run back to grill. Easier said then done...may times it was just a drink until about 8 pm when I would make my super duper 6 single patty hamburger. Only had one of those in my lifetime!

I think I just felt an artery slam shut.

Oh, excellent. Thank you so much.

Your welcome.

Funny girl... (little delayed, been busy all day)

For anyone that wants to see how to form the melwi you can watch this video. It shows how to form them after the balls have sat for 15 minutes.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=9PI_MRnJs2E

Morocco4ever, I made a half batch of your melwi recipe today, and it came out so well! Thank you so much for sharing this. I used the dough setting on my bread maker to knead it. My husband was tickled when he realized what I was making. Even cut in half, it was still a very large batch for two people, so we made another dish from it that I remember having in Morocco. Hubby calls it rafisa, but he thinks there may be another name for it. I found a reference to rafisa as breadcrumbs mixed with dates and honey, which this is not, but maybe the breadcrumbs are what make it rafisa. I'm attaching pictures of both, and I'll put the chicken rafisa recipe in the pinned thread.

Melwi


Rafisa

YUMMY...looks so good...now I'm hungry! LOL

Mmmmmmmmmmm.... those look so delicious! I'm going to have to try them both. My bread came out wonderfully, too, today. Heading to the Sultan's Kitchen for your recipe now...