My Ramadan Routine

This blog post has been written through a paid promotion with Anchor butter

Both BW and myself have always had crazy work schedules, with him working until 9pm during the week whilst I’m tapping away on my laptop in the evenings and throughout the weekend too. Clearly, time together is scarce which is why we look forward to Ramadan.

Ramadan is perhaps the only time out of our busy lives that we get to spend time together, from waking each other up for sehri to cooking meals together for friends, we get to squeeze in our quality time! This year, things are a little different as we have a whole tiny human with us and our time together has become even more scarce.

So, we work around the little guy and change things up. Instead of long complicated recipes, we make quick and hearty meals that take up to no time at all to prepare! The bonus is, we still get to spend time together whilst whizzing around in the kitchen. Below, I have included a snippet of our typical day in Ramadan with recipes too.

SUHOOR – 2 A.M

Suhoor is my favourite meal during Ramadan. Not just because the food can be great (pancakes, iftar leftovers, you name it), but because there is something peaceful about waking up together when it is so serene outside. There is no after-work stress that is brought to the table, just the sounds of cutlery clinking as you get your meal ready.

We decided to be a tiiiiny little bit indulgent and whip up akuri for sehri. Akuri is a typical parsi breakfast dish consisting of eggs, chillies, coriander, tomatoes, and most importantly, butter. Pair it with a buttered toast or two, or three in my case, and you have enough fuel to keep you going until iftar!

Here is how we made it…

AKURI

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Eggs
• 1 medium bunch of coriander, chopped
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• Fried onions
• 1 tbsp Anchor salted butter

METHOD

1. Whisk the eggs together and season with salt and pepper.
2. Melt butter in a pan and add in the chopped tomatoes.
3. Add in the chopped coriander and chillies to the pan.
4. Add in the whisked egg mixture and keep on stirring slowly.
5. Sprinkle the fried onions on top and mix in.
6. The akuri is ready once it hits a soft consistency

Serve with plenty of buttered toasts, milky teas, and some pickle on the side.

Happy with our filling and warming sehri, we pass out in bed until our morning alarms ring.

AADAM BREAKFAST – 6 A.M.

Aadam is an early bird and is up at 5am every single morning. I just about manage to get myself out of bed, after some serious nudging from BW, to give Aadam his favourite breakfast: toast with a healthy amount of butter. I like that Anchor is not too salty which is ideal for giving weaning babies!

BANANA BREAD  – 4 P.M.

You know that sweet spot between iftar and sehri when you’re feeling peckish but do not want to commit to a whole meal? I’ve got the perfect solution for you: banana bread. As we have friends coming over in the evening for iftar, I decided to whip one up quickly whilst Aadam napped.

Here is why you need to make my banana bread:

• It is the perfect comfort snack to have in between iftar and sehri
• The melted Anchor butter makes the bread so incredibly moist
• It only takes 10 minutes to prepare
• And bananas are healthy, right???

To put it simply, I can write you a novel as to why banana bread is always a good idea. You can mix it up with chocolate chips, walnuts, peanut butter, whatever you fancy and it will always turn out!

Here is how I make mine:

INGREDIENTS

• 300g flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 4 very ripe, mashed bananas
• 4 oz Anchor unsalted butter, melted
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 1tbsp milk
• 2 large eggs
• Additional flavour: cinnamon, chocolate chips, walnuts, etc.

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180c (fan)
2. Mix all the dry ingredients.
3. Add the wet ingredients into the bowl and combine well.
4. Pour mixture into a loaf pan
5. Place into the oven for an hour or until toothpick comes out clean

You can serve this cold with whipped cream or ice cream with fruits, or you can toast it and slather on some butter.

IFTAR – 7 P.M.

Once BW is back from work and Aadam is down for the night, we get cracking on iftar. It is almost tradition to have a friend or two over for dinner almost every night during Ramadan – it is the month for sharing after all – and one of their most requested dish is our butter chicken.

Butter chicken may seem tedious, especially for a weeknight dinner, and everyone’s mum’s butter chicken is always the best, but this foolproof recipe gives you a quick, delicious, and hearty version. Like many of you, I love my butter chicken to be extra creamy which is why I opted to use Anchor butter in this recipe.

BUTTER CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• Half a stick of Anchor butter
• 4 tbsp Bombay Masala https://amzn.to/2Jm1Hqz
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
• 1 clove
• Half a tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 green chillies
• Large bunch of chopped coriander

METHOD

• Cube chicken and mix with garlic, ginger, and salt. Leave to marinate.
• In a pan, melt the butter and add the cinnamon, cardamom and clove.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes have softened.
• Add in the bombay masala, green chillies, and coriander.
• Turn the heat on high and add in the chicken.
• After 5 minutes, lower the heat and leave to simmer.
• Mix in the cream and add slivered almonds to serve.

Note: Bombay Masala is a mixture of over 20 spices including star anise, dhanajeeru, cinnamon and others too. You can purchase this online.

After a hearty dinner, I manage to sneak a slice or two in of banana bread before retiring to bed and getting ready for the day ahead of us.

Do you have any special Ramadan Moments? Or any quick recipes that are ideal for Iftar/Suhoor? Let me know in the comments below – would love to give them a try 🙂

This blog post has been written through a paid promotion with Anchor butter