Life!

A few thoughts of my youngest sis.. which she shared .. and I liked it soooo much!! that couldn't resist sharing it here for my own good memory :)

missing my childhoOd....... where there was nO tensiOn,nO wOrries jxt relaxation......where we wuld think that the hardest thing tO learn is ABC,n the yuckiest things are vegetables......n we dinnO wat gOnna happen next....we just say everythin n ppl sayy awww....cute babie.....n nw if we see we have soo many respOnsibilities which we have toO fulfill even if its nOt Our chOice......we have tO first think then say Otherwise ppl say .....a bad mannered kid....i wish i culd get those days back ...i wish...i wish that those days in which i used to cry while enterin the skul i culd get back...but i guesss as the tym passes we have tO move On ..nOw the life is borin even wid all the luxuries......we cannot get those days back.......we cannOt get dose days back....but...we can still luk at the memOries and smile a while and then an unwanted tear cOmes Out of Our eyes........i guess dis is the way life mOves On.....n we have tO accept it....

Love you beta jee!! .. May Allah always guide you and be with you.. Ameen!

Tawakkul...

Today I read a very motivating email sent from a website that I have subscribed which provoked a very long strand of thoughts, so thought to share it here,

THE CALL (Part 1)
When Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) completed the structure of the Ka’bah, Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) commanded him to call the people to Hajj. Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) got confused he said, “O Allah! How shall my voice reach all of those people?” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) told him that his duty was only to give the call and it was up to Allah to make it reach the people.
Here we have a beautiful productivity lesson; don’t worry about the results/outcome of your effort, rather worry about making the effort and ensuring you do the task to the best of your ability. If Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) saw that the expected outcome of his task is impossible, he would have given up and there would have been no Hajj. But, he relied upon Allah & did his best, he climbed Mount Arafat and called out in his loudest voice, “O People! Verily Allah has prescribed upon you Hajj, so perform Hajj.”
Every human being on earth at that time heard that call and Hajj began since that day. Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) revealed in the Qur’an: “And proclaim the Hajj among mankind. They will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways” (Surat Al-Hajj, Ayat 28).
We should never stop ourselves from making the necessary effort to achieve something just because we think the results are impossible to achieve.
Do your part and leave the rest upon Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala).

This reminded me the lessons on Tawakkul that my father always used to teach us. He had such a strong faith over Almighty that I never understood why at that time, even after bearing so much in life, how can anyone be so strong in faith. Now at this point in my life, having myself faced so much thick and thin, I have now truly learned the meaning of Tawakkul. I would like to share here a Hadith that my father narrated to us, The hadeeth is from Anas bin Malik, who said:

"A man said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, should I tie it(camel) and make tawakkul, or let it go free and make tawakkul?' He صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Tie it and make tawakkul.'" [At-Tirmidhi]

So, just do your part and leave the rest over Allah Pak!.. If there is any benefit in the outcome for you .. Allah will not let your efforts go in waste.. and if there is harm in it.... be content that Allah Pak saved you from it.

May Allah bless us all! Ameen!

Success...

I have often pondered over the definition of success.. but never satisfied myself with a valid answer.. Even after achieving distinctions throughout my academic life and being in fairly good jobs in my professional life.. I never considered myself successful... But today I found a very fitting definition of success while re-reading some earlier posts on yearofkindness...

To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded..... Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

Although this definition only talks of worldly success.. but I never came across a more complete one...

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

So considering it , I have been a lot successful Alhumdulillah!! .. All glory be to Allah!!

Fried Fish...

So finally I got the perfect recipe for Pakistani style fried fish .. thanks to a colleague :) ... I tried it on my brother's birthday and got some great results!

Ingredients: 
Whole Fish (Rahoo, marked with shallow cuts) .. 1 kg
Ginger/Garlic paste ... 2-3 tbsp.
Lemon juice ... 1/2 cup
Salt ... to taste
Red chilli powder ... 2 tbsp.
Cumin powder ... 1 tbsp.
Coriander powder ... 1 tbsp.
Turmeric ... 1/2 tsp.
White floor... for frying
Oil .. for frying

Method:
To avoid any unpleasant smells particularly in sea food, marinate the fish first with salt, lemon juice and ginger garlic paste for half an hour and wash well with water afterwards. Now for marination, mix salt, red chilli, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice and a bit of oil to form a paste. Add few drops of water if needed. Apply the marinade on fish and leave for 1-2 hours. Now for frying, add salt and red chilli powder in white floor and coat the marinated fish in this dry batter slightly and shallow fry on medium heat.

Shukar Allah!!

Recently read this wonderful post shared by a friend and realized so strongly the infinite mercy of my Lord! So sharing it here to strengthen your faith and as a reminder to my own ungrateful self,

O Allâh,

I told you: I'm in pain...

You said:► 'Do not despair of the mercy of Allâh' (39:53)

I told you: Nobody knows what is in my heart...

You said:► 'Verily, in the remembrance of Allâh do hearts find rest' (13:28)

I told you: Many people hurt me...

You said:► 'So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them' (3:159)

I told you: I feel I'm alone...

You said:► 'We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein' (50:16)

I told you: My sins are so many...

You said:► 'And who can forgive sins except Allâh' (3:135)

I told you: Do not leave me...

You said:► 'So remember Me; I will remember you...' (2:152)

I told you: I'm facing a lot of difficulties in life...

You said:► 'And whoever fears Allâh He will make for him a way out' (65:2)

I told you: I have many dreams that I want to come true...

You said:► 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you.' (40:60)

How could this slave not love You with his body and soul?

♥ I LOVE YOU, ALLÂH !!! ♥ Alhamdulillâh for Your infinite blessings!

Yummilicious Chicken Broast!!

After collecting recipes for so long and hearing remarks from my family that you only run after collecting them and never try :P, I got time to finally try something that turned out really well!!...shukar :) .. and is remarkably simple as well!! .. Got some really flattering comments from family and some of my friends whose share I kept separate :)

Being a Punjabi by birth, good food has always been a passion with me, So when I got some time off and the perfect occasion of my little sis birthday, I decided to try a broast recipe, all credit for which goes to Chef Saadat :)

So here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

Chicken with skin  -  cut into 8 peices

Green chilli paste - 3 Tbsp.

Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tbsp.

Baking powder - 2 Tbsp.

Salt - 3 Tbsp

Black or White pepper - as per taste

White floor - 2 cups

Corn floor - 1/2 cup

Water - As needed

Method:

Add water in chicken as much to cover it entirely. Now add green chilli paste, ginger garlic paste, salt (2 and a half Tbsp.) and baking powder in the mixture. Mix well and leave the marinated chicken in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Now for frying, mix white floor, corn floor, salt and pepper (to taste). Roll the marinated chicken pieces well in this dry batter and leave on a strainer. If the coating is thin, dip the chicken pieces slightly into the marinated water and again coat with dry batter. Fry in well heated oil but not a very high flame for chicken to tenderize. Ready!! Serve with fries :)

Here's the picture until you try it :)

Along with this yummy recipe, I have some food for thought too from a very inspirational blog  yearofkindness, that I have been following for some time now and it has really inspired alot of positivity into my daily life.Read the latest post from this blog here.

Until next time, happy cooking, happy reading and happy feasting :)