Hijab Trade Fashion

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Tasting emaraati traditional food

Hala bl 7elwin ,

I know some of u r interested in emaraati traditional dishes, so today let's taste our tasty dishes :)

I will post the most popular dishes served in Emirates by the names and show u the way they look like.

RAQAQ

It is only made of basic ingredients : whole-wheat flour, salt and water.This is one of the most traditional breads known in UAE.

The "raqaq" bread is made from soft unleavened dough that is flattened and baked on a hot iron plate.

The bread is made daily during Ramadan and is the accompaniment to fareed (a dish made of chicken and bread).

It is also a popular winter-time bread, eaten fresh and warm from the griddle with oil poured over, then folded into pieces and eaten with fresh honey.

Is it also served with ghee,butter,sugar,chesse or meat gravy spread on it.

SHOBAB

“Shobab” is traditional bedouin bread that is very similar to a crepe. The ingredients are the same as khameer, except that only more water is added.

The dough is left to rest for about four hours and is then cut into several pieces.

Each piece is shaped into a flat circle and fried on both sides in a pan (or baked in a traditional oven called "tabi").It is served warm for either breakfast or dinner, and is accompanied by cheese, honey, eggs or jam.

AL HAREES

“Al harees “ is one of the most savoured dishes in the UAE and it involves a lengthy preparation. Harees, that rib-sticking, regional stalwart of meat and wheat, sometimes as thick as concrete, is a quintessential part of the Emirati culinary.

Al harees, which is made mainly from meat and wheat, is quite prominent one during special occasions such as Ramadan, Eid and weddings.

AL MACHBOOS

“Al Machboos”, which is also called “Al Makboos”, has red meat as its main ingredient (which can be replaced by chicken or shrimp) and rice.

Is it similar to Biryani .

AL SALOONA

Is it chicken, beef or meat stew along with vegetables.

The dish is prepared by boiling meat with onions and then adding a variety of vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, onions, pepper, tomato and some okra).

Spices and tomato paste are also added and the mixture is left to simmer for 10 minutes until read.

AL MADROOBA

Fish is used heavily in Emirati Cuisine in a variety of recipies: grilled, fried or cooked with rice

This consists of salt-cured fish (known locally as "Maleh" or salty) and flour.

The fish is cleaned thoroughly in running water and then cooked in a pot along with spices.

AL KHABEESA

picture made by our sister Arlette

This is a famous desert . Is made from flour which is heated on a stovetop and as its colour turns brown, rose water, sugar, ghee and cardamom are added.

The mixture is then left on medium heat until ready.

AL KHANFAROOSH

This is prepared from a mixture of flour, egg, sugar, yeast, cardamom, saffron and rose water.

Very tasty !

LOQAIMAT

“Luqaimat or l’gaymat “ may just be the emaraati gateway dish.

Dumplings (little crispy balls) made of butter , milk, sugar, flour, saffron, cardamom, that is deep fried in oil and then served with sugar syrup .

My favorite sweet , is it served in Ramadan also , but mostly as a mainly desert .

There are as many varied and wonderful recipes for loqaimat as there are for pancakes.

BATHEETH

This is a date sweet , an arab favorite and the national traditional uae sweet.

Is it served regulary with Gahwa ( the Arabic coffee).

GAHWA KHALEEJIAH

Gulf coffee is served at most corners of the Heritage Village,offices,shops,houses ans is the most popular type of coffee among uae nationals.One of the first things done every morning in Arab homes after early morning prayers, is to make coffee which is then kept in a flask (dalla gahwa) until the family is ready to drink it.

Traditionally, fresh green coffee beans are roasted in a frying pan (ta'waa) over a direct fire.

They are then pounded by hand in a mortar until they reached a medium sized grain, and then boiled rapidly for 3-5 minutes.

In the meantime, saffron, cloves, cardamom and rosewater are placed in a large flask, the hot coffee is poured over this and then left to steep for 30-40 minutes.

Posted on 2:32 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Monday, September 28, 2009

The home

Hello people

Yes Im back. Again. Back to Bandung. Again *mood berubah*
Hey FK (fakultas kedokteran) should be more linient la..they should give me more cuti so that i can cuti2 Malaysia..Cuti2 kat Malaysia sgt lah 'cuti' because i got to jalan2, baring2, makan2, xyah blaja, xyah masak sendri, xyah lipat baju, xyah buat kerje rumah wah bestnye.........

Anyway, i never introduce my housemates to you guys kan? In Bandung, i live with Ema and Farah. Ema and Farah sgt cntek taw. Xcaye tgk gmba bwh ni!

Ema in red & Fara yang buat peace tu

In Bandung, my house is located at Puri Indah,Jln Syg. Its a 1 and half-storey terrace. Boleh tahan la, we have guard post, tennis court, masjid and the most important thing, kedai top up hehe

The house

View bile da bukak gate

My window! Bilik paling depan skali ialah bilik ak

Ak suke curtain tu..beli kat Paun ja..rp15ribu

Ni hall kitorang..sdap landing nih...haha baju atas meja..kantoi malas lipat

Our theme is red!

This is the kitchen. Xcantek xpe yang pnting bersih!

Tangga naek ats. Ats ade balcony yang sgt lapang

My study table! Peminat sbena Hello Kitty

My cozy bed! Hello kitty yang besa tu hfz bg ^^

Ema's room. Theme: Orange!

Fara's room. Fara xkasi tngkap gamba bilik dieh *sedih*

Hehe..tu la umah kitorang..Very comfortable and clean. Tp ak ttp rindu umah kat Semban tu. Tak kira. Tak kira. Oh yee..Kitorang de kucing jgk..Comel taw name die Chuubs. Tapi jgn harap ak nk pgl ko chuubs. Pgl baby sudeh~ hehe. Kucing ni la yang ak habaq kat angpa yng syazna and ema beli harga rm500 tu..org kaya btol depa ni. isy isy

Bermaen bersama ampaian. eh ampaian xleh maen lah

Chuubs ade necklace baru Ema beli kat Tesco gune duit ayah die

Chuubs seperti tidak gembire dpt necklace baru.Mungkin die penggemar barangan second hand

Marilah kite bersame2 menjage kebersihan rumah wlpon rumah sewe! We should keep our home neat and tidy, cuz home is the heart of every human being! And plus, healthy life begins at home.

Tata!

Posted on 9:06 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Henna

Hayakom Allah,

how u doing my dears , hope u all are great .

Today i wanna write little bit about henna, as for i'm a big fan of it.

I admit i'm not good in painting and make in the designs , but i totally enjoy it when i go to salon for a henna painting.

I tried twice at home to do it by myself , and it was terrible , the worse ever i have seen , even the kids do it better than me :) he he

So since that time i gave it up and i prefer going to salon to make it sure none will get amused of my henna .

Henna was used throughout India and the Middle East before Islam, and is also known as "Mehendi" (an Indian word). Henna is made from the leaves of a bush, the Egyptian evergreen plant whose shoots and leaves yield an extract which is mixed with substance obtained from various trees and shrubs.

Arabians crush dried berries from this plant to obtain a red powder.

Black henna is reserved for the soles of the feet and hands while red henna is used for the tips of the fingers and toes.

Traditional henna designs were put onto hands and feet.

It was often part of a special celebration of women, such as preparing for the wedding.

Now is it used to special events or even daily use.

Women gathered to decorate the bride's hands and feet, and their own hands as well.

The designs are usually made to look like leaves, vines, and flowers or geometric patterns.

The history of henna goes back 5,000 years! It was not only for decorating hands and feet, but was used as a medicine, too.

Even our Prophet Muhammad(saw) recommended using henna for some health problems.

The application of henna is a ritual which may take up to 6 hours.
After all ingredients are mixed and designs applied the person shouldn't disturb painted areas for 6 hours or more, depending upon the richess of color and how long u want the design to stay on.

Anyway, i have a little secret -

if u want ur henna to be long stay ( let's say for a week ) then u should use a little lemon juice with very little acetone ( the one u remove ur nail polish ). Try it and tell me if u got the wished results.

If u wanna know more about henna designs click here

Posted on 10:13 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Hijab Styles for Special Occasions

I always loved arts and crafts... Years ago I did a 2 year sewing course; I used to sew a lot, but with time it just became easier and cheaper to purchase ready-made-clothes. I also compelted a ribbon emrboidery course, and taught myself brazillian embroidery and jewellery making. Ahhh if only I had the time... :)

Those of you who know me will also know that I also style hijabs for special occasions. I actually started off doing this while I was in Istanbul, Turkey. I had my own translation office, and downstairs there was a bridal salon. We became friends with the owner of the bridal salon, and soon I started to learn intricate beading using crystals and various other gems... I beaded many evening gowns, wedding dresses and veils... This became a hobby and some kind of therapy for me...

A while after getting the hang of it, I started to work "professionally" (I put this in quotation marks, because I was actually working professionally as a translator-interpreter, this was like a casual job) at the bridal salon as a hijab stylist. I did this for a little over a year until it was time to return to Australia... And coming back to Australia has not stopped me from continuing to style hijabs. :) It has now been well over 2 years since I started doing this...

To be honest, I have to say that I really love it as it helps me keep my creative side fresh. However, alike every other job, it does have its cons... but not many... One of the cons is getting up very early in the morning (as early as 5-6 am) if the client is the bride or in the bridal party... But even that is sweet in a sense, because you know that you are a very important part of the wedding preparations.

I have to say that the thing that I dislike most is when clients insist on something that I know and tell them that it would not look good at all. They realise the truth once it's too late, but yeah, it's just too late!

If you ever plan to have your hijab styled for a special occasion, an angagement, or wedding, make sure that the stylist is experienced and a professional. Ask them for examples (photos, videos, etc.) of their work - not photos of styles done by other stylists! If you are the bride, make sure you only work with someone that will offer a trial weeks before your wedding. Most important of all, if you are working with a professional, listen to them, trust them! If you can't trust them, then you shouldn't be working with them.

Now where did this post come from? I've been quite busy with hijab styling appointments the past few weeks, and I have come accross many who have practically forced me to do styles using the wrong fabrics, wrong colours, and wrong styles (wrong for them, their dress, the event, etc.). Then after everything is finished, they say, "I should have listened to you"... And just the other day, I had a bride call me for an appointment. Her wedding was in two days. She already had a hijab stylist, but she wasn't happy and comfortable with the stylist, so she asked me if I would accept her.

Normally, I never ever accept a bridal appointment any later than 3 weeks before the wedding, but I wanted to help her. No bride should be unhappy with her look on her wedding day. But she did not come to her trial appointment, so now I will not accept her. People accept too much from hijab stylists. If you want something superb you too need to help the process.

So anyway, I didn't take any photos of the last 8-10 styles for the simple reason that I did not like the styles... Upon this, I just sat and worked on a style on my mannequin head this evening... I will share this style and a few more below. However, I would like to note that, all the styles that are done from the back can be done in a way to cover the neck and chest. The real life photos are purely the personal choice of the clients, and most are for ladies only events. So, please do not write negative comments (any negative comments will definitely be removed). We should judge ourselves before judging others.

I know that for some, these styles are over the top, but everybody has different taste. Some like to have their hijab more on the plain side for a special occasion, while others prefer to have something special designed to suit the occasion...