Another first...

Last weekend, the children and I were invited to the birthday party of the sister of one of C’s school friends. It was her first birthday party. I should start off by saying that this is an Omani family and this is the first time I have been to an Omani lady’s house. So I was quite excited.

I was only one of two western expat women there, we were made to feel so welcome and most ladies introduced themselves. Admittedly I introduced myself to the others in my fabulously broken and stuttered Arabic!

I found out during the party that the traditional first birthday party is called a hul-hul (sp?). But on asking the Mum if this was such a party, she said it wasn’t quite the same. 

So this is a plea to OPNO and any other Arabic readers, or those with knowledge of the Islamic culture, please can you tell me what a hul-hul is and what is involved?

It’s funny because with my two children I wanted to have big parties for their first birthdays, with family and friends. The intention was there to never have another big party again until they’re 21!

So anyway, baby H had a magician (hilarious!) and a clown (also made me laugh!). The Mother of H got me doing the facepainting! The children taught me the colours in arabic! And then she gave me her lovely Nikon SLR so I was playing with my camera and hers - I was in my element! (I won’t post any pictures as they are all of the ladies and the children so I’d rather respect their privacy of course).

And then the food! Well, it was all the traditional party food laid on and a huge tray of lamb biryani with the lamb’s head on top. Bit of a shock but if that’s the way it’s done then that’s fine! I went back to the main room and looked for Bear and there she was sitting on the floor with the other Mums and kids. So that was good, that was my excuse to sit on the floor as well. I really felt a part of the day and had a great time. I even ate with my hand without too much mess!

I was looking for a picture of a large biryani and found this one! Brilliant! (it wasn't quite this big at the party!)

On the down side, Omanis’ parties seem to last all day! I say the downside only because I had made other plans that afternoon as I just assumed it would last 2-3 hours! Whereas us Brits especially write on the invitation a set time to start and finish; we can only cope with other friends' children for so long! Plus the parents more often than not tend to (I call it ) 'drop and run', leaving you responsible. Whereas at H's party all the Mums stayed, less stress I imagine for the hostess.

I was expecting to leave by 1pm but it was still in full swing. My children were exhausted so I had to make my excuses at 2pm. H’s Mother would not let me leave until we had eaten some sweets and filled up a foil container full of yummy treats, nuts and cakes to take home. My kids loved the jellies with nuts in. I go mad for the Om Ali...I think it was like Om Ali at the party except it was a much more solid consistency so I could eat it with my fingers.

So a joyful day and a super experience, I know now that I think I can manage if I’m invited again to an Omani house! 

(And OPNO, she's going to do my makeup!)

An entry on food? On this Blog? Really?

Those of you who know me know that cooking is not a passion, probably far from it to be honest. That’s not fair actually, I will cook. And don’t mind doing a big pot of chilli or Bolognese or stew…something that has everything thrown in together and cooks at the same time. I used to become quite flustered if I was to cook things at different times for different durations at different temperatures. The first time I did a roast dinner was momentous, if somewhat overcooked in places!

Not mine I'm afraid. Bear would love filling these up with gravy and Booker-amounts of mint sauce....mmmm!

My attitude was very much that I will cook so that my family did not go hungry. Taste and presentation were not priorities! But then it was made more difficult when I had two children who are far from fussy and enjoy new tastes. So I had to be more interesting. I think I’m doing a lot better these days and will even rely on a recipe with less than a day’s panicking and planning!

Moving here opened up a new style of cooking that I was actually looking forward to… I saw it as a fresh start and something that I could use a recipe and not feel incompetent and unadventurous (The Captain is the, well, captain of improvisational cuisine. Anything in the cupboards and fridge can be made to taste great at his hands. I’m very lucky he enjoys cooking. Except he’s been working more than ever recently and hasn’t had chance to be in the kitchen…grrrrr….).

One book I managed to get before coming here was Cooking of the Gulf by Tess Mallos. It’s difficult to get hold of, Amazon don’t even have it just now. If you see it, grab a copy as I'm not sure when you may find it again.

On the menu last night was Quwarmah ala dajaj (curried chicken) served with my personal favourite, Muhammar (sweet rice).

I think I might have actually improvised today! Get me! The recipe asked for tomatoes….none ….so I used tomato paste and added a lot more water. As you can see from the picture, it turns out a lot darker and richer looking. I also missed out the chilli and cooked with oil instead of ghee. And I used two of the Loomis that I made over a year ago! It was absolutely lush, if I do say so myself.

Slightly different! (note to self: stop cooking with the recipe book right by the pan).

The Captain is yet to try it as he was working all today, so I’ll await his opinion! My last chilli was a bit ‘metallic’ apparently so we’ll see! (I’ll blame it on him having just got over his flu and so his taste buds were shot…the kids scoffed it all so it couldn’t have been that bad!)

If anyone is interested in the recipe, drop me a line and I’ll scan it over to you. A little easier than typing it all up! It was really delicious, sweet and tangy with a very slight hit from the turmeric and baharat. I omitted the chilli pepper merely for the kids' benefit so it would normally have a kick.

Have I just written enthusiastically about cooking??? Wow….

Edit: This sums up my disorganised approach to cooking - I read ‘tinned tomatoes’on the recipe, I have a look at the recipe after I’ve cooked it and it says 1 cup of tomatoes, chopped and peeled. Where did I get tinned from…? And so I have just discovered fresh tomatoes in the fridge. Typical.