Cookery for men

format_quote Originally Posted by Güven

You are cleaning ? tsh tsh tsh thats not what a man should do , A man should fix the furniture orsomething like a carpenter or cut the grass or Make foood but not...cleaning

Ok im joking just....dont kill me :X

fixing furniture n stuff is rare occasions tho lol

Still its something ONLY we MEN can do lol

format_quote Originally Posted by Yanoorah

ur brotha sounds a lot like my brothas..sometimes they will tell us all..go sit down we will cook today, surprise.
The waiting is the most, they stay in there for hours rofl.

Wen it's done, my mom is the most exited one, I usually burst out laughing immediately. I find it entertaining.

lol....and If I was with him in the kitchen and he messed something....he blamed me that I did not let him concentrated LOL

poor men, they want to prove themselves any way they can :X

format_quote Originally Posted by Güven

Your brother is right , " Leave it to the professionals"

Oh give me a break, he has no chance with me...
well, tell me what you can cook Mr Professional, you sound very confident in yourself

format_quote Originally Posted by Güven

Still its something ONLY we MEN can do lol

I'll have you know I can fix furniture quite capably.
Can you cook?

format_quote Originally Posted by Musaafir

I'll have you know I can fix furniture quite capably.
Can you cook?

uhoo

a smack in the face hasnt been dealt in such a harsh manner in quite some time.


back on topic though

most men do learn to cook before dying.

its something im so certain of

i think only girls learn at an earlier age.

format_quote Originally Posted by Musaafir

I'll have you know I can fix furniture quite capably.
Can you cook?

dang a cooking thread....

YES I CAN COOK!

my wife is from Somalia, so she can cook like 6 things, ie: rice, goat, noodles,etc.

i didn't tell my wife before we got married that i was a professional chef [in the kufar world - so don't ask about scallops and bacon], at the beginning of our 1st Ramadhan together i decided to clue her to the fact that you don't have to cook food for hours [and hours]. so after the 2nd night, i cooked for the rest of the month, which was simple once i figured out you could replace wines with grapejuice! my wife absolutely loved the Creamy Chicken Alfredo!

we got carried away with good food that month and we toned it down seriously on our 2nd Ramadhan. she was at her sisters for Ifthar one night and felt bad when she got home, asking "do i cook for you?" i was chuckling and told her to try the chicken in the oven,Rosemary Chicken, best chicken she's ever had!

after finding a Halal store that actually sells beef, she really likes T-Bone steaks and her current favorite treat is a Philly Cheesesteak on Tortilla!

but, i don't like to do the dishes! i will if i have to though...

but only if i have to!

a lucky sister she is ha.. I love secret identities especially if it is 'former chef' license to cook!

format_quote Originally Posted by Güven

Still its something ONLY we MEN can do lol

What? Fixing furniture? I'll take you on any time to see who can do it better!

This thread is making me smile. Perhaps I should start a poll on how many men around can cook and do cook ...

It is different for us in my family.

I am the main bread winner (through circumstance, not choice), and my husband is mostly at home.
Apart from doing the usual cleaning and shopping (and the odd digging up of the broken water pipe in the garden!), he does the cooking, at least on the days when I am working.

Recently he has taken to buying herbs, spices and meat in the local halal food shop, and he has had some fun conversations with the butcher there.

The first day he confused the butcher, because my husband didn't want the chicken cut into pieces. He wanted it whole for roasting. Obviously that wasn't a practice the butcher had ever come across!

The following times my husband did ask for the chicken to be cut up for casseroles and curries.
He has had chats about making biryani and other dishes.

It makes me smile, because - not wishing to be stereotypical - the Pakistani community in my town does seem very traditional in its views on gender roles. The men work, the women are at home with te children.
So I wonder what the Muslim guys in the shop make of this white guy, who comes in to shop and discuss recipes!

Oh, and by the way, my hubby's biryani was delicious!!

Peace

format_quote Originally Posted by Far7an

That just got me thinking... you know the best chefs in our town are all male . Maybe they get their wives to cook it and pass it off as their own? :P.

True, being a chef seems to be a male dominated profession. I wonder why that is?

I'd love to be able to cook. I'm pretty good with a mircowave (I can nuke anything). Fryin pan isn't too much of a problem and I can always turn the cooker hobs on without setting myself alight. I haven't had much experience in actually cooking food though...proper food that is. Like what they have on masterchef and big cook, little cook.

Any tips or starting points. And don't say chappatis - everyone can make chappatis. All you need is some Champion atta, a rolling pin and your fist.

As a starting point, try something basic like Spaghetti bolognese. Trust me, it always goes down a treat! You can even use Ragu sauce if you don't want to make your own.
Curries are a bit harder though.

format_quote Originally Posted by Musaafir

As a starting point, try something basic like Spaghetti bolognese. Trust me, it always goes down a treat! You can even use Ragu sauce if you don't want to make your own.
Curries are a bit harder though.

Will do. I love spaghettig bolognese and if it's a good starting point, I'll go make some next time it is on the menu for dinner.


I'll get to curries eventually, inshallah.

Lasagne's easy too you know. Garfield likes lasagne.

Cooking is sooo good



















when it's ready made

format_quote Originally Posted by aamirsaab

I'd love to be able to cook. I'm pretty good with a mircowave (I can nuke anything). Fryin pan isn't too much of a problem and I can always turn the cooker hobs on without setting myself alight. I haven't had much experience in actually cooking food though...proper food that is. Like what they have on masterchef and big cook, little cook.

Any tips or starting points. And don't say chappatis - everyone can make chappatis. All you need is some Champion atta, a rolling pin and your fist.

2 answers, the 1st...your Mother, your Mother, your Mother! [it's NOT how i learned, but what a blown opportunity to have some great quality time with your Mum!] Seriously, i see way too many Muslim families where the women do ALL of the "domestic" stuff, i.e., cooking, cleaning laundry AS IF that is how it is supposed to be! i mean sisters waiting on their brothers...doing their laundry for them...

oops, enough of a rant. anyway, as i see so much "culture" in the different nationalities, i would assume that most folks like "their own food" the best. therefore, spend as much time as you can learning from your Mum. in addition, you will be making your Mum VERY happy [for a variety of reasons.] AND in later years you will REALLY appreciate that time as well! [and MAYBE just maybe, you won't let your sons grow up to be so "useless" around the house!]

2ndly, get a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant [of the type that you want to learn.] BUST YOUR REAR END WORKING! be an absolute dynamo. the cooks, In Sha'a Allah, will notice this and give you more work to do, of the prep variety at first: chopping, slicing, peeling. as long as you are that dynamo, ask the cooks lots of questions. as long as you are the guy that they can rely on, they should give you preferential treatment. working in a kitchen is hard work, VERY hard in some. cooks tend to "dislike" lazy people, and gravitate to those who are willing to "make it work." 2 of the restaurants that i have worked in were in the top 100 BUSIEST Restaurants IN THE COUNTRY when i worked in them. there are people who are chefs today because i noticed their hard work and so i spent my time training them! [you do this this because when you need a new cook, you KNOW you have someone who will pull his or her own weight!]

usually, in restaurants you will learn prep work, then "short order", breakfast and luncheon items and then dinner.

at home, if you're going to do this your self, get the crock pot! chop, spice, flour, add water, press a button.

i would also recommend a rice cooker, especially one that will cook brown rice! something like this:

http://www.aroma-housewares.com/kitc.../ARC-1000.html

they have steamer trays that fit in the top. you could put some veggies in there and steam them while the rice is cooking.

THEN, get a steamer! we have this:

http://www.oster.com/ProductCategory...id=27&pid=1377

actually, ours is digital. for a nice meal we:

put carrots in for 10 minutes, then the beeper goes off.

put red potatoes [or yukon golds] in for 5 to 10 minutes, when the beeper goes off

add fish for 8 to 12 minutes depending on fish [salmon works VERY nicely!]

we have some key lime butter in the freezer that we slice and put on the fish and dinner only takes about a half hour to cook!

for other pots and pans, seriously go to a restaurant supply store! for your knives as well! the stuff sold in most stores is crap and in a bad economy you should be able to get lots of deals!

Crusted Rosemary Chicken [i created this last Ramadhan, my wife loves it and i use it as a replacement for fried chicken]:

get some "crushed rosemary" and trust me on this, the crushed works best [the other stuff is like pine needles, although fresh works good if you want to steam it]

we use chicken leg quarters [$1.49 a pound for halaal, and YES, i do the shopping]

coat your pan with an oil cooking spray and heat oven to 350.

put the chicken in the pan skin side up [my wife takes the skin off.] put some of the rosemary in a little nappy dish. take it and as you spread it over the chicken, crush it with you fingers into a fine powder. cover as much of the chicken as you ca with the "dust", add a little basil or oregano [we add a touch of mixed sea salt seasoning] and some salt and pepper.

put it in the oven. now, [and this is the part my wife loves] about 5 minutes before it is done, crank the oven to 425! as soon as the light goes out [meaning the oven is up to temp] shut it off! let it sit [and you'll find your own favorite length of time for about 8 minutes.

just before you take it out, turn on the burner under your tea kettle.

when you take the chicken out of the oven, put the chicken on a plate and look at your pan. if it's not burnt [and it shouldn't be. if it is, skip this part and heat it less next time ], add a liquid to the pan. water works fine, maybe 3/4 of a cup, it will "deglaze" the pan pulling up all the flavors. then reduce the water by half on the burner, this goes really good over some brown rice!

your done!

you CAN play with the liquid. sometimes i use Martinellis sparkling apple juice instead of water or grape juice. find your favorite and personalize it!

just some ideas...

Lol my dad cooks a lot in our house.
He and my mom always joke around about the who is the better cook.
My dad's list:

Pau bhaji ( Bombay recipe) with toasted bread
Kheer/shurkumah
Soup (all kinds)
Noodles (Asian fusion)
Some combination of vegetables
Haleem


=/ I don't think we measure anything in our family.