*Usually In the UK our family always had a full Xmas dinner- turkey and stuffing and all....but those were the good ole days.. inshallah will be having Xmas dinner in the UAE and I'm also cooking- we are having the turkey, veggies and tatties , xmas cake and pudding ( without the alchohol)... im making a desi style menu as theres many kids- chicken and veg pasta(desi tez style), two salad, and my fav - dark , rich fruit cake.....all will have the trimming and of course tree and crakers!!! *
As such we really dont have a "Christmas" dinner...... ok we make some special food (biryani etc) because of holiday just like any other holiday or weekend.
I did not say cooking a roast was shirk-here is what I said
"I like the good old British roast but avoid making it on Christmas day. I was told once if by a scholar that if I had kids and they were to cook a Christmas roast every Christmas like their life depended on it I could be bordering shirk (they went into great detail on it and explained the whole worshipping of statues began as a cultural thing that spiralled)".
You can cook a full roast with all the trimmings any time of the year, why wait for one day?!
RupayHalwa, I do hope you didn't take any of my comments personally, I only gave my own humble comments about what I do, which have no reflection on what others do.
As for anything else I put in my post, I won't be justifying it as I've already put
"I am by no means perfect, and I am not preaching at anyone as noone really knows what is best for someone else I am only commenting on what I do".
If I can't state why I think and what I have been told without being made to feel like I must justify my opinion because I am in the minority I'll stick to sharing recipes and other ideas around here.
Peace.
no need to over react princess1983. everyone who commented in reply to your post including myself referred to the scholar and his level of thinking, not you.
My hubby's family are very observant Muslims and would never do anything they would consider 'shirk.' However his family does gather for Christmas lunch or dinner simply because everyone here in the US has the day off from work or school so it's always a nice opportunity for everyone to get together. They mostly cook desi food or some mixed dishes that they invented (like spaghetti pasta mixed with a bunch of peas, ground lamb, and spicy sauce--not my thing but it seems to appear at every family gathering.) My husband told me they tried making turkey a couple of times but no one really liked it---they found it too dry.
...They mostly cook desi food or some mixed dishes that they invented (like spaghetti pasta mixed with a bunch of peas, ground lamb, and spicy sauce--not my thing *but it seems to appear at every family gathering.)* My husband told me they tried making turkey a couple of times but no one really liked it---they found it too dry.
I found that bit really funny. Invented dishes that seem to appear at every family gathering...
All the desi families that I know, no matter how strict they are about not enjoying the holiday season cause its not Islamic are usually the first in line to take advantage of all the Christmas sale in the malls. That is double standard, I think.
Shopping is shopping - I dont see how you compare it to christmas festivities.
PSquared, is it common in your area to have a whole salmon (or side of salmon) as your main dish? It is as an alternative here.
Or a nice chunk of roast beef.
Its not common but that doesnt mean I cant do it! LOL. I am known to try different recipes and surprise people so that might actually be an option. The first time I made khaosay, it was for a party of people who had never even heard of it! It turned out to be such a hit, there wasnt any left over for my family.
Whole salmon sounds really really good to me...Im going to look up recipes or do you guys know of any here?
My hubby's family are very observant Muslims and would never do anything they would consider 'shirk.' However his family does gather for Christmas lunch or dinner simply because everyone here in the US has the day off from work or school so it's always a nice opportunity for everyone to get together. They mostly cook desi food or some mixed dishes that they invented (like spaghetti pasta mixed with a bunch of peas, ground lamb, and spicy sauce--not my thing but it seems to appear at every family gathering.) My husband told me they tried making turkey a couple of times but no one really liked it---they found it too dry.
LOL at the invented dishes! Yes, we do that too. There is this tuna thing my mom makes thats really good but nothing Ive ever seen before.
We also tried our hand at turkey but no one knows how to make the bird so we stopped. It either burned or was too dry or didnt look right...:(
We do a roast dinner on Christmas and on new years day, as they're days we all have off and therefore can spend time cooking and eating it without being rushed for time etc. We don't celebrate Christmas, but do enjoy the time off work, so there are always a lot of munchies around the home, the same applies for Eid.
i know everyone is saying they cook special meal on christmas day but it has nothing to do with chrsitmas ...still its being mentioned as christmas dinner....you continue doing this all your life....in a country where it is celebrated as a religious holiday.... down the decades new generations will grow up..they will become MORE OPEN MINDED and things will be MORE RELAXED and then it will be a religious holiday for your grandchildren or their children... thats how ppl deviate from their religion. it does not happen over night but take time , generation and before u know u have become president of America and u say no i am not a muslim.
OH MY GOD, this was just a thread about whether you have a christamas dinner or not guys, not whether you've sudenly woken up one morning and become a christan PLEASE!!!
My faith is strong enough not to be shaken by eating a stuffed turkey and a james bond film.
So by the same logic, if goray in Pakistan have a korma , biryani and Seviayaan on Eid day, they've suddenly metamorphasised into muslims.
We live in a Christian country here in the UK where we are ALL free to practice our own faith and Inshallah my kids are being bought up to be good muslims and respect all faiths but they fundementally know who they are and what we believe in. I resent the assumption that just cuz you are having an Xmas dinner you've suddenly forgotten who you are.
I think everyone should take a deep breath and relax.
I will be cooking chicken, roast potatoes, yorkshire puds and gravy and guess what i might even buy my kids a present or two.
now that i've my two crackers to the mix, i'm going to go back to planning my xmas dinner!
^ totally agree with u! my family have been in the UK for 4 decades now and have always enjoyed a roast dinner on xmas day because its something we like to sit down and eat as family. the assumption that over time slowly by eating xmas dinner on xmas muslims will not longer consider themselves as muslim and consider xmas to be a religious holiday is just stupid to me.
like i said my family has been here for ages and have been eating xmas dinner and so far non of us have changed religion so i think we’re safe from that assumption!
i know everyone is saying they cook special meal on christmas day but it has nothing to do with chrsitmas ...still its being mentioned as christmas dinner....you continue doing this all your life....in a country where it is celebrated as a religious holiday.... down the decades new generations will grow up..they will become MORE OPEN MINDED and things will be MORE RELAXED and then it will be a religious holiday for your grandchildren or their children... thats how ppl deviate from their religion. it does not happen over night but take time , generation and before u know u have become president of America and u say no i am not a muslim.
No offense aramis but then you cannot celebrate weddings the way they are usually celebrated in Pakistani culture. Because these are all borrowed traditions from our Hindu neighbors.
If eating Christmas dinner is all it takes to shake the foundations of your faith then I encourage you not to leave your house on Christmas Day.
If putting some ubtan on your face makes you a hindu (pithi=ubtan is a hindu rasm) on your mayun, then I guess the damage has been done and you are now a hindu. :(
If Muslims mentioned they were having Christmas dinner, attending Mass, exchanging presents and all that...I might think about supporting you.
But they're not. They're simply having a meal. How would you feel if a Christian was paranoid about cooking a meal or eating at a Muslim's home on Eid because they didnt want to be robbed of their faith? I would laugh and say..."OKAAAYY...is that all it takes"?
Confusing you and yours cannot be that easy otherwise this world will become a very hard place to live for you.
We have a roast dinner on christmas day because everyone is home and it's just nice to cook for the family and then enjoy all the good food!
We will be doing a roast leg of lamb, roast baby chickens, a whole salmon, crispy roast potatoes, roast carrots, mange tout, sweetcorn etc and any other veg that we fancy! I'll probably do a strawberry trifle too!
There will also be plenty of chocolate and tinned biscuits at home too, which we have all year round anyway, and we will buy a radio times xmas edition and circle all the things we want to watch over xmas!
Good luck with that. I hope your turkey turns out tasty, it never has at our house!
A lady called Nigella Lawson - shes a well known home cook in the UK - was on t.v. the other day showing how she cooks her xmas dinner. She soaks her turkey in a water bath, and puts cloves, star anise, cinnamon and and a host of other spices in the water and leaves it to soak overnight, and this ensures that the turkey once cooked stays moist and doesn't dry out too much!
^I did something similar once with a turkey; it's a process we call 'brining'---soaking the bird in salted/spiced water for 12 hours or so. Helps keep it moist.
