Self-saucing Chocolate Pudding (with photos)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Thought I'd share this wonderfully delicious and simple recipe for self-saucing chocolate pudding. It is always a hit with the children and is greedily devoured within minutes.

For the sponge:

1/4 cup margarine
1/2 sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup self raising flour or 1 cup plain/all purpose flour + 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk

For the sauce:

1/2 cup light brown sugar (I use Hawaiian Turbinado)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
300ml (1 cup + 1/4 cup) hot water

1. Cream together the margarine and sugar and then beat in the egg and vanilla.
2. Add the flour and cocoa and mix as well as possible before adding the milk and mixing until smooth.
3. Spoon the sponge batter into a greased ovenproof dish or pyrex bowl.
4. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a jug and then carefully pour this over the sponge batter. It will look like something went horribly wrong but what will happen is that the cake will rise above the sauce and the sauce will thicken at the bottom of the dish under the cake.

1. Bake at 350 deg F/180 deg C/Gas mark 4 for about 40 mins. The cake will be spongy and will bounce back if you touch it and you will be able to see some of the sauce bubbling up the sides of the dish.
2. Leave for 10 mins or so cool a little and then serve. Add a scoop of ice cream if you like and enjoy!
   
   
   

Egyptian gas deal with Israel

Why am I still shocked when I see things like this on the news? For transcription of the main points of interest in the video, see below.




Amr El-Kahky, Al-Jazeera reporter: "Egpyt is to provide Israel with 100 to 150 million cubic feet of gas per day at a favourable price that is said to be $2 per cubic foot, a price well below the market benchmark of $14. The contract runs for 15 years and is renewable. The gas should reach the Israeli port of Ashkelon through northern Sinai through a hundred kilometre long pipeline under the Mediterranean. Egypt has recently started exporting gas to Jordan through another pipeline. Syria waits its turn on the completion of building their pipeline. The deals with those countries allow Egypt to charge the market rate and make a reasonable profit but the deal with Israel does not."

Tharwat Shalabi, oil reporter: "Egypt bowed under Israeli pressure to accept exporting gas at this low price but it is rejected by the public. Yet Egypt is comitted to providing Israel with energy under the Camp David peace accord. It stopped exporting oil and now has to replace it with gas."

The man who made the deal is oil minister, Sameh Fahmi and it is said that, "He has been keeping quiet about the details of the Israeli arrangement and has refused any interviews on the subject. Critics say the decision to go ahead came from the president's office; now the government is trying to renegotiate the price but it will still be well below the world benchmark"

Yehya Al-Gamal: "Exporting this energy only strengthens their military machine and participates in supressing the Palestinian people. It's not about the price of gas, it's whether we should export it to them in the first place."

Two things for today...

Haven't really cooked anything special for the past week or so. We have eaten out, hubby has cooked, we have eaten leftovers and the kids are craving some yummy pudding so I have decided it's high time I make something! So today I have decided on making a filled bread plait.

For the bread you need:

330ml (1 1/3 cups + 2 extra teaspoons) warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
480g (3 cups) strong plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Place all ingredients into breadmaker in the order listed and use pizza or dough setting (it will only knead and prove the dough, it won't bake it).

When the cycle is finished, remove dough from bread pan, divide into two equal portions and place on floured baking trays. Roll out to fit the trays, place filling in the middle third of the dough, using a knife or pizza cutter cut slits as far as the filling as shown below.

(The filling I used in the pic below was chopped leftover tandoori chicken, Kiri cheese softened with a little yogurt and a sprinkle of mint added and grated Cheddar. Today I will probably use chopped mortadella, olives if I have some, chopped tomato and grated Cheddar or Gouda)

'Plait' the bread by drawing a piece of dough from the left, then the right, then left until you have finished, tuck the last couple of pieces in tidily.

Sprinkle with black seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds... whatever takes your fancy.

Leave to rise for about an hour and then bake at 350F until golden brown and hollow sounding.

Should come out looking something like this:

Note: The above method is for making the bread with instant yeast. Check the type of yeast that you have and check the instructions. If you have the yeast that comes in tiny balls, you will probably need to mix it with a little lukewarm water and some sugar to activate the yeast before adding it to your flour.

The pudding I am hoping to create is Nigella Lawson's Marshmallowy Chocolate Mousse that I found on Soulafa's Absolutely Delicious blog.

The ingredients are:

1+1/2 cups mini marshmallows

4 tablespoons( 1/2 stick) soft butter

9 oz best quality semisweet chocolate chopped into small pieces

1/4 cup hot water from a recently boiled kettle

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

It looks quite quick and easy to make... verdict will be from the kids later!

Update

Verdict: Didn't turn out very moussey but maybe that's because I'm not sure we have 'heavy double cream' here so I just used whipping cream which was perhaps too light.

Sadly the children found it much too rich and I'm told they prefer 'normal' chocolate pudding: the self-saucing type of chocolate cake pudding. Oh well! I tried!

About Istikhaarah du'a

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

“Ordain for me whatever is good for me, and make me satisfied with it”

What is Istikhaarah du’a?

Also spelled istikhara, istikharah and istikhaara.

Istikhaarah du’a is the du’a (or supplication) of guidance – we pray 2 raka’at of prayer and after that recite the du’a taught to us by the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) imploring Allah, عز و جل, for guidance on that matter. Istikhaarah is prescribed when there is matter about which one is hesitant.

Istikhara (Arabic) means to ask Allah to guide one to the right thing concerning any affair in one's life, especially when one has to choose between two permissible alternatives. A traveller should consult good righteous persons before setting out on a journey, because Allah says, "And consult them (O Prophet) in affairs (of moment)," (Qur'an 3.159) and one of the characteristics of the believers is that "they (conduct) their affairs by mutual consultation" (Qur'an42.38).

Qatadah said, "Every people who seek the pleasure of Allah and consult with one another are guided to the best course in their affairs." 1

When to pray istikhaarah...

Istikhaarah is to be prayed when one is faced with a decision of whether or not to do something or when faced with a choice of two things.

Ibn Hijr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, commenting on this hadeeth [hadith of Jaabir bin Abdullah seen below]:

“Istikhaarah is a word which means asking Allaah to help one make a choice, meaning choosing the best of two things where one needs to choose one of them.

Concerning the phrase ‘The Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) used to teach us to make istikhaarah in all things,’ Ibn Abi Jamrah said: ‘It is a general phrase which refers to something specific. With regard to matters that are waajib (obligatory) or mustahabb (liked or encouraged), there is no need for istikhaarah to decide whether to do them, and with regard to matters that are haraam (forbidden) or makrooh (disliked), there is no need for istikhaarah to decide whether to avoid them. The issue of istikhaarah is confined to matters that are mubaah (allowed), or in mustahabb matters when there is a decision to be made as to which one should be given priority.’ I say: it refers to both great and small matters, and probably an insignificant issue could form the groundwork for a big issue. 2

How to pray istikhaarah?

For this purpose one should pray two non-obligatory raka'at of prayer, even if they are of the regular sunnah prayers or a prayer for entering the mosque, and so on, during any time of the day or night. One should recite in them whatever one wishes of the Qur'an, after reciting al-Fatihah. Then one should praise Allah and invoke blessings upon the Prophet, peace be upon him. After this one should supplicate to Allah with the following supplication, which Jabir Ibn 'Abdullah has reported from the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he related, "The Prophet, صلى الله عليه و سلم , taught us how to make Istikharah in all (our) affairs… 3

‘Let him pray two rak’ahs of non-obligatory prayer.’ This is mentioned to make it clear that it does not mean fajr prayer, for example. Al-Nawawi said in al-Adhkaar: He can pray istikaarah after two rak’ahs of regular sunnah prayer done at zuhr for example, or after two rak’ahs of any naafil prayers whether they are regularly performed or not… It seems to be the case that if he made the intention to pray istikhaarah at the same time as intending to pray that particular prayer, this is fine, but not if he did not have this intention. 4

Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah : The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara (Istikhara means to ask Allah to guide one to the right sort of action concerning any job or a deed), in all matters as he taught us the Suras of the Quran. He said, "If anyone of you thinks of doing any job he should offer a two Rakat prayer other than the compulsory ones and say (after the
prayer): -- 'Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi'ilmika, Wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika, Wa as'alaka min fadlika al-'azlm Fa-innaka taqdiru Wala aqdiru, Wa ta'lamu Wala a'lamu, Wa anta 'allamu l-ghuyub. Allahumma, in kunta ta'lam anna hadha-l-amra Khairun li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa'aqibati amri (or 'ajili amri wa'ajilihi)Faqdirhu wa yas-sirhu li thumma barik li Fihi, Wa in kunta ta'lamu anna hadha-lamra shar-run li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa'aqibati amri (or fi'ajili amri wa ajilihi) Fasrifhu anni was-rifni anhu. Waqdir li al-khaira haithu kana Thumma ardini bihi.' (O Allah! I ask guidance from Your knowledge, And Power from Your Might and I ask for Your great blessings. You are capable and I am not. You know and I do not and You know the unseen. O Allah! If You know that this job is good for my religion and my subsistence and in my Hereafter--(or said: If it is better for my present and later needs)--Then You ordain it for me and make it easy for me to get, And then bless me in it, and if You know that this job is harmful to me In my religion and subsistence and in the Hereafter--(or said: If it is worse for my present and later needs)--Then keep it away from me and let me be away from it. And ordain for me whatever is good for me, and make me satisfied with it). The Prophet added that then the person should name (mention) his need. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 6841; similar reports are also recorded by al-Tirmidhi, al-Nisaa’i, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah and Ahmad) 5

The Arabic text of the du’a

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمَكَ، وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ، وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ، فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ، وَتَعْلَمُ، وَلَا أَعْلَمُ، وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ- خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي- عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ- فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ، وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي- عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ- فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ

Hadith regarding istikhaarah

Sa' d ibn Waqas reported that the Prophet, صلى الله عليه و سلم , said, "Istikhaarah (seeking guidance from Allah) is one of the distinct favours (of Allah) upon man, and a good fortune for the son of Adam is to be pleased with the judgment of Allah. And a misfortune of the son of Adam is his failure to make istikhaarah (seeking Allah's guidance), and a misfortune for the son of Adam is his displeasure with the judgment of Allah." 6

What to do after istikhaarah regarding the matter prayed about…

Whoever is sincere in turning to his Lord and delegating his affairs to Him, and prays istikhaarah for guidance in some of his affairs, should go ahead and do it. If it becomes easy for him, this is a sign that it is good for him, but if he is stopped and it becomes difficult, then he should forget about it, and he should realize that being prevented from doing it is good in sha Allaah. 7

An-Nawawi holds that "after making istikharah, a person must do what he is wholeheartedly inclined to do and feels good about doing and should not insist on doing what he had desired to do before making the istikharah. And if his feelings change, he should leave what he had intended to do, for otherwise he is not leaving the choice to Allah, and would not be honest in seeking aid from Allah's power and knowledge. Sincerity in seeking Allah's choice, means that one should completely abandon what one desired oneself." 8

Can I pray Istikhaarah at times when prayer is forbidden?

If there is a pressing need to perform istikhaarah and it is a time when prayer is usually forbidden, for example between asr and maghrib, then the person may make istikhaarah prayer. For example, if asr has passed and the person wishes to travel before maghrib but it uncertain, he may make istikhaarah immediately. However where the need is not urgent, for example if the intended travel is after maghrib, the person should wait.

Istikhaarah prayer may be performed at the time when prayer is not allowed with regard to something that is immediate and cannot be delayed until the time when prayer is permitted. 9

Dreams after istikhaarah?

Many people think that following istikhaarah there has to be a dream or a feeling of ease in the heart, and so on, but that is not the case. Even if no such thing happens when a person has prayed istikhaarah and done his best to find out what is best for him, such as consulting people, examining the issue and asking those who have experience, then he goes ahead and does it, then it is hoped that this will be what is best for him, even if he does not feel at ease in his heart in the beginning.
…
Ibn al-Haaj al-Maaliki said:

Some of them pray istikhaarah as prescribed in sharee’ah and then wait until they see a dream from which they will decide whether they should go ahead and do whatever they prayed istikhaarah about or not, or until someone else sees a dream for them. This does not count for anything, because the infallible one (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us to pray istikhaarah and consult others, not to rely on what is seen in dreams. 10

On a personal note, please be encouraged to pray istikhaarah prayer before making big decisions and at times of uncertainty and don’t leave it as a last resort. Through praying istikhaarah prayer one can be at peace with the decisions one has made and avoid regrets.

Ibn Taimiyyah said, "He who seeks guidance from the Creator and consults the creatures will never regret it." 11

1. Fiqh us-Sunnah, vol 4

2. Islam Q&A question number 2217

3. Fiqh us-Sunnah, vol 4

4. Islam Q&A question number 2217

5. USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim texts, Bukhari, vol 21

6. Fiqh us-Sunnah, vol 4

7. Islam Q&A question number 83709

8. Fiqh us-Sunnah, vol 4

9. Islam Q&A question number 41697

10. Islam Q&A question number 72255

11. Fiqh us-Sunnah, vol 4

Journey through the desert...

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Photos from our recent road trip from Al-Khobar (east coast of KSA) back to Riyadh. Notice the pale coloured sand near to Al-Khobar which gradually changes until the sand around the Riyadh area is the vivid orange variety. A journey from the the east to the west of Saudi Arabia will show you so many variations on the one thing: desert. Pale sand in the east, orange sand in Najd (Riyadh), black volcanic soil around Madinah.

In this first photo you can just about see some Bedouin tents:

The long road through the desert taking you to the east coast (Al-Khobar, Dammam, Jubail):

Camels eating the scant vegetation that can be found:

A couple of sand dune pics:

Not sure what this is just outside of Riyadh but it looks very much like some kind of camel market... Lots of small enclosures of camels and trucks: