My Eid Lasagna

[Tabassum07]

:salam2:

I was bored this Eid (American Eid is sooo different than the Eid back home in India!), and decided to make Lasagna. It's the first time I officially made it with the layered noodles and baking. Otherwise, I'd just cook spaghetti in a pot with sauce, qeema and cheese and called it lasagna, lol.

It turned out okay for a first attempt, alhamdulillah, so I thought I'd share some photos.

 

[shaheeda35]

:salam2:
:ma:looks so yummy! This is my favorite italian dish!

 

[BrotherInIslam7]

:salam2:

It looks good, sister..

And I see that you have gone easy on the cheese there. Health conscious Lasagna ? jk..

Did you make your own sauce of use one from the grocery store btw ?

 

[Tabassum07]

:salam2:

It looks good, sister..

And I see that you have gone easy on the cheese there. Health conscious Lasagna ? jk..

Did you make your own sauce of use one from the grocery store btw ?

Actually, my father was standing close by when I was combining all the cheeses, and he kept saying "that's enough. that's enough. that's enough." So it was enough, lol. If I had it my way, there'd be more cheese than anything else, especially since it has been quite a pain in the past to meticulously research which cheeses are halal (not using any animal rennet, etc) and to actually find them in local stores. But actually, with all that noodle quantity, it had to be that much cheese.

I dislike store-bought sauces, so I made up my own sauce. And my mother had made the qeema a day before.

Tomorrow, I am making brownies.

 

[arzafar]

looks delicious!

also id like to say that cheese is perfectly healthy. eating fat (the right kind) doesn't make you fat.

 

[Tabassum07]

^ That is true akhi.

 

[BrotherInIslam7]

quite a pain in the past to meticulously research which cheeses are halal (not using any animal rennet, etc) and to actually find them in local stores. But actually, with all that noodle quantity, it had to be that much cheese.

:salam2: sister,

Since I face the same dilemma here, Could you please briefly state how you went about verifying that the cheese was halaal (didnt contain animal rennet etc) ?

Did you consult any websites for this process ?

BarakAllahu feek..

 

[Tabassum07]

:salam2: sister,

Since I face the same dilemma here, Could you please briefly state how you went about verifying that the cheese was halaal (didnt contain animal rennet etc) ?

Did you consult any websites for this process ?

BarakAllahu feek..

Some tips for halaal cheese:

1. This website: http://cheese.joyousliving.com/CheeseListBrand.aspx It contains all vegetarian cheese, aka halaal.

2. The 'Cabot' Cheese company is basically the most well-known brand which uses only microbial rennet. So all their cheeses are halaal. (Though its a bit expensive.)

3. Kraft cheese = No, no, no. I had heard that they weren't reliable, but I emailed them just to check, and they couldn't even be specific what source their rennet was from. They said "We use pork, vegetable and microbial rennet, but each batch uses a different source, so we can't confirm what rennet might be in the cheese you've purchased." However, Kraft Philadelphia Cream cheese is halaal (merely because cream cheese doesn't require rennet.)

4. I physically went to my local grocery store's and made a note of the brands.

5. Then I went to the cheese brand's website and emailed them. Most of the times, my specific email was simply: "Hello. I would like to know whether your cheese contain any animal derivate and/or animal rennet. Thank you." And I did get some really good responses for some companies. Some are pretty helpfull and state exactly which cheese type is good, and which isn't. Some companies I didn't hear back from, so I just assumed the worst, lol.

5. And that's it basically. Here in Minnesota, Crystal Farms Brand is the most popular in the stores after Kraft, and alhamdulillah, they said that their natural, non-processed cheeses are all made from microbial rennet.

6. In general, one of my favourite websites has been: www.isithalal.blogspot.com The webmistres has emailed tons of companies and listed some things which are halal or not. (plus she runs one of the best online hijab stores I've ever seen.).. That's where I first learned Kraft isn't a good company.

To sum up, it was really difficult for me after I moved to America because I freaked out and thought none of the cheeses are halal. But after research, I found out so many brands, and alhamdulillah, I can put cheese in my lasagna!

 

[BrotherInIslam7]

:salam2:

Thanks a lot for typing that all up, sister. I appreciate your help and am impressed by your zeal for eating halaal. May Allah azz zawajal reward you for your efforts. Ameen..

And those links are really helpful. BarakAllahu Feeki..

Btw just this week I found out (I never read the ingredients part on ice creams) that one of my favorite ice creams contained gelatin. Luckily I hadn't consumed a lot of it by then, so it chucked straight in to the trash.. Alhamdulillah it was my friend who brought it to my attention.

Wasalaamalaykum waa rahmatullahi

 

[Tabassum07]

wa iyyakum.

We need a Food Brand thread on TTI..

 

[Tabassum07]

Lol, you know what everyone? I forgot to put the recipe down here. Now how silly is that? Well, I didn't know how to make lasagna until ten days ago. But I saw a recipe on the lasagna noodles box, and then I watched two videos on youtube and combined the good parts of the recipes together.

So for anyone who would like to try it out, here it is:

1. Make groundbeef (qeema) - Fry onions in a little oil. When translucent, add the washed groundbeef and cook till the water evaporates. Then add in some salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, some ginger paste and some garlic paste. Add some water and let all the spices absorb into the meat until tender (15-20 mins). When its dry and the oil starts to separate (a sign that the 'rawness' is gone from the food), it's done. Actually, my mom made the qeema this time, but I recall this is how its done.

2. Make the tomoto sauce. ~~~~My Secret Secret Homemade Tomato Sauce~~~, well its not a secret anymore though: Chop up some tomatoes into a large mixer/blender jar all the way to the top. Grind to a fine paste and pour into a saucepan on medium heat. Add salt, red chili powder, some sugar (not too much - 1/2 a teaspoon is fine), a couple teaspoons of oil, and some garlic paste. Let boil and simmer for 40 mins. Add some oregano/basil, or just some italian seasoning, whatever works. And add the qeema in as well and stir it nicely. And cook for some 10 min more. It's done -- take note of the yummy smell coming out of the pot as the meat and tomatoes meld together.

3. Make the cheese sauce. In a medium size bowl, combine mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese and 2 eggs. Mix it all together. The eggs will help bind everything into a nice paste.

4. Boil the lasagna noodles according to package directions.

Assembly:

In a 9x12 baking pan, spoon a couple spoonfuls of sauce and spread it on the bottom. This will keep the noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Then place a layer of the noodles. On top of that 1/3 of the tomato meat sauce and 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Then 2 more layers of noodles, sauce and cheese. At the top you can sprinkle some flavored breadcrumbs so that the top gets crispy while baking. And that's it. Just bake on 350 degrees fahrenheit for 50 minutes covered with foil, and then uncovered for 15 more minutes.

Bon Appetit!

And then rest well, because making this is so tiring and exhausting. Oh wait, you can't rest yet, you've got to clean up and wash the dishes and leave the kitchen sparkling. Oh great >.<

 

[sister herb]

You made me hungry. Wanna lasagne.

 

[queenislam]

Alhamdulillah!


:salam2:

:ma:

Marvellous treat~Alhamdulillah!

Thank you for sharing sister,
~May Allah swt reward you~Amin!

Eid Mubarak to you and your family

And

Happy Eid Mubarak to all muslim as well.


Take Care,
Thank you,

~Wassalam