Ramadan Traditions

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Do you still go to the Mall of America for Eid? I always thought that was a neat new tradition.

We do, although some somali youth have been making it rather unfortunate in recent years by running amok. Thankfully, the community has realized the problem and inshaAllah will keep them more under control.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

We were on NPR a few years ago

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5155882

[Henia 11]

Well our *new* Eid tradition is going to a local orphage ... spending some time there and passing out gifts! Something a few ladies and I are going to start to do this year ... husband and some of his friends joining in too!

[Henia 11]

And I am going out of my way to make sure we waste NO food this Ramadan, anything we don't eat -> going to the masjid ooor we invite people over to eat! Enchallah this is my plan!

[Tunisia216 2]

NPR

We were on NPR a few years ago

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5155882

[caybee 21]

sandrila,

Wadi says the crumbly stuff is called either sfoof or zameta (not sure if I spelled either even remotely correctly!).

Whoops! Zameta is what my husband calls the crumbly stuff. I don't know why shebekiya sounds so familiar to me though. I don't think I've ever seen what's in the picture you posted, but he must have mentioned shebekiya at some point.

[caybee 21]

are melwi and shebekiya the same thing?

it's funny how everybody spells things slightly different

everywhere i look online from cooking to music or street names, everytime i see it, it has a slightly different spellingw

what up with that?

Yes they are same. It is not really how they spelled phonetically buuut what each country and/or area calls them. Like here where I live they are called griwech. And msemen is called ma'arek here.

This is so confusing. The pic Jenn posted of shebekiya does not look at all like what I know as melwi, and I'm sure I've heard my husband use both words for different things. Also, I read a melwi recipe the other day that was basically just flour and water, not semolina, and it was round and not folded at all. I've seen my husband's mom fold melwi four times, I've seen recipes where it's folded several times, and my husband told me that his mom sometimes stretches the dough way out like a belt and then folds it over and over and over. I know the differences are regional. That happens here too, of course. Some people make their cornbread sweet and others don't, and some people make dumplings like thick noodles while for others they're like wet biscuits. Wish we could all get together to share and compare all these recipes.

[Jenn! 918]

are melwi and shebekiya the same thing?

it's funny how everybody spells things slightly different

everywhere i look online from cooking to music or street names, everytime i see it, it has a slightly different spellingw

what up with that?

Yes they are same. It is not really how they spelled phonetically buuut what each country and/or area calls them. Like here where I live they are called griwech. And msemen is called ma'arek here.

This is so confusing. The pic Jenn posted of shebekiya does not look at all like what I know as melwi, and I'm sure I've heard my husband use both words for different things. Also, I read a melwi recipe the other day that was basically just flour and water, not semolina, and it was round and not folded at all. I've seen my husband's mom fold melwi four times, I've seen recipes where it's folded several times, and my husband told me that his mom sometimes stretches the dough way out like a belt and then folds it over and over and over. I know the differences are regional. That happens here too, of course. Some people make their cornbread sweet and others don't, and some people make dumplings like thick noodles while for others they're like wet biscuits. Wish we could all get together to share and compare all these recipes.

Melwi and chabbakiya are not the same at all as Wadi terms them. Chabbakiya are like cookies (incredibly dense, sweet, coiled, honey loaded cookies) and melwi is like a bread.

[caybee 21]

are melwi and shebekiya the same thing?

it's funny how everybody spells things slightly different

everywhere i look online from cooking to music or street names, everytime i see it, it has a slightly different spellingw

what up with that?

Yes they are same. It is not really how they spelled phonetically buuut what each country and/or area calls them. Like here where I live they are called griwech. And msemen is called ma'arek here.

This is so confusing. The pic Jenn posted of shebekiya does not look at all like what I know as melwi, and I'm sure I've heard my husband use both words for different things. Also, I read a melwi recipe the other day that was basically just flour and water, not semolina, and it was round and not folded at all. I've seen my husband's mom fold melwi four times, I've seen recipes where it's folded several times, and my husband told me that his mom sometimes stretches the dough way out like a belt and then folds it over and over and over. I know the differences are regional. That happens here too, of course. Some people make their cornbread sweet and others don't, and some people make dumplings like thick noodles while for others they're like wet biscuits. Wish we could all get together to share and compare all these recipes.

Melwi and chabbakiya are not the same at all as Wadi terms them. Chabbakiya are like cookies (incredibly dense, sweet, coiled, honey loaded cookies) and melwi is like a bread.

Maybe those are the cookies my husband's sister made. They were very dense and sweet with thick layers (not sure about coiled because they were sliced). Are they baked? Actually...okay, he told me his mom stretches the melwi out sometimes and folds it over. He also told me that they deep fry melwi sometimes and then soak it in honey and sprinkle sesame seeds on it. I wonder if he's talking about coiling the dough for the honey stuff rather than just folding it, maybe not putting yeast in it (his melwi has yeast). If so, they would be basically the same thing, but the coiled and fried one would be crunchy and dense and very sweet. I'll ask him...when he wakes up. It might be time to get his mom on cam for another cooking lesson.

[Jenn! 918]

It is all very confusing, LOL. I've always thought that melwi was just another word for msemen.

[caybee 21]

It is all very confusing, LOL. I've always thought that melwi was just another word for msemen.

I...think...so...too...

[Henia 11]

You were right Jenn! I asked someone here, after posting ... they said melwi is the same as msemem, aka maarak ... I tried to edit but it wouldn't let me ... so I posted edit: ... Sorry!

[Henia 11]

Melwi-

Msemem-

Chebakia-

[caybee 21]

Melwi-

Msemem-

Chebakia-

Thank you!

[Henia 11]

You are very welcome!

Samsa- Another Ramadan fav!

Barazek-

M'hanncha-

Kalb el Gazelle-