Islam and Chicken Marsala

[morocco4ever 63]

Hey guys,

So, I have an interesting and possibly stupid question. I was talking with my fiancee the other day (were getting a K1), and I was telling her about this delicious Italian recipe that my family likes to make called "Chicken Marsala". I'm sure at least some of you have heard of this. It's chicken, made with a sauce that's made from primarily cream and Marsala wine with mushrooms. Now, when I told her this, she said it sounds delicious but said she will not eat it because it contains wine (she doesn't drink alcohol obviously because it's against the religion).

Now, I explained to her that the alcohol evaporates when cooking the sauce, so there is no alcohol and it will be fine. She wouldn't have it. She refused and said she doesn't believe it's right. What bothers me is my mom makes it all the time, so when we eat dinner together, what will she not eat? I would never make her drink alcohol, but this is different. It's such a good recipe and a lot of other recipes are made with alcoholic beverages for flavoring, like pasta with vodka sauce, hot sauce with bourbon, jack daniels bbq sauce, along with the marsala sauce. This bothers me cause she's gonna be missing out on so much good food that's a big part of our culture even though there's no alcohol in the food after it's cooked!! This seems like it could be considered such an insignificant issue but it's bothering the heck out of me. Do other American-Muslims think this way about this as well?

Western cultures are full of pitfalls for practicing Muslims. I was born Muslim and have lived in the west on and off thoroughout my life. For nearly 30 years, I was married to a Christian man, which required much accomodation to each other's beliefs. While individual Muslims may have varying comfort levels when it comes to haram foods, we have been told to avoid wine and spirits and pork specifically. Apparently, this command is important to her, and she has made that clear to you.

Just curious, It was my understanding that Muslim women are only permitted marriage to Muslim men according to Islamic law. Whereas Muslim men are allowed to marry Christian or Jewish women as they are women of the book. Thanks for clarification I love Chicken Marsala, BTW

When do the fireworks begin?

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

When do the fireworks begin?

im hoping theres not going to be any fireworks in this thread bcz there are numerous threads where this has been debated on.

[caybee 21]

Just a quick google but :

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...28144355AAsHJsh

Many of those suggest that the wines can easily be substituted for various juices (cranberry, grapejuice, etc) and have the same taste. Maybe your Mom could make 2 of the dish one with the alcohol and one with the juices for your wife?

Question:

What is the closest recipe to Chicken Marsala? (without using alcohol)?

I am on medication which prohibits alcohol (even though most wine burns off when cooking). Does anyone know of a non-alcoholic dish that resembles Chicken Marsala? Thank you

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

My husband is in the same situation that you are, and for the last 20 years I have made a simple substitution for wine in recipes as follows:

Use apple juice in place of white wines.

Use cranberry juice in place of red wines.

You may have to adjust the amount to slightly less than the recipe calls for, since there won't be as much evaporation during cooking.

My husband has also used the same substitutions when working at restaurants that don't allow any wine on the premises because they fear employees getting drunk on the job. He has never had any customer complaints, nor complaints from his employers based on these substitutions.

Source(s):

My husband is an Italian chef.

Snagged -- thank you

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Mmm I love Chicken Marsala and Tiki Marsala. I had no idea it was made with alcohol and I was planning on buying the prepackaged stuff from the local co-op and serving it to Waleed. Good to know!

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Mmm I love Chicken Marsala and Tiki Marsala. I had no idea it was made with alcohol and I was planning on buying the prepackaged stuff from the local co-op and serving it to Waleed. Good to know!

tiki masala actually isn't usually cooked with alcohol, to the best of my knowledge.

One can be a foodie without alcohol. You just have to be a bit more creative. Lots and lots of exciting foods out there sans alcohol

[chrisc85 0]

yeah chicken marsala (with an R) and tikka masala are 2 different things. chicken marsala is italian and is made with the wine. tikka masala is indian and isnt made with any type of alcohol (as far as i know).

they are both delicious.

Edited June 18, 2009 by chrisc85

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Oh good then I can get the tiki marsala for him no problem.

[Sandrila 1]

The only thing you can do is find a subsitute for the alcohol being used in the cooking. They have substitutes for everything anymore, I am sure you could find it.

I know there are foods we grew up with that we love and are sure our SOs will too but don't be surprised if they don't share the same taste. The food here and there is so different if you ask me. I mean if you can find meals that are more like stews, that is what I think people from Morocco are used to. Things they can eat with bread. Not having bread with our meal became a real upset to my husband at first. Now he realizes how bread adds too much extra to the diet that he doesn't need. Plus we have not been able to find any bread that is comparable to what he has at home. Not even fresh baked bread. Same with olives.

I would make things and say "oh I cant wait for hubby to try this or that" I swore he would love it and then to my disappointment he did not. I just keep trying to find more and more ways to keep it fresh and varied in the kitchen but i have to tell you we, as Americans don't typically keep ourselves a slave to the kitchen. Our busy lifestyles dictate what to cook and how much time we have to cook it.

Moroccans, along with many other nationalities and cultures are not used to the processed, frozen, packaged, canned and take out food selections that we have here in the USA, one of the main reasons why our population is getting bigger everyday and eating on the run isn't heard of really. If I don't take the time to sit and actually EAT with my husband, he gets upset. He doesn't like to eat alone.

Edited June 18, 2009 by Sandrila

[Jenn! 918]

That's very true about differing tastes. DH dreads going to my family's homes for meals because he thinks their food is not very good - bland, dry, and boring. And many of them pride themselves on their cooking! Ironically, they all have assumed that I can't cook - I think because I have a career or something.

I cook Moroccan dishes sometimes, but mostly not. I think you just have to be willing to try out a lot of different types of recipes until you find the big hits.

I am afraid though that once the baby comes I won't have very much time to dedicate to meals. I think Mr. Crockpot will probably become my new best friend.

[Nothing1234 2]

The only thing you can do is find a subsitute for the alcohol being used in the cooking. They have substitutes for everything anymore, I am sure you could find it.

I know there are foods we grew up with that we love and are sure our SOs will too but don't be surprised if they don't share the same taste. The food here and there is so different if you ask me. I mean if you can find meals that are more like stews, that is what I think people from Morocco are used to. Things they can eat with bread. Not having bread with our meal became a real upset to my husband at first. Now he realizes how bread adds too much extra to the diet that he doesn't need. Plus we have not been able to find any bread that is comparable to what he has at home. Not even fresh baked bread. Same with olives.

I would make things and say "oh I cant wait for hubby to try this or that" I swore he would love it and then to my disappointment he did not. I just keep trying to find more and more ways to keep it fresh and varied in the kitchen but i have to tell you we, as Americans don't typically keep ourselves a slave to the kitchen. Our busy lifestyles dictate what to cook and how much time we have to cook it.

Moroccans, along with many other nationalities and cultures are not used to the processed, frozen, packaged, canned and take out food selections that we have here in the USA, one of the main reasons why our population is getting bigger everyday and eating on the run isn't heard of really. If I don't take the time to sit and actually EAT with my husband, he gets upset. He doesn't like to eat alone.

My husband would starve to death if he waited on me Btwn, working, outside commitments and babies...there is typically not a lot of time during the week for "sit down" meals. Plus he's a fast food junky...anything quick he's all about it. We have weekends to enjoy home cooked meals.

You are right about the processed foods and canned, etc...When my MIL was here she would have preferred fresh tomatoes to crush for her meals and sauces however, at the price tomatoes are and the cost of canned...get on board with convenience momma or wait till you're in Egypt. JK But my hubby did give her a lesson on cost and with twins we need to watch our expenses always. We try to buy fresh meats, fruit, veggies and stay organic with our foods but if its going to start cutting too deep in the pocket...it has to go.

@ Jenn, we use the crockpot alot now too. It's just easier...when your busy and have so much going on its about easy and fast.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Good points. Since I've been here my stomache can't really take the Egyptian foods and spices and it's been a not so lucky adjustment period. Mostly I stick with fresh foods and vegtables and not even those are exactally the same to the quality and type I'm used to in the US. We have the same thing going on here about preperations for meals. He doesn't want to eat alone and nearly everything we eat is cooked at home. We rarely go out. We even make our own drinks at home that you could get at the cafe. I like that part though. The part I don't like is he's expecting me to cook all the meals now and serve him when he was helping before. Although today he did show me what Egyptian cereal was and that's tea with milk and bread sticks dipped into it. I like that! Reminds me of biscotti's and latte's we get stateside.

Woah all of Hurghada just roared with cheers from outside. I'm thinking Egypt just scored a goal.

I wonder what it's going to be like to find things and serve him at home in the US. I got a taste of halal stores in the US when I went to Seattle and visited Maggie's family and Seattle friends so I have a place to start where I can look for these foods.

[Jenn! 918]

Woah all of Hurghada just roared with cheers from outside. I'm thinking Egypt just scored a goal.

Boooooo! Go Italy!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

[UmmSqueakster 54]

I dunno. I introduced AbuS to assorted world cuisine slowly and now he's all over the variety.

He got here at the beginning of Ramadan 05. One of the first iftars we went to was hosted by indian families. Poor AbuS loaded his plate full, scarfed it all down and got increadibly sick. That put him off indian food for quite awhile.

But, I started making an indian dish here and there with little spice, and then slowly upped the hot factor. Now he's fine with quite a bit of cayanne pepper and is eager to try new foods. We're beginning to explore filipino cuisine per his suggestion. Of course, it's a bit hard to do, since pork plays such an important roll, but we're being creative.

[Nothing1234 2]

This thread keeps popping up and I can't stop thinking about food all day...Thank a lot!!! It's lunch time here and I have been so good eating my healthy lunches and now all I can think about is Italian food...*drooling*