FOODS OF THE NOBLE QURAN AND SUNNAH-LEMON – UTRUJJ (citron)

by Karimah bint Dawoud

Lemon  is mentioned in the Sunnah(examples and saying of the Prophet Muhammad, salah la alaihi wa salem) and  Medicine of the Prophet , in relation to sugar cane-(qasab al sukkar)

 The Prophet salah alaihi wa salem said ” The believer  who recites the Quran is likened to the utrujj; its taste is good, its scent is good” Sahih Bukhari at’ima 30

The Book of Medicine   states that the juice of lemon, orange or plum pomegranate  repels the harmful effects of the sugar cane.

Lemon is also part of the citrus family-(utrujj) .All citrus fruits; lemon, orange, limes, grapefruits, tangerines, clematines etc consists of four part; peel, pulp, flesh and seeds. Each one of these pieces has  its own temperament.

The peel keeps moths away  from clothes and its scents the air. It sweetens breathe in the mouth and when added to food aids digestion. Its flesh soften the stomach and aids those  of a bilious temperament.

The pulp awakens the appetite for food so for those of us trying to put weight on, this could be a solution inshallah.

The following recipe is featured in my forth coming book “Heavenly Bites” published by Kube publishers

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heavenly-Bites-Karimah-Bint-Dawood/dp/1847740316

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Heavenly-Bites-Karimah-bint-Dawood/9781847740311

http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Shop/Detail.aspx?rowNum=1&itemId=6769421&searchBy=1&term=heavenly+bites&quick=true

 

 

 

Lemon Polenta Cake  

Cake is the first thing I learnt to make with my Mauritian grandma, she even gave me three large solid silver forks to mix with, we didn’t use a whisk back then, just elbow grease. This is one of my favourite cakes as it doesn’t have too much wheat flour, its light and fluffy with a hint of lemon is fresh on your palate.

 

Ingredients 

175g/6 oz polenta

50g/20z plain flour

1 ½ tbs baking powder

½ tsp salt

5tbs natural yogurt

5 tbsp vegetable/sunflower/ground nut oil

Zest finely grated of 2 unwaxed lemons

2 tbs juice of lemon juice

2 whole eggs

2 egg whites

200g/7 oz castor sugar

Yogurt and berries to serve with

Method

You will need a couple of measuring jugs or bowls,1.2 litre or 2 pint cake tin or ring, a whisk and lemon juicer ideally

1. Pre heated over to gas mark 4/180 degrees C
2. Sift polenta, flour, salt, baking powder into a bowl
3. Put yogurt, lemon zest., lemon juice and oil into a jug and stir together
4. Separate eggs and egg whites and beat egg whites in large jug or bowl, add yolks and blend softly as you don’t want to loose the fluffiness of the whites and fold in sugar till mixture is still fluffy and creamy
5. Add yogurt mixture to egg mixture and softly fold in
6. Finally  add all dry ingredient into  the cake mixture in the large bowl , gently blending
7. Grease the cake tin with a little oil on piece of kitchen tissue or baking brush
8. Add cake batter
9. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until skewer come out clean when pierce into cake
10. Take out cake and leave to cool outside oven, friend of mine left it in the oven to cool even though she turned it off and the cake carried on cooking a burnt
11. Serve with yogurt or crème fraiche and seasonal berries