Fruit Salad

Time has been passing like a whirlwind . Days have been rolling faster than one can imagine. Can you believe that ten days of the holy month of Ramadan have already gone by?

Ramadan in Oman and other muslim-majority countries is generally more festive and traditional when compared to the same in other countries. We work only for 6 hours at our work places and then go back home to offer our prayers followed by a small nap before we are rustling about with our scrumptious Iftar preparations.

Soon after Iftar, we are back to perform our prayers or we spend time sitting in unison with our families and discussing and spreading the message that Islam carries. This month is brimming with God's mercy and we try to seize every oppurtunity to spend our time praying for his mercy and forgiveness in order to gain the blessings that abound. Surely its fascinating to witness everyone devoted towards the spiritual path and this also encourages us not to leave any stone unturned in performing our obligations.

The aura of generosity & spirituality, the regulations in performing all acts of prayers ,the augmented sense of God-Consciousness and the devour at all mosques and at homes is something worth beholding.

You can also find our cities bustling with tons of activities with all shopping malls offering predominant collections of various brands at user-friendly prices, people having get-togethers often for meals(Iftar parties we call it), gifts exchanging and the heightened sense of sharing and giving the poor and the needy.

All our free time is devoted in the remembrance of Almighty Allah and great emphasis is laid on reciting the Holy Quran and completing it atleast once in this one month time span.

With all this, I've been busy as a beaver these days with little or no time sometimes for myself. With elaborate Ramadan Iftar menus that include delectable savoury dishes, imperative salads & coolers usually culminating in a long list of items that deck our tables as Dusk approaches.

Drinking copious amounts of liquids after breaking the fast and including a variety of fresh fruits & vegetables in our diet during the fasting days is the best way we can maintian ourselves without any gastric issues. My last ten days have mainly included these stuff in my Iftar menus and with summer at its peak in this desert country, there is no other way to revive ourselves than chilled fruits & coolers.

Ok, we are talking fruits today and a couple of days back , I quickly went on to whip up some cream to combine it with a variety of fruits, embellished with some honey and nuts. Eventually, it went into the fruit bowls and we enjoyed it during our Iftar thus helping us to regain our drained energies. Surely, a chilled Kick-off for an Iftar meal.

Fruit Salad can be prepared in a myriad ways and I did not follow any particular recipe here. I only used the resources available in my refrigerator that day to come up with something delicious. You can use any combination of fruits here and top with nuts of your choice. You can also pour some chocolate sauce over it instead of honey if you are a Cocoa lover.

This is how I made it:

INGREDIENTS:

Fresh Fruits of your choice - cut into small pieces
( Apples, Pears, Kiwis, Strawberries, Bananas etc)
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Mixed fruit Jam (any flavour)
1 tsp whipped cream
Nuts of your choice - chopped ( Almonds, Pistachios, walnuts etc)

HOW TO MAKE:

1) Place a layer of fruits in a bowl and pour some jam over it.

2) Place another layer of fruits over this and then top it with whipped cream

3) Drizzle some honey over it and chase it with nuts & berries of your choice.