"So easy, a 7afartali can do it" محاشي

the most important part about محاشي is the filling. You can use cabbage, zucchini, eggplant, grape leaves, turnips, bell peppers, ..., and many other vegetables. But, if you screw up the filling, the whole thing is wasted. this post is for the equivalent of 20 small zucchinis.

the filling:

• 1 part meat
• 2 parts rice
• 1/2 part parsley
• marinara sauce or tomato paste
• enough potato slices to line up the bottom of the pot
  
• spices: salt, pepper, nutmeg, allspice.
• vegetable oil (if the meat has fat on it, I don't recommend adding any oil)

how to make:

1. finely chop the parsley and mix with everything except the potato and tomato parts
   
2. gut out what needs to be gutted out (zucchini, eggplant,...) and wash
   
3. stuff the vegetables with the mix up to half capacity
   
4. spread slices of potatoes at the bottom of the pot
5. line the stuffed vegetables inside the pot
6. pour a jar of marinara sauce or a couple of table spoons of tomato paste
7. fill with water to cover
   
8. bring to boil then simmer for 20-30 minutes or until rice is ready.
   

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"So easy, a 7afartali can do it" صينية بطاطا

we continue with a very simple, but hearty, dish. This صينية بطاطا (Potato Casserole!) is by all means the easiest and simplest.

what you need:

• potatoes
• tomatoes
• a few garlic cloves
  
• meat (chicken is preferred, but lamb or beef are OK)
• spices: 1ts salt, 1/2ts pepper, 1/2ts cumin, 1/4ts cinnamon, 1/2ts nutmeg
• a little water

how to make

1. cube the tomatoes, slice the potatoes, and peel the garlic
   
2. cut and wash the meat into pieces as big as the potato slices
3. put everything in a big bowl
4. add the spices and mix everything well to distribute the spices
   
5. put into a baking pan
6. poor a cup of water into the pan
   
7. cover with aluminum foil
8. and bake on high heat. check periodically and add water if dry. It usually takes about 30-45 mins
9. uncover the pan, drain the water out (if any), and put back in the oven for a toasted top!
   

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"So easy, a 7afartali can do it" تمر هندي

aside from Middle Eastern stores, Mexican or South Asian grocery stores carry fresh Tamarindo (Tamarind).

what you need:

• some tamarind, may be a half pound (250g)
  
• two liters of water
  
• sugar to taste
  
• a clean cloth to strain (شاشة)

how to make:

1. cut up the tamarind into one inch pieces
2. put in sauce pan, cover with water and boil then wait until cooled
3. strain into a pitcher using the cloth
4. add the water and sweeten to taste
   

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"So easy, a 7afartali can do it" Qatayif قطايف

Surprisingly, Qatayif is a very easy thing to make. The rule of thumb is: if you can feel heat, you can do it.

what you need:

• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 4 cups warm water
  
• 1 packet instant yeast
• a sprinkle of salt

How to make:

1. put all dry items in blender, turn on, and count to two Mississippilessly
2. add the warm water and blend. look for a consistency of a smoothie
3. heat a nonstick frying pan without grease
4. pour enough mix to make the size you like
5. wait until bubbles form and then pop, remove to a plate with a spatula. if you burn the bottom before bubbles pop and the top is dry, the pan is too hot, fahim?

the fillings:

• walnut, sugar, coconut, and cinnamon, or (not and, or!)
• Akkawi cheese, or
• قشطة

fry in oil or bake for a healthier alternative. If you use a microwave, never show your face here again.

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the "So easy, a 7afartali can do it" Ramadan Survival Guide

Many of you are away from your families this time of year: Ramadan. Although it is hard to be an expat as it is, being away during the month of Ramadan compounds these feelings. One of the many things one misses about Ramadan is the food. You can pray anywhere, you can do good deeds anywhere, and you can always hang out, play cards, and smoke hookah with your [new] friends. But, the food of Ramadan and the whole Levant cuisine is something special that is not easily replicated by those restaurants scattered all around. Even if they do, it would be cost prohibitive to eat out for the whole month. Also, there is usually one really good Middle Eastern restaurant in any given geographic area; their menu would be exhausted and become boring in about a week.
Therefore, I would like to start posting recipes and cooking procedures of some very popular Ramadan and general Levant food items that would make your life as an expat a lot easier.
these posts are aimed at the twenty-thirty something Arab singles living in the west away from mommy! I will work on showing you how to make food in a few easy steps with as few ingredients as possible to accommodate your laziness, time, and the limited financial resources of broke college students, such as myself!

So, brace yourselves for a series of the "So easy, a 7afartali can do it" Ramadan Survival Guide episodes.

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New Alrai Logo

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One very Refreshing post

Mint Jelly!

Linux Mint Distribution


Mint: Cars-on-Demand


The United States Mint


The financial services website


There is probably a million different brands of breath mints.

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Yahoo! Builds a time machine!

on the homepage, there is this side banner for Yahoo's personals' portal. you click on it hoping for more of the one pictured (;p)...


instead, you get what is obviously speed dating for seniors!

this post was brought to you by جمعية العفاف الخيرية
(I think they're doing a great thing. I am not going to make fun of them! but, it looks like I am the first to visit their website)

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How to lose weight in Ramadan

we all know that people start eating like they've never seen food before come sunset. And, it does not stop. there is always this fear that food will vanish and will never appear again. So, the eating continues until the early morning hours, which obviously negates the popular belief that fasting during the month of Ramadan will result in weight loss. There is a way, however, to substantiate that belief and actually make for benefits other than the spiritual ones. What you need to do is to stick to the following time table:

1. fast during the day
2. ~8-10pm listen to Arabic news of the اشاد، ذهب، وصل، إلتقى، شدد type
   
3. 10-11pm read the brainless comments on Arabic news sites
4. 11pm-1am طرنيب و نفس ارجيلة
5. 1am-3am walk to the downtown area and go to عصير رمضان and get yourself a "bag" of عرق سوس

p.s. 2 and 3 above are utilized as appetite suppressants

this post was brought to you by قطايف ابو علي
try our new product: قطايف وافلز

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design your own mab3oos blog post

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Should the Jordanian Government implement a Biweekly pay schedule?

It is the same story every year. Jordanians wonder if their salaries are to be paid earlier than usual because some major expenses are nearing. This year, Ramadan will fall on the 21st/22nd of August, which coincides with the start of the new school year. In addition, basic-arithmetic-challenged Jordanians usually spend their salaries in the middle of the month regardless of major spending occasions.

I think the government, and the private sector, should implement a biweekly pay schedule that assures half of the employee's pay is going to be there come the 15th. Although that doesn't lesson from the need for people to show financial restrain a la قد لحافك مد رجليك mantra, it should give people two pay days a month. That's another reason for joy in a country famous for Mansaf and Kashra.

this post was brought to you by ابو عنتر زيت و زعتر
مامعيش، مفلس، الراتب والله تبخّر

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Jordan, the trade mark, is taken

and it's not even for shoes or anything basketball.

here.

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Google announces Indian Names Shortening service

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon becomes ind.ly/ANAH

Google just announced ind.ly, a new free service that would help in shortening the long names of Indians and Sri Lanakans. The move came a day after Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, stumbled while pronouncing the name of a project manager working on the browser based Google Voice that aims at circumventing the iPhone's App Store recent rejection. the project manager's last name, Ananthapadmanabhan, gave Schmidt the idea that, while shortened URL services, such as bit.ly, are enjoying wide popularity due to the convenience they provide, the same concept could be applied to names, such as Ananthapadmanabhan's.

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Gas Prices in Jordan

For a country that gets its oil at preferential prices, gas prices in Jordan has been too high. yesterday the government announced its monthly price list of various petroleum products to Jordanians' dismay. Firstly, the mechanism of adjusting prices has no clear methodology nor is it fair. The government raises prices in timely manner when world prices rise, but takes its time when prices are on the decline. Secondly, the high prices paid by Jordanians reflect the deeply rooted inefficiency in government and/or the well "oiled" pockets of those involved in the sourcing and distribution of oil and its byproducts.

The new price of 455 fils/liter (90 octane) @ .709 fils per dollar exchange rate means that a gallon of gas in Jordan costs Jordanians $2.43.

In the US, the cost of one gallon of gas is averaging around $2.63 these days. These 20¢ are supposed to cover transportation costs of oil coming into the US from as far as Saudi Arabia, the high labor costs at American refineries, high costs of transporting refined products from refinery to gas stations, substantial taxes paid on gas at the pump, and many other costs incurred by the gas station, such as rent, labor, licenses and fees. All that is supposed to cover the extra 20¢ Americans pay more than that paid by Jordanians.

there is one giant invisible hand in the Jordanian market.

oh, and a huge pocket.

this post was brought to you by:
يا غنماتي، ماع ماع
شو أطعميكوا. ماع ماع
سم يهريكوا

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Jordan is Ugly

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Jordan is Beautiful

plus there are so many porn stars named Jordan. What's up with that?

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Who would win this game between عبدون و وادي عبدون

it's a soccer game without a limit on the number of players!

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Common Phrases that make no sense

على قدم و ساق (on a foot and a leg)

It is used to describe when a process, a project, or a plan is going well or as expected. But, why? it clearly mentions one foot and one leg, which means one limb. When a person is only using one limb, it means they're hopping. i.e. without good balance, control, or comfort.

Rewriting history

How the hell do you rewrite history unless an unknown fact was uncovered or a correction was made? if a major event had just happened, then it becomes history. You can't rewrite it. What you can do is work on the present and future.

In high gear

it's said when someone, or an entity, is putting in extra effort to accomplish a task or reach a goal. But, if you drive a manual transmission vehicle, you would know that going into higher gears is done after you've reached a certain speed or level of engine RPM.

as soon as I think of others, I will include them.

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Is Qasr Raghdan located in the exact middle of Amman?

Google maps

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On the Future Palestinian State

If the future Palestinian State were to be drawn as in one of the many proposals, where a narrow link between Gaza and the West Bank is included for the sake of continuity, Will the phrase فلسطيني مقطّع موصّل become politically correct?
I am only asking so I wouldn't be labeled racist or whatever!

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ملوخية v2.0 unboxed and hands on

We'll tell you that when we first got a chance to handle Syria's latest generation of ملوخية on Tuesday, our cooking-nerd alarms went clanging like there was a really, really bad fire somewhere. The improvements the country has made in design aren't remarkable, but they are entirely welcome. The new housing is green, smooth, incredibly thin, and feels like a solid cardboard in your hands. The leaf shaped window is a nice addition, as are those handles (finally!) -- the packaging colors are incredibly bright (on par with the باميا we reviewed back in April). On the inside, this ملوخية definitely feeling smoother and slicker than previous versions, the clear plastic bag inclusion is huge if you're clumsy, and the implementation is well integrated -- overall, we're leaning towards a thumbs-up on those aesthetics too. The immaculate stacking of leaves inside the bag was a big plus. They all were whole and evidently were dried in their prime. Overall, with the help of two rabbits, this makes for one delicious meal.

hands-on video after the break
[via techma6ba5.com]

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Barack Obama was born in Jordan. Proven by Newly released Birth Certificate

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Can Christians please explain this to me?

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"الملتقى الوطني للحفاظ على الأسرة" يندد بـ"سيداو"

the question is: How many women attended this sorry ass مُلتقى

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Are Jordanians Ready for Democracy?

I sometimes question the call for democracy in Jordan if the people themselves aren't ready for it.

Are Jordanians ready to respect others' opinions?
Are they ready to rally behind competent leaders and not their tribal leaders?
Are they ready to give women full equal rights and allow them the equal opportunity to hold any position?
Are Jordanian women ready to assume high level government positions and not succumb to male relatives' pressure?
Will the Islamic rule be the dominant force in a democratic Jordan?

I could go on and on answering these questions. But, everybody knows the answer.

this post was brought to you by the tfoo trusts
"allowing you to non-verbally express your opinions"

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باسم يقتل رباب في جريمة شرف تهز المملكة

أقدم باسم على قتل صديقته رباب البالغة من العمر (29 عاما) بمشاركة صديقه مازن بضربها بعصي وبرابيش وقنوة على مختلف انحاء جسدها حتى لبثت أنفاسها داخل منزل العائلة بمنطقة العبدلي وفق مصدر امني

وقال المصدر أن باسم وصديقه اشتركا بذات الوقت على ضرب الفتاة بالعصي والقنوة والبربيش بعد ادعاء عمهم منصور النجار بمشاهدة رباب تتحدث الى بائع الحلوى في منطقة جبل عمّان وكانت قد غادرت المنزل وهي تضع ماكياج

وجرى في قسم الطب الشرعي في مستشفى البشير الحكومي اليوم تشريح جثة الفتاة وتبين إصابة الجثة بكدمات واسعة على جسد الفتاة بالكامل إضافة الى إصابة الجثة بنزيف تحت الجمجمة والدماغ أدى الى الوفاة

وسيباشر مدعي عام محكمة الجنايات الكبرى التحقيق بالقضية

بذلك تصل عدد الجرائم التي تسمى بـ"الشرف" إلى 16 منذ بداية العام وهذا الرقم مرتفع بالمقارنة مع السنوات الماضية

**الصورة تعبيرية

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Jordan's Summer Jam

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