Image 1 — Healthier version.
Image 2 — Healthier version.

Healthier version.

Sugar free, gluten free brownies.
Devoured them without guilt. 🙈
And they were sooooo good, not even exaggerating.

Recipe:
Ingredients
200 g medjool dates, pitted
140 ml hot milk (to soak dates)
130g butter with 1 tbsp dry milk powder
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
45 g cocoa powder, unsweetened
65g gluten free flour
1 espresso shot
1/2 tsp fine salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
40 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (optional, check sugar content)

Steps
-Place 200 g medjool dates, pitted in a bowl and pour over the 120 ml hot water (to soak dates). Let sit until soft and plump.

-Melt 130 g unsalted butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Swirl often as it foams, then watch closely as it turns golden and gives off a nutty smell add 1 tbsp dry milk powder and let it toast a little, small brown flecks will form at the bottom. Remove from heat immediately once browned.

-Blend the softened dates with the browned butter (scrape in all the browned bits) until you get a smooth, thick paste.

-Add 2 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the date-butter mixture and blend or whisk until fully combined and glossy.

-Sift in 45g cocoa powder, 60 g gluten free flour, 1/2 tsp fine salt, and 1/4 tsp baking powder. Hot espresso shot, to bloom cocoa powder.
Fold gently with a spatula until just combined, don’t overmix.

-Fold in 40 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (optional, check sugar content) if using, for extra fudgy pockets.
Pour batter into a parchment-lined 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) pan, spreading evenly.

-Bake at 175°C (350°F) until the top is set and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

-Let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before lifting out and slicing into squares.
Notes
The riper and stickier the dates, the sweeter and smoother the paste, if yours are firm, soak a bit longer. For an extra fudgy texture, slightly underbake and let the brownies fully cool before cutting.

u/Away-Illustrator-539 — 3 days ago

Kofta Macaroni.

Gave a modern twist to kofta and macaroni. Because that was the only pasta I had at home. Plus made a batch of kofta yesterday to freeze.
Meatballs cooked in red sauce, boiled macaroni and yogurt mint sauce. Grated some Parmesan on top.

u/Away-Illustrator-539 — 5 days ago

Mango Sticky Rice.

Got hands on Pakistani Mangoes and instantly got an idea to make this. As I had already bought sushi rice for my salmon bowl.
Mango Sticky Rice with Coconut Milk Sauce.

u/Away-Illustrator-539 — 16 days ago

Salmon Bowl.

Salmon bowl. Do I deserve an award now?

Only if we start focusing on nutrition and healthy eating and lifestyle, half of our problems will vanish away.

Whipped it up within one hour. Salmon is Air fried.

Macros:
180g Rice ~ 270 Cals
220g Salmon ~ 455 Cals
65g Edamame ~ 80 Cals
40g Pickled carrots ~ 15 Cals
30g Pickled Cabbage ~ 7 Cals
30g Cucumber ~ 5 Cals
55g Avocado ~ 88 Cals

Total: 920-1000 Cals

u/Away-Illustrator-539 — 26 days ago

Cooking competition?

Salmon bowl. Do I deserve an award now?
Only if we start focusing on nutrition and healthy eating and lifestyle, half of our problems will vanish away.

Whipped it up within one hour. Salmon is Air fried.

Macros:
180g Rice ~ 270 Cals
220g Salmon ~ 455 Cals
65g Edamame ~ 80 Cals
40g Pickled carrots ~ 15 Cals
30g Pickled Cabbage ~ 7 Cals
30g Cucumber ~ 5 Cals
55g Avocado ~ 88 Cals

Total: 920-1000 Cals

u/Away-Illustrator-539 — 26 days ago

Desi take on Shakshuka.

After so much love on my daal chawal, I’m back with another banger. 😋
Desi style shakshuka.
(No these pictures aren’t AI generated)

u/Away-Illustrator-539 — 2 months ago

Knorr, iska magic hi aur.

Before mods delete my post, weeks after remembering it wasn’t “Pakistani” food.
You can see the Knorr packet in background.😇

u/Away-Illustrator-539 — 2 months ago

Crazy theory (bare with me)

*Part 1*

I’ve been thinking about Tawakkul lately.

One thing I’ve noticed is that whenever someone is exhausted from making the same du’a for years, they usually hear one of two responses.

  1. “If it isn’t happening, there must be khayr in it.”
  2. “Just have tawakkul. Everything is in Allah’s hands.”

Neither response is wrong. But when you’re the one who’s been waiting for years, they can feel incomplete.
Because sometimes the question isn’t *whether Allah is in control*. We already know He is.

The question is:
How do you actually practice tawakkul when nothing seems to be changing?

That got me thinking about something that happens every single year on this planet.
“Migration”

Millions of birds, fish, turtles, and animals migrate thousands of kilometres for food, safety, and survival.
Take the Arctic tern. It travels tens of thousands of kilometres and somehow returns to the same nesting grounds.
How?
Allah created birds with remarkable abilities: they can sense Earth’s magnetic field, they use specialized proteins in their eyes to aid navigation, and their nervous system helps them orient and fly incredible distances.

Yet even with all of that;
They still have to leave the nest.

That reminded me of the hadith where the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“If you were to rely upon Allah with the reliance He is due, He would provide for you as He provides for the birds: they leave in the morning with empty stomachs and return in the evening with full stomachs.”

Notice something beautiful.
The Prophet (pbuh) didn’t say the birds stay in their nests waiting for food.
They fly.
They don’t know where every worm is.
They don’t know every gust of wind they’ll face.
They don’t know exactly how the day will unfold.
But they trust the One who does.

Maybe that’s what tawakkul really looks like.
Not demanding to see the entire road before taking the first step.
Just taking the step Allah has already placed in front of you.
Maybe our own “migration” looks different.

-The one waiting to get married wants to migrate from single life to married life.
-The couple praying for children wants to migrate from husband and wife to parents.
-The person applying for jobs wants to migrate into a new chapter.
-The one waiting for a visa wants to migrate to another country.

In one way or another, we’re all waiting for some form of migration.
Perhaps this season of waiting isn’t proof that Allah has abandoned us.
Perhaps it’s the season where He’s preparing us before the journey begins, just as He prepares migrating creatures before they leave.
Tawakkul doesn’t always mean you’ll immediately receive what you’re asking for.

Sometimes it means trusting Allah enough to keep flying, even when you can’t yet see where the journey ends.

*This isn’t the end, there’s more to it, that I’m still writing, will post it after you guys have read this, will post it as part2, and thank you! if you’ve come this far.*

reddit.com
u/Away-Illustrator-539 — 2 months ago

Crazy theory (bare with me)

Part 1

I’ve been thinking about tawakkul lately.

One thing I’ve noticed is that whenever someone is exhausted from making the same du’a for years, they usually hear one of two responses.

1. “If it isn’t happening, there must be khayr in it.”
2. “Just have tawakkul. Everything is in Allah’s hands.”

Neither response is wrong. But when you’re the one who’s been waiting for years, they can feel incomplete.
Because sometimes the question isn’t whether Allah is in control. We already know He is.

The question is:
How do you actually practice tawakkul when nothing seems to be changing?

That got me thinking about something that happens every single year on this planet.
“Migration”

Millions of birds, fish, turtles, and animals migrate thousands of kilometres for food, safety, and survival.
Take the Arctic tern. It travels tens of thousands of kilometres and somehow returns to the same nesting grounds.
How?
Allah created birds with remarkable abilities: they can sense Earth’s magnetic field, they use specialized proteins in their eyes to aid navigation, and their nervous system helps them orient and fly incredible distances.

Yet even with all of that;
They still have to leave the nest.

That reminded me of the hadith where the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“If you were to rely upon Allah with the reliance He is due, He would provide for you as He provides for the birds: they leave in the morning with empty stomachs and return in the evening with full stomachs.”

Notice something beautiful.
The Prophet (pbuh) didn’t say the birds stay in their nests waiting for food.
They fly.
They don’t know where every worm is.
They don’t know every gust of wind they’ll face.
They don’t know exactly how the day will unfold.
But they trust the One who does.

Maybe that’s what tawakkul really looks like.
Not demanding to see the entire road before taking the first step.
Just taking the step Allah has already placed in front of you.
Maybe our own “migration” looks different.

-The one waiting to get married wants to migrate from single life to married life.
-The couple praying for children wants to migrate from husband and wife to parents.
-The person applying for jobs wants to migrate into a new chapter.
-The one waiting for a visa wants to migrate to another country.

In one way or another, we’re all waiting for some form of migration.
Perhaps this season of waiting isn’t proof that Allah has abandoned us.
Perhaps it’s the season where He’s preparing us before the journey begins, just as He prepares migrating creatures before they leave.
Tawakkul doesn’t always mean you’ll immediately receive what you’re asking for.

Sometimes it means trusting Allah enough to keep flying, even when you can’t yet see where the journey ends.

*This isn’t the end, there’s more to it, that I’m still writing, will post it after you guys have read this, will post it as part2, and thank you! if you’ve come this far.*

reddit.com
u/Away-Illustrator-539 — 2 months ago