Mr and Mrs M

So I thought it was about time to introduce you all to Mr & Mrs M. So here goes, everyone meet Mr & Mrs M. Isn't it so much nicer when you can put a face to name ;)

Keema Parathas

The first meal I ever made for my Mr M after we got married was keema parathas, his all time favourites, actually anything with keema is his favourite. Since my mum found out about his obsession with keema, mum decided to combine her speciality with Mr M's love for keema and she came up with.......................keema biryani. GENIUS!

My mother in law actually taught me how to make the keema parathas, they are quite simple once you get the hang of it.

First you need to add flavourings to the raw keema, add salt, chilli powder, onions, garlic, ginger, garam masala, coriander and anything else you want for flavour. In fact add what you would when making kebabs.
Then follow the steps below;

avoid spreading margarine all the way to the edges as this will prevent the paratha from sealing properly

use a generous amount of keema

the trick is to seal the edges firmly so that when the paratha is rolled out none of the filling will spill out

roll out the paratha until you are happy with the size

fry with a little oil on low heat to let the keema cook

voila all ready to eat
for best results eat warm with some natural yoghurt 

Follow these steps and make your Mr M happy too!!!! Mr M happy therefore Mrs M happy :) smiles all around :)

Marrakech - Jan 2010

In Jan 2010 I visited Marrakech, then in September 2010 I went back to Morocco but to Fez/ Fes and Rabat. The pictures below are actually from my trip to Marrakech.

Beautiful mosque in the centre of Marrakech

Train station

Atlas mountains

YSL memorial gardens

Islamic Architecture

Leathered out

A month ago Mr M and I went to Fez, it was a brilliant experience which involved lots of food and orange juice (only 50p a glass!!!!! BARGAIN!) and even more shopping!!!We spent most of the evenings working our way around the busy souks in the medinas. For those of you who know me will know that I have a weakness for bags and shoes. When I see a bag or a pair of shoes I like my knees go weak, I start trembling, little beads of sweat form on my brow and my heart starts skipping a few beats. Basically if I see a bag or shoes I like I WANT THEM! So while casually walking through the souk I saw the most beautiful leather bag, it was a deep brown with shades of pretty pink, yellows and rich oranges. The most important rule to remember when shopping in the souks is that you WILL be ripped off, therefore never pay full price for anything. The trick is to decide how much you want to pay for the item and then begin the bargaining, if then the shopkeeper refuses to bring down the price, walk away, don't look back just walk away. You have to act like you don't desperately want the item and your happy not to have it. Nine out of ten times this results in the shopkeepers shouting after you telling you to come back, hes given in to your skilful bargaining tactics and is happy to sell it to you for your asking price.
So I decided to give it a go,
Mrs M- "Assalamalikum brother, how much is this bag?"
Shop Keeper- "walaikum salaam sister, this bag is 500 MAD (Moroccan dirham)"

note 13 Moroccan dirham = 1 British pounds, therefore this bag was about £40

Mrs M- "That is too much, I will take this bag for 250MAD"
Shop Keeper- "No, no, no, sister the bag is actually 800MAD but i give you Muslim price, your Muslim, I am Muslim therefore i give you honest Muslim price."
Mrs M- "500MAD is too much for this bag, its not full leather."
Shop Keeper- "But look at the finish (open us bag shows me inside) all hand stitched, very good quality, you wont find a bag like this anywhere."
Mr M-"Oh well, never mind, I'm sure we will find something very similar cheaper elsewhere, lets go Mrs M."

note- Mr M remained silent but when he saw I was about to give away his hard earned money for a bag that's wasn't worth 500MAD, he quickly intervened. We walked away, well Mr M walked away and gently pulled me away when he realised I wasn't going anywhere, I'd hoped he would realise how badly I wanted this bag.

Shopkeeper- "Wait , wait, come back, OK tell me how much do you want to pay for this bag?"
Mr M- " I'll pay 250MAD."
Shopkeeper- "No, that is less that what I pay for the bag, trust me brother I am giving you a very reasonable price, you are my Muslim brother I guarantee this is the best price in the market. I'll give it to you for 350MAD."

Mr M noticed a man's leather satchel. he has been looking for one for some time.
Mr M-" Can i see that satchel please."
Shopkeeper brings over the leather satchel.
Shopkeeper-" This is 450MAD, but for you its only 350MAD. Look at the finishing on the bag, even the buckles are of very high quality."
Mr M- "I'll take both for 500MAD."

Both for £40! There was no way he was going to agree to this, what is Mr M thinking, now we won't get any of the bags, and I want that bag.

After thinking about it for a few mins,
Shopkeeper-"OK fine, take it."
Mr M- "Thank you."

He turns to me, " see, its all about being patient!"

My leather bag, isn't it pretty!

Mr M's leather bag

So all was good in the end, we were all happy, we both got our bags and the shopkeeper got our money.

BUT slight problem, Mr M's bag smells really bad, well of leather obviously but the smell can become so suffocating that we have to leave his bag in the study. He feels really paranoid about the smell that he is really hesitant when taking it to work too. Any ideas of how we can make the leather bag smell less leathery?