Eating less meat is more Islamic

[Kompromat]

I am a meat lover - No need to worry about it

 

[Areesh]

Well I also love meat. So no chance of being a veggie.

 

[Nahraf]

I have a question.... Can muslims be veg?

Muslims can be vegetarians there is no religious edict about eating meat. The Pakistani diet now consist of huge meat consumption. The health concerns and love for new dishes has created vegetarian dishes craze in Pakistan. There are now many vegetarian restaurants in Karachi which did not exist few years ago.

www.outlookindia.com | The Dosa Fidayeen
Pakistan: Veggie cuisine
The Dosa Fidayeen
Go green. In red-blooded Pakistan, kafir vegetarian food is making inroads.
Mariana Baabar

Five years ago, a story was doing the rounds of the Quetta cantonment, where the rich and powerful live. The cantonment was abuzz with rumours about the financial woes of one of its residents, Kamal Ahmad. They said his business had crashed and the news couldn’t be wrong for it came from the family retainer himself. Worried friends immediately enquired from Ahmad’s wife, who confronted the retainer as he sat eating his vegetables and dal—dishes that had lately become a staple of the Ahmads as well. Glancing at the plate and dejectedly looking up, he asked, “Why else would you have become vegetarian overnight?” Ahmad’s wife burst out laughing and replied, “Because Sahib had to stop eating meat for medical reasons.” Indeed, vegetables in Pakistan have been synonymous with the poor and the ill.

The tale is just one of many which Pakistanis used to illustrate their disdain for anything green. Now, though, a silent culinary revolution seems to be transforming the perception and palate of the ordinary Pakistani. Veggies are no longer infra dig, languishing on the margins or remembered from a trip to India. Vegetarian has become trendy, a cuisine of choice for those dining out. It’s like the “new Chinese in town”—dramatically different from what mamas can cook at home. And delicious as well.

Vegetarian restaurants are mushrooming in Karachi, Pakistan’s melting pot. Mirchi opened three weeks ago, exclusively catering to those wishing to partake of the veg experience. Such has been the response to its chana chaat, golgappas and dahi bhalle that owner Rehan Musa plans to soon introduce masala dosa, which is both the craze as well as the defining element of Indian cuisine here. Patio in Karachi is a creation of Sunita Acharia and Wafah Hassan, who have together carved a niche for themselves. There’s also Dum Pukht, Chatkharay...the list is expanding everyday.

It’s even resolved a peculiar problem Newsline editor Rehana Hakim would encounter each time she had an Indian friend to entertain—vegetarian restaurants in upscale localities. A few years ago, she had just one or two places to take her guests; today she is spoilt for choice. Incidentally, Gazebo, also in Karachi, is her favourite. As Rehana says, “Gazebo’s is the nearest to the Indian cuisine that I have had in Delhi. Previously, it was only at the Indian consulate where we could eat dosas.” Dosa is king in Pakistan, the demand for it prompting many multi-cuisine eateries to add it to the menu. Equally popular are the savoury chaats. Nowadays, it isn’t considered outlandish to serve these two dishes at wedding dinners, particularly on the day of mehndi ceremonies, says Gazebo’s owner, Nasreen Wahab. The carnivorous Pakistani is undergoing a metamorphosis. As Sunita puts it, “If 10 people walk in, five will opt for vegetarian.”

The gastronomic change is also bringing cities other than Karachi in its sweep. The rage in Islamabad’s Kitchen Cuisine is decidedly bagharay baigan, a Hyderabadi export. Veg thalis are becoming ubiquitous; it’s considered a speciality of Table Talk, a restaurant in Islamabad’s spiffy Kohsar Market. Amna Khan, a frequent visitor, says, “We come here often for the pure vegetarian thalis. For dosas, we even have to order ahead of time, but they are fabulous here.”

It’s a little known detail but this “breathtaking culinary revolution” had its origins 17 years ago, when Ponderosa opened. This is where the cosmopolitan Pakistani or the nostalgic migrant, in whom the memory of the ‘taste of India’ still lingered, flocked to eat dosas. Among Ponderosa’s employees was one who old-timers remember as Fazelat Auntie. Believing the dosa had greater potential than any cbms in enthusing Pakistanis, she went around Karachi in a mobile van called ‘Amma ka Dosa’, reaping profits that she ploughed into a catering service. She died two years ago, living long enough to see the Pakistani acquire a more eclectic taste in food.

Ironically, Ponderosa is no longer around, closed down by owner Farhan Sheikh for personal reasons a year ago. But the man isn’t sitting quiet, persuaded again to open a new Indian dining outlet within a year as “the trend is growing amazingly”. Sheikh links the popularity of vegetarian food to the growth of satellite TV: “Every house in Karachi gets Star TV and its programmes on cooking have popularised vegetarian food.”

The taste-for-India revolution was in reality sparked off by the expat Pakistani who befriended Indians abroad, relished the cuisine, and wished to revitalise his taste buds in Pakistan as well, says Shenaz Ramzi, who’s soon to publish a book on Pakistani cuisine. She adds a caveat, though: “Indian food has become popular in Pakistan because it as much a part of our heritage as it is of Indians.”

Ramzi says what’s exotically passed off as Indian has been an inextricable part of the cuisine of many communities—Bohras, Memons, Lucknawis, Delhiwalas, Gujaratis, Khojas and Hyderabadis—who came from India to Pakistan following the Partition. Explains Ramzi, “In a way, these dishes have been a part of Pakistan’s cuisine as well. The difference now is that while for a good many decades communities tended to live in ghettos, today, the larger cities in Pakistan have become cultural melting pots. With greater interaction, it was only a matter of time that dishes once consumed by specific communities became popular with others too.” This social transformation also coincided with the emergence of niche restaurants which broke away from the tradition of serving a salmagundi of dishes from different cuisines under one roof.

Critics also differ on whether or not the Pakistani can adopt the authentic Indian style of cooking veggies. Leading food critic Irfan Hussain is emphatic, “We Muslims are better at cooking meat than vegetables. We tend to overcook veggies, making them limp and devoid of colour, flavour and texture.” Wafah, the joint owner of Patio, says, “Compared to the way they (Indians) cook vegetables in India, we fry ours for a longer period.” The taste may be a little different from the typical Indian dish—but it’s still delicious.

Providing a stamp of legitimacy to the Indian cooking style here is the story of those who own Indian restaurants. Patio’s Sunita Acharia has parents who had migrated to India after Partition; 30 years later she was back in Karachi, now married to a Pakistani. “You can say the soil of Pakistan brought me back,” she says. Sunita began a takeaway, Bawarcheykhana, where she personally did the cooking. And when she met her business partner, Wafah, they began Patio. “Wafah had some old Lucknow recipes,” she says. Can’t the duo then be trusted to cook the authentic Indian way? Similarly, Mirchi’s Rehan Musa hails from Bombay, as do his in-laws. About Mirchi, he says, “We finally brought out the food that we’d been eating all along.”

Still, it’s true that at times dishes have to be rejigged to suit the Pakistani palate. The south Indian rasam could be a starting point. As Sunita says, “Pakistanis just can’t acquire a taste for it. It’s too watery for them.” There are others who have taken to filling chicken and keema in dosas. Call it a civilisational thing, some links are common, some a commingling that chefs on either side of the border conjure up with such ease. It’s a pity the politicians can’t break a dosa over the same.

 

[lcloo]

Is it true that it is haram to eat creatures that live on land and in water?

Duck meat is not eaten by Muslim in Malaysia, so is river crabs. But Sea crabs that never come to land are halal. Is this a universal practice or just perculiar to Malaysia?

 

[Hyde]

Yeah, many people argues that we should slaughter an animal only when its required. Eating meat is Hallal for sure but it does not mean you keep slaughtering an animal for the sake of your lust

Not everybody agrees upon this opinion obviously but according them in early period of Islam most of the Muslims used to eat vegetables only and cook meat when a guest arrives in their home or when they want to have a party kind of system or if they have nothing else to eat

It wasn't like nowadays when we eat meat once or twice day

PS: It is still ok to eat meat but not recommended to eat daily for your own taste

 

[Hyde]

Is it true that it is haram to eat creatures that live on land and in water?

Duck meat is not eaten by Muslim in Malaysia, so is river crabs. But Sea crabs that never come to land are halal. Is this a universal practice or just perculiar to Malaysia?

All creatures living under the sea are Hallal for Muslims if it has no side-effects for your body... if they are not poisonous it is OK to eat any sea-food.

This statement does not apply for the animals living on the land as some of them are Hallal (permissible) and some of them are not permissible

 

[Nahraf]

Is it true that it is haram to eat creatures that live on land and in water?

Duck meat is not eaten by Muslim in Malaysia, so is river crabs. But Sea crabs that never come to land are halal. Is this a universal practice or just perculiar to Malaysia?

Only seafood with fins and scales are Halal. This rules out calimari and octopus and all shellfish, such as crab, shrimps, lobster, clams. Sturgeon and shellfish. Fish need not be Zibah.

 

[Leviza]

Yeah, many people argues that we should slaughter an animal only when its required. Eating meat is Hallal for sure but it does not mean you keep slaughtering an animal for the sake of your lust

Not everybody agrees upon this opinion obviously but according them in early period of Islam most of the Muslims used to eat vegetables only and cook meat when a guest arrives in their home or when they want to have a party kind of system or if they have nothing else to eat

It wasn't like nowadays when we eat meat once or twice day

PS: It is still ok to eat meat but not recommended to eat daily for your own taste

yes i totally agree with this about eating purpose and use, not for fun and anything like that...

we need to understand that meat is halah to eat so we can eat it properly .... i mean balance diet is important, Also i like to add something here

My own Words
Prophet Muhammad Said once that dont eat with full stomach always leave little space which is also proven by science that its the best way to eat....

 

[Gentle Typhoon]

Your diet won’t make you any more spiritual.

If we eat vegetable we would have to go out plant the seeds, water them, put fertiliser on them, put pesticides on them, etc. We see the wildlife habitats destroyed for farming, the insects killed by pesticides, cows force fed to produce milk etc, we become blinkered about the meat vegetable debate.

Meat eating or vegetarianism has nothing to do with ANY religion.

According to Sikhism -

maas maas kar moorakh jhagrhey gyaan Dhyaan nahee jaanay. (The fools argue about flesh and meat, but they know nothing about meditation and spiritual wisdom.)

Guru Nanak Dev Ji saw life at all levels. He saw it at the molecular level and did not differentiate between plant, animal, or mineral. The only form of life he saw as different was human life.

Look, and see how the sugar-cane is cut down. After cutting away its branches, its feet are bound together into bundles, and then, it is placed between the wooden rollers and crushed.

What punishment is inflicted upon it! Its juice is extracted and placed in the cauldron; as it is heated, it groans and cries out.

And then, the crushed cane is collected and burnt in the fire below.

Nanak: come, people, and see how the sweet sugar-cane is treated!

Let man do what he must to assuage his hunger. If what he gets, he puts to good use and shares with the needy, then it is well used and well spent, otherwise not.

@ Zaki - 100% correct, Taste/Lust/Addiction is bad.

 

[Spring Onion]

Nopes you did not understood what i was trying to ask. Is there neccassay that a muslim should be non veg or can a muslim choose from the veg food also.

We eat both no Restriction on vegetables

like my understanding was like on eid and all the cow/goat is sacrificed. what about the people who cant afford it or who are vegs being a muslim

Only those are asked to participate in sacrifice who can afford. If a person can not afford he can join a group of 5 or so people and they can sacrifice a cow jointly. Otherwise its not neccesary that every Muslim will do so if he cant afford he is not forced to do so.

Above all this meat sacrificed halal animal is distributed and the purpose is that those Muslims who can not afford to eat meat due to high price can have a chance to eat it.

 

[Spring Onion]

Yeah, many people argues that we should slaughter an animal only when its required. Eating meat is Hallal for sure but it does not mean you keep slaughtering an animal for the sake of your lust

Not everybody agrees upon this opinion obviously but according them in early period of Islam most of the Muslims used to eat vegetables only and cook meat when a guest arrives in their home or when they want to have a party kind of system or if they have nothing else to eat

It wasn't like nowadays when we eat meat once or twice day

PS: It is still ok to eat meat but not recommended to eat daily for your own taste

That must have been to press people NOT to do israaf (spending lavishly, extra when even not needed to do ).

 

[mjnaushad]

I'll prefer to stay LESS ISLAMIC......I LOVE MEAT

 

[diva]

so what is the criterion for the food being halal....

 

[Sinnerman108]

so what is the criterion for the food being halal....

It has to be from a list of allowed animals
Carnivores are not allowed
It has to be slaughtered in the name of Allah ( basically means that although we are running the knife, it is actually Allah who is the greatest).
Animal has to be killed quick with least agony.
Blood has to be drawn out of the animal and blood is haram.

Hope that helps.

 

[Neither Right Nor Wrong]

Yeah, many people argues that we should slaughter an animal only when its required. Eating meat is Hallal for sure but it does not mean you keep slaughtering an animal for the sake of your lust

Not everybody agrees upon this opinion obviously but according them in early period of Islam most of the Muslims used to eat vegetables only and cook meat when a guest arrives in their home or when they want to have a party kind of system or if they have nothing else to eat

It wasn't like nowadays when we eat meat once or twice day

PS: It is still ok to eat meat but not recommended to eat daily for your own taste

Well eating habbits for any culture( in this case religion) can be attributed to the food availability present in the region ..in Islam there so much stress on eating non veg, because not much else grew the in desserts of Arabia, where Islam began.


Same can be said about cold European countries ..where nothing grew in winters and ppl had to live off their animals.

But with Hiduism, as the lands were fertile..and crops readily grew... hence there not a lot of stress on eating animal.