If there's one skill I polished this Ramadan, it was cooking. Every day during the blessed month, each tv channel has a cooking show focusing on iftaar snacks and drinks and, having nothing better to do, I've become an avid follower of Poppy, Aida, and all the other celebrity cooks on tv. I thought this month was all about restraint/resisting temptation/moderating one's lifestyle but I guess the food/beverage industries need Ramadan sales to boost profits :p

I can now make oreo cookie milkshake (using Olper's milk), pizza margherita (using Mundial olive pomace cooking oil) and all varieties of pakora, samosa and other fried stuff using Dalda :p.

I'd also like to plug Dr. Aamir Liaquat of Aalim Online fame... He lectures on Islamic history and has a call-in show where people ask questions and either he or a guest speaker answer based on Islamic jurisprudence. He might be a quack for all I know but he is an engaging speaker :). Yesterday's topic was Yajooj Majooj... (I remember being terrified of these when I was a kid).

After my somewhat boring Ramadans spent in foreign lands, Karachi is pretty lively. Zamzama (and various other streets) have been lit up (with illegal connections to the electricity poles :p), shops are open until 2 am and restaurants are open until Sehri. I went to the Sea View the other day and it was full of people enjoying doodh patti and kababs around midnight :). I heart Ramadan festivities in Pakistan!