Guide to Halal Food Catering london

If you’re looking for an alternative menu for your wedding reception, there aren’t only Asian caterers in London, but also Halal caterers London and even eggless catering London

Long Des:

Through the Islamic holy book, Qu’ran, the most important book in Islamic tradition, Muslims are taught a specific set of guidelines to follow. Eating Halal foods and following a Halal diet is one of them.

Halal vs. Haram

The word ‘Halal’ means lawful or permitted in Arabic. Halal foods are foods allowed for consumption and prepared according to strict Islamic dietary guidelines. These guidelines originated in the Qu’ran. Basically, devout Muslim followers are not permitted to consume the following:

• Animals already dead prior to butchering
• Animals not properly butchered, or not butchered under Allah’s name
• Meat from pigs
• Carnivorous animals
• Blood and its by-products
• Birds of prey
• Land animals without external ears
• Alcohol

The following prohibited foods are called ‘haram’, which means forbidden in Arabic. Haram foods must not come into contact with or be combined with Halal foods. Also, Muslims are forbidden to make food from a previously dead animal not prepared according to Halal guidelines.

Halal foods can be easily found in Middle Eastern groceries some big national supermarket chain stores, and online. There are also Halal butchers and Halal caterers London.

Dhabiha

Through the Qu’ran, Muslims are taught to treat all animals with respect and to care for them. This principle is also applied in the butchering of an animal for consumption. The goal is always to limit the amount of pain the animal would endure when slaughtered.

The Halal method of butchering animals is called ‘dhabiha’. It involves killing the animals with a swift and precise incision into the throat with the use of a sharp and sterilised razor blade. Aside from lessening the pain the animal would endure, the goal is also to preserve the freshness of the meat, and keeping it free of impurities (blood). This method is unlike Western methods, where there isn’t necessarily strict ritual being follow, and sometimes, the animal’s blood is also used for some types of dishes.  

Prior to butchering, the animals must be checked to ensure they’re clean and healthy. They should be given clean water to drink and turned into the direction of Mecca. During the slaughtering process, Allah’s name should be pronounced over the animal being slaughtered. The intent behind this is to give respect to the animal and at the same time, to thank Allah for the bounty. The animal being slaughtered must never see the blade to be used being sharpened or another animal being slaughtered. Afterwards, the throat is cut swiftly and the blood drained. The blood must never come into contact with the animal carcass. 

According to scientific research, when this method is carried out correctly, there’s a sudden drop in the blood pressure within the animal’s brain. This renders the animal brain dead within mere seconds, which causes the animal less pain and stress. Hence, this is the reason why this method is considered to be not only a more humane way of slaughtering animals, but also a more hygienic one.

If you’re looking for an alternative menu for your wedding reception, there aren’t only Asian caterers in London, but also Halal caterers London and even eggless catering London.