Food for thought: Ramadan recipes and what makes them special

Emily Shardlow

The iftar table at the Kempinski hotel in Ajman.

Jeff Topping / The National

Fattet fool ackdar by Dima Sharif.

Courtesy Dima Al Sharif

The traditional Emirati dish lgeimat, by Shaima Al Tamimi and Latifa Al Shamsi.

Courtesy Shaima Al Tamimi and Latifa Al Shamsi

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We talk to Muslims of different cultures who share their childhood memories of iftar and their favourite family recipes that make a rare appearance during Ramadan.

As dusk falls across the region this evening, iftar tables will once again be filled to capacity as dish after dish of delectable food is uncovered. In homes, restaurants and community centres, people will come together to break fast and soak up the sights, smells, colours and flavours that are unique to this time of year.

Given the multicultural nature of the UAE, it is hardly surprising that the type of food on offer varies from gathering to gathering, depending, for the most part, upon the background of the host. Ramadan is, after all, considered a time for commemorating family and often with food; each culture has recipes, traditions and dishes unique to it, many of which are specific to the holy month.

Sukaina Rajabali grew up in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and lived there until she was 18. When reminiscing about iftars past, she remembers drinking tea and eating east African sweets such as vitumbuas (fried rice cakes, flavoured with coconut and cardamom), mandazis (spiced doughnut-like pastries), kalimati (sweet dumplings) and vibibis (rice pancakes made with coconut). "Coconut-based dishes are common in our family during Ramadan. I think this is because the combination of coconut and rice is heavy and filling, keeping you full longer! And it is very abundant and cheap in east Africa."

Although she now lives in Dubai with her husband and young daughter, during Ramadan, Rajabali - like many other people I spoke to - cooks the food that she remembers from her childhood. "It brings back great memories of sitting at our iftar table, waiting for the athan to sound. In the past, when the athan wasn't on TV, we would open the windows and wait to hear the sound from the local mosque. Food brings back good memories."

Rajabali says that rather than specific dishes, for her it is the array of food that really makes iftar meals memorable. "Normally, we would never have so much variety on the table nor would we typically eat so many sweet things. Only in Ramadan. Also, tea is infused with cardamom and vanilla pods, which we don't do all year round and there is raab - rice flour cooked with water or coconut milk, served sweet with sugar and cardamom or salty with pepper - which people often drink before praying."

Like millions of Muslims around the world, when the sun sets, Hina Khalid and Siddique Siddiqui break their fast with dates and water. After this, they stay true to their Pakistani heritage and enjoy a spiced fruit salad. This medley of diced apples, peaches, pears, grapes, guava and bananas tossed together with sugar, lemon juice, salt and black pepper is typically followed by chickpea salads, samosas and, of course, the much-loved pakora, thought to be Pakistan's most popular iftar dish. All this will, they tell me, often be washed down with glasses of rooh-afza, a syrup-based tonic, diluted with milk or water and infused with spices and rose petals.

If rooh-afza is well loved in Pakistan, then the Middle Eastern alternatives are surely qamar el-deen (a thick, sweet drink made from dried apricot), jallab (a mixture of dates, molasses and rose water), tangy tamer hindi (tamarind syrup, infused with water and lemon) and of course, Vimto.

Despite being a professional cook with an extensive repertoire of recipes at her disposal, during Ramadan, Dima Al Sharif finds herself craving food from her native Jordan. "I tend to get homesick during this month, so I like to cook dishes that my mum prepared when we were younger. Having lived abroad for almost 11 years now, to me childhood food is comfort; it makes living away from family a little easier and brings home that much closer." Next page

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