Iftar is the meal at sunset that Muslims eat to open their fast within the holy month of Ramadan, having fasted the whole day since sunrise. It is often a humbling and communal event that brings family and friends together to enjoy and appreciate the blessings of food, drink and good company. The time just before the iftar meal is used in reflection and gratitude as this is the blessed time when we are told that our prayers will be accepted.
Year after year the mamas in our community share their incredible ideas, and tantalizing recipes so we decided to introduce you to our master chef mamas and collate some of their top recipes for you all to enjoy! Be sure to let us know if any make it to your iftar table this Ramadan.
Tasneem Abdur-Rashid
Follow her on Instagram here.
Intro
I’m a writer, podcaster and mum of two little boys. I love everything to do with cooking; whether it’s eating, cooking, going to restaurants or watching cooking shows! I co-host a podcast called Not Another Mum Pod and my debut novel is out this summer – watch this space!
Outside of Ramadan we don’t always get a chance to eat together as a family with everyone’s different schedules, so family Iftars are particularly special as it’s a chance for us to eat together, reconnect and recalibrate.
I cooked this meal when my siblings came over for Iftar. I had asked them what they fancied and they chose a Pakistani-style meal; which I tried to recreate! Everything was bursting with flavour and was wholesome and moorish after a long day of fasting. It took a while to prepare – especially with the homemade naan which had to be done just before the adhan so it was hot and fresh, but it was well worth it!
Here’s Tasneem’s Iftar Table
My table included:
Chana Chaat – this is loosely based on the one created by Muslim Mama Curry On Halima who you can find here.
Lamb Haleem – recipe from a Muslim Mama called Nasima Khatun – Khatunskitchen
Butter Chicken – recipe also from Curry on Halima
Chilli Paneer – recipe here
Sweet potato and sweetcorn pakoras
Lamb kebabs
Homemade naan – another Curry on Halima recipe
Mango pavlova
Strawberry and mint mojitos
Strawberry and cream falooda
Nasima Khatun
You can find Nasima on Instagram here.
Intro
I am a mum of two boys, an accountant and an entrepreneur. I spent early years of my childhood in Bangladesh. This experience has given me a good understanding of our rich culture and food. I love cooking and entertaining.
I miss the childhood version of Ramadan when it was fun. The joys of fasting in the day, anxiously waiting for Iftar so that we can finally devour all the food in one go. The prayers together, waking up early morning for the suhoor, eating around to table with a three-course meal at 3 am.
Here’s Nasima’s Iftar table
We try to have a healthy and wholesome Iftar meal, although we do like to sneak in some fried delicacies some days. However, I love Turkish style food during Iftar, grilled meats, babaganoush, hummus, fresh Turkish bread and lamb and vegetable soup.
Turkish Lamb Soup with chickpeas – This soup, although light, is full of flavour and wholesome, which means it will keep you nourished after a long day of fasting. It is also pleasant to the stomach
Cima Begum
Intro
I am a mother to three beautiful kids and strive to make them happy. I have many hobbies and love cooking on another level. I enjoy being the host to my parties and cooking different Southasian dishes. Everyday is a new day for new ideas. I love how I push myself everyday whether its sewing, painting, crafting or cooking. I always try to push boundaries to achieve what may be in my vision and I could not have done it without the support and love of my husband and my children.
During Ramadan, What I enjoy the most is when me and my family all help to make a feast for sunset together. This is a very special time as it helps us bond and co-ordinate while preparing. When sitting down for the meal, we sit in front of our food and thank Allah for the food He has provided for us.
Our Iftar originates from Southasia, Bangladesh, its traditional and cultural food that I have grown up eating. For my family it is must as I love teaching my children to eat our cultural traditional food so they can themselves carry on the traditions and the cuisine to adulthood.
Lamb briyani, kichuri (lentils and rice soup), chana boons, fritters (lentils, aubergine, potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli), cheese and onion pasty, chicken kebabs, chicken samosa roll, meat samosa, prawn fried,fruit platters and mojito beverage.
Shazna Begum
I am a mother of 4 and I enjoy making homemade iftar for my children and family. The cuisine I picked originates from Bangladesh.
Kachi biryani, naga (hot chilli) wings, grilled lamb chops, cheese balls, fiyazi (onion fritters), fruit platter, bueno milkshake.
Monisa Ali
I am Monisa. I have two kids, a boy and a girl. I am from India, now living in London, UK. I enjoy cooking and experimenting with foods. I like all kinds of snacks and junk food and my favourite is main meal is chicken 65 (a famous Hyderabadi indo-chinese dish) with white rice. I like spending time with my family and doing arts and craft activities with my kids.
Iftar for me is very special, as it is coming together in unity at that table to thank Allah swt for the blessing of the month of Ramadan, the food in our plates and pray for our family’s peace and togetherness.
The dishes in the iftar meal mostly originate from India, where I come from. Chicken 65, Haleem, and tomato chutney are quite popular in Hyderabad (city I was born in). These are also few of my favourite foods especially to have during iftar.
The iftar meal in the pictures include Chicken 65, White chicken, Haleem, tomato chutney. They are spicy, flavoursome, and delicious for our taste buds. The other items are bhelpuri and spring rolls, which I take pride in making ‘restaurant-style’.
The bhelpuri was made with ‘Ruby ka Kitchen’ recipe on Youtube. However, the others are my own; happy to share if asked.
Nargis Jahan-Uddin
I’m Nargis, mother of 4 boys. Ramadan for us as a family is a special time and my children really look forward to the two special meals – suhoor (pre-dawn meal) and iftar (sunset meal to open fast). We keep our meals simple with suhoor containing lots of fibre and slow burning energy rich foods and iftar being a one dish colourful meal with some added snacks as starters. Although we love our cultural foods, we restrict this to once a week and try to have a balanced meal the rest of the week. We open our fast with a glass of water, dates, yogurt and honey. Then my husband and sons like to follow up with something crispy or crunchy like samosas or breaded chicken, sometimes we have soup with this too. We may nibble on some fruits at this point. We then pray and then eat a nutritious meal as we would for dinner.
The meal I have chosen to share is a meal I devised for my salmon obsessed single mum friend who had joined us for iftar that particular day. Pictured is pan fried peri peri salmon with greens and baby corn, vegetable rice and baked portobello mushroom stuffed with boursin cheese, spring onions and cherry tomatoes. I served this with tempura prawns and fried chicken wings. I try to ensure there are a variety of different colours on the plate at every meal, even if that meal is simple.
We always have a fruit platter to nibble on afterwards when we settle down for some green tea. Inspired by my friend Jazmin, I also set up a Ramadan Shake Station for my 12-year old son to make a smoothie or milkshake every day, it helps him stay motivated and gives him something to look forward to at the end of his fast.
Rekha Rahman
You can find Rekha on Instagram here.
My name is Rekha, a widow mother to two amazing kids who are my life. Food and charity is my passion. I’m from Bangladesh and it’s cuisine is so diverse. I joined Muslim Mamas, then started my instagram which is @thecookingfeed to share my recipes and food with people who are passionate about it like myself. Food brings people together and I enjoy cooking and feeding people as it brings me joy to share my food with everyone. My door is always open for anyone wanting a meal and nobody goes back hungry from my house.
My iftar meal is traditional Bangladeshi iftar with a mixture of Indian and Pakistani cuisine. There is a variety for everyone to enjoy. You can see more here.
Lemon & Herb Roast Chicken.
Peri Peri Naga Wings.
Vegetable Pilau.
Chicken Tikka Tikkis.
Tuna Cutlets.
Lamb Shish Sausage Rolls.
Chicken Kebabs.
Lamb Shish Kebabs.
Tandoori Chicken Spicy Wraps.
Tuna Spring Rolls.
Vegetable Punjabi Samosas.
Lamb Pastry Samosas.
Chana (chickpeas) with Potatoes.
Kisuri.
Potato Pakoras (forgot to take pictures).
Lentil fritters (Dhalir Bora)
Mango Lassi.
Banoffee Pie.
Nayyera Hussain
I’m Nayyera, mother of 2 children. I’m originally from Karachi, Pakistan but living in UK since 2002. I’m a qualified TA in college. In my free time, I love reading books, spending time with my family or calling a friend.
As we all are fasting, I love cooking nice and healthy food for my family.
Our Iftar originates from South-Asia, Bangladesh, it’s traditional and cultural food that I have grown up eating. For my family, it is a must as I love teaching my children to eat our cultural traditional food so they can themselves carry it on to adulthood.
Lamb briyani, kichuri (lentils and rice soup), chana masala (chickpea stirfry), fritters (lentils, aubergine, potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli), cheese and onion pasty, chicken kebabs, chicken samosa roll, meat samosa, prawn fried, fruit platters and mojito beverage.
Thank you to all the Mamas that have taken the time to share their iftar meals with us, it’s been great to see the diversity on your tables and the love and care that has gone into preparing food for your friends and families.
