The blessed month of Ramadan is here. It is the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar where practicing Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. I cannot think of a more exciting month for the Muslims. It is an occasion of celebration as much as it is a religious obligation.
I believe I speak for all practicing Muslims when I say that Ramadan is the favorite Islamic month. By the end of Ramadan we are already talking about the upcoming month of the Ramadan in the coming year, and throughout the rest of the year we are always, in one way or another, planning for it.
In the month of Ramadan we fast from dusk to dawn, we do not eat or drink anything for the time, and the nights are spent praying. The highlights of the month are always the Iftaar (breaking of fast), Suhoor (meal before fasting) and Taraweeh (night prayers), in that order.
For as long as I can remember, we have always celebrated the month, spent time together to prepare the meals, get together for prayers... it has always been a party. A very sober, calm and noble party.
Unlike all the years of my life, this Ramadan is going to be very different. I am going to be spending it in solitude. Every Ramadan people gather together, do the Iftaar together, go around their neighborhoods giving meals for Iftaar and so on. But this year, due to the lockdown, I will not be able to do any of those. I cannot even go to the Masjids and enjoy an Iftaar like I did with the boys in the past.
For the first Iftaar, which has already become special, I decided to go out shopping and make it as close as to a feast. The picture above is of dates and dry banana chips. Dates are a benchmark and are always eaten first when breaking the fast, followed by water.
Ever since my childhood, fruits have been a big part of Iftaars. I can still recall how mouthwatering does a freshly sliced-up orange feels on an empty stomach. Whether it be with the boys, at home with the family, or in the masjid, fruits are a big part of Iftaar. I got myself some bananas and an orange. YUM!
Apart from the natural sugars, I also bought some custard-filled buns and sweet cream-filled "ponchki". I have no clue what ponchki are called in English, but they have become a part of my Iftaar since the first Ramadan I observed in Ukraine. They are incredibly delicious, and the sweetness goes excellently with a bitter cup of espresso.
For drinks, I went with the "must-have" Roohafza. It is wildly popular in the middle east. It is a fruit concentrate that is produced in Pakistan. The concentrate is very versatile and can be used as a topping, syrup, mixed with milk or water.
All of my Ramadans have always had Roohafza with milk. The rich drink is very nutritious (except for the sugar) and feels very soothing after a day of fasting. Besides that I went for an orange juice and a glass of coke.
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The main course for today's Iftaar is going to be Broasted chicken, fries and chicken chilli. Back home it used to be much different. There used to be biryani, pulao, white rice with some sort of meat curry or so many other things. But since my culinary skills are very limited, we will resort to something fried, and easily available.
Fried food feels heavenly after fasting, but it is proven to be incredibly unhealthy. Talk about abstaining from all that is attractive but harmful, right? I dearly miss "harees". It is a traditional Arabic food made from wheat, water and meat. Never learned how to make it, but it is a must-have in UAE. It is so delicious, and I miss it so so so so so much!
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I did visit an international store that has been around for quite some time. I was hoping he would have something special for Ramadan in stock. Turns out COVID restrictions on import and export have been a pain. The stock wasn't very attractive but he did manage to make some homemade Gulab Jamuns and find some Indian snacks.
I was in luck, Khatta Meetha is one of my favorite Indian snacks and Gulab Jamuns aren't too bad either. Inb4 the Ukrainian stores have a bigger collection of imported foodstuff and the competition leads to a healthy economic powerdrive.
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This was my humble first Iftaar of the month of Ramadan. I hope this month brings everyone happiness, joy and success. Even if we aren't close in person, I can still share your joy from here, online. Looking forward to the pandemic slowing down and giving us all the opportunity to enjoy life, like we used to. In a week, I will be meeting up with a few friends who invited me for an Iftaar party. It is incredible how they aren't Muslims, are Ukrainians and still indulge themselves in fasting during Ramadan just because they seem to enjoy it as much as we do.
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