With Ramazan approaching in a few days, I can already feel the tranquillity,can hear the loud prayers, can smell the heavenly aromas of the delicious food being cooked in the kitchens… Ramazan makes me nostalgic; the tastes and aromas of piping hot pakoras, tangy chaats, haleem, aash( a popular drink in the Middle East called doodh) and sticky sweet jalebis fill my senses. When I was a child, I would patiently wait for iftar (sunset meal) time, in my mind elevating it to a moment of pure magic.There was also the excitement of the end of the month celebration of Eid , which was a thrill with new clothes, bangles and lots of parties promised.
Ramazan is the month of glory, the month of benefits, the month of holiness, the month of prayers,the month of delicious mouth watering food, the month of rewards…..So everyone desperately wait for the pious month to begin.A whole month of Ramadan would always leave me calmer and help me turn into a more understanding person.The best part was the prayer, the bond between you and your creator increases tenfold, and one thing you can never get enough is the gorgeous food served during the Iftar invites !
Our Ramadan mornings started early at Sehri (before daybreak), waking up to the nutty aroma of ghee with square shaped paratha’s on the tawa, spicy omelettes being whipped up and a bottomless pot of masala wali chai being prepared.
And there were these iftar parties you could never avoid. Fun, food, and frolic rolled into one..where Iftari was not only the culmination of a day dedicated to discipline and self control, it is also symbolic of unity among people who break their fast at the exact same moment.
Me and my siblings would wait for days and days for an Iftar invitation to drop by, all my cousins and uncles along with their snobbish wife’s would gather up at a place and break the fast a, there would be laughter,banter, chattering among the women and not to forget we simply loved the partie for the extra ordinary FOOD!
But as time passed by, I understood the real meaning of Ramazan and started boycotting Iftar parties,I would somehow make an excuse and decline an invitation politely.
Last year my parents went on a religious pilgrimage (umrah) during ramazan and I had a hell lot of time coping up without my mother.Waking up early, making sure the house was not in a mess, praying the maid would never get sick, running a trillion errands all by myself etc etc. And it was then when one of favourite aunt paid me a visit and invited me to an Iftar party , I was tired of the same old bland and boring recipes I cooked ,i decided it was time to branch out and bring on the flavor!Heat up my Iftar dinner experience with the help of those mouth watering spicy and savory dinner recipes that would be served at the Iftar party.
The day I had to got his party I came back from a tiring day at work, with mom not around to help it was a hell lot of work. The maid was on an unannounced leave which left me inwardly muttering words that would have broken my fast :P. My aunt called in the evening and asked me to pick up another of my cousin residing in my neighbourhood.
I took a last look in the mirror, I had not taken effort to dress for a party as I knew, everybody would have their eyes on the food laid on the table rather than eyeing who wore what…Within minutes I was entering a beautiful house with a small garden neatly kempt. All present at the Iftar greeted each other, some were seated on silken janamazas praying, some were on the diwan reciting Qur’an .
As I waited in anticipation, I tried not to let my expectations get out of control with all of the heavenly aroma tickling my taste bud senses.The sugary aroma of fresh deep fried pakodas and sugary sweetness of roohabzah & trifles tickled my nose. As i further progressed into the house,I caught a glimpse of the pristine and lovely kitchen buzzing with activity. My aunt’s were happily chit chatting and doing their bit to put off those finishing touches to the voluptuous meal that would be served in a few minutes of time..A hurricane of savoury spicy aromas rocked my nose and created delectable images of food in my mind.. OH GAWD WHY ! So much for acting sane on the outside while all I wanted was to barge into the kitchen and inhale the scents of all those mouth watering dishes.Better taste and lick every bit of from the vessels.
It was getting harder to control what all those aromas were doing, sending delicious sensations doing funny things to my stomach, I prayed that the time would buy itself some wings and fly ! My stomach growled and I felt embarrassed. Two of my cousins pulled me across the dining table, and i was informed the men would break their fast, My eyes hungrily wavered over the dining table, and I forgot why i was here..The 12 hour fast had left me damn hungry and the food looks tenfold delicious when you are hungry!
Ramazan is the month of glory, the month of benefits, the month of holiness, the month of prayers,the month of delicious mouth watering food, the month of rewards…..So everyone desperately wait for the pious month to begin.A whole month of Ramadan would always leave me calmer and help me turn into a more understanding person.The best part was the prayer, the bond between you and your creator increases tenfold, and one thing you can never get enough is the gorgeous food served during the Iftar invites !
Our Ramadan mornings started early at Sehri (before daybreak), waking up to the nutty aroma of ghee with square shaped paratha’s on the tawa, spicy omelettes being whipped up and a bottomless pot of masala wali chai being prepared.
And there were these iftar parties you could never avoid. Fun, food, and frolic rolled into one..where Iftari was not only the culmination of a day dedicated to discipline and self control, it is also symbolic of unity among people who break their fast at the exact same moment.
Me and my siblings would wait for days and days for an Iftar invitation to drop by, all my cousins and uncles along with their snobbish wife’s would gather up at a place and break the fast a, there would be laughter,banter, chattering among the women and not to forget we simply loved the partie for the extra ordinary FOOD!
But as time passed by, I understood the real meaning of Ramazan and started boycotting Iftar parties,I would somehow make an excuse and decline an invitation politely.
Last year my parents went on a religious pilgrimage (umrah) during ramazan and I had a hell lot of time coping up without my mother.Waking up early, making sure the house was not in a mess, praying the maid would never get sick, running a trillion errands all by myself etc etc. And it was then when one of favourite aunt paid me a visit and invited me to an Iftar party , I was tired of the same old bland and boring recipes I cooked ,i decided it was time to branch out and bring on the flavor!Heat up my Iftar dinner experience with the help of those mouth watering spicy and savory dinner recipes that would be served at the Iftar party.
The day I had to got his party I came back from a tiring day at work, with mom not around to help it was a hell lot of work. The maid was on an unannounced leave which left me inwardly muttering words that would have broken my fast :P. My aunt called in the evening and asked me to pick up another of my cousin residing in my neighbourhood.
I took a last look in the mirror, I had not taken effort to dress for a party as I knew, everybody would have their eyes on the food laid on the table rather than eyeing who wore what…Within minutes I was entering a beautiful house with a small garden neatly kempt. All present at the Iftar greeted each other, some were seated on silken janamazas praying, some were on the diwan reciting Qur’an .
As I waited in anticipation, I tried not to let my expectations get out of control with all of the heavenly aroma tickling my taste bud senses.The sugary aroma of fresh deep fried pakodas and sugary sweetness of roohabzah & trifles tickled my nose. As i further progressed into the house,I caught a glimpse of the pristine and lovely kitchen buzzing with activity. My aunt’s were happily chit chatting and doing their bit to put off those finishing touches to the voluptuous meal that would be served in a few minutes of time..A hurricane of savoury spicy aromas rocked my nose and created delectable images of food in my mind.. OH GAWD WHY ! So much for acting sane on the outside while all I wanted was to barge into the kitchen and inhale the scents of all those mouth watering dishes.Better taste and lick every bit of from the vessels.
It was getting harder to control what all those aromas were doing, sending delicious sensations doing funny things to my stomach, I prayed that the time would buy itself some wings and fly ! My stomach growled and I felt embarrassed. Two of my cousins pulled me across the dining table, and i was informed the men would break their fast, My eyes hungrily wavered over the dining table, and I forgot why i was here..The 12 hour fast had left me damn hungry and the food looks tenfold delicious when you are hungry!
