As i was going through the Culture forum,(which i do every half hour), I thought perhaps folks could share the recipes of their favorite ramzan meals/snacks/sweets. Also categorize them into what u prefer eating during sehri, for iftar, and for dinner. And for those who have lived both, in and out of Pakistan, how have ur Ramzan/eid eating habits changed.
In Pakistan, for sehri, I always remember having parathas with ‘anything’. Anything could be the salan from the night before, or andey, or halwa, or dahi, usually accompanied with meethi lassi.
For iftar, the list was always long. Doodh with rooh afza was the most popular, combined with khajoor, samosas and pakoras. Then there used to be dahi barey on occasion, and of course, either fruit or channa chaat.
Dinner would be routine, much like dinner on any other day of the year.
Eid started with sewiyan of course. That would be followed by loads of sweets, mithai, shahi tukrey, an extravagant lunch and dinner, which would consist of nothing but meat.
Even though most of these items are available here in the US in some way shape or form, I have never felt ramzan/eid to be the same as it was back home. I believe its only because of the lack of social setup and cultural touch here, which we have in abundance in Pakistan, where u can actually smell Ramzan and Eid in the air. U turn on the tv, and u have eid programs..u go out, and u see eid sales..u go to restaurants, and u have festive food..u go to masjids, and u can feel the difference in the mood of people. Its never the same without family and friends.