Iftar, the feast at the end of each day’s fasting during Ramadan (which starts on the evening of the 17th of this month) has always held a certain fascination for me; I love finding out what everyone’s eating, seeing people’s joy in time-honoured pleasures, and in the process often learning about dishes and traditions unfamiliar to me. This beautiful book, The Ramadan Kitchen, teaches me so much more. It is written with elegance and grace, conveying gentle intimacy and reflectiveness. It addresses the fast and the feast in ways that catch the particular rhythms of the period, so that I – a person without religion – instantly understand. That may not be of any importance, I readily accept, and may even sound like an impertinent remark, but I am simply trying to explain how this book made me feel, and why I’m grateful for it.
I should also say that I am no less grateful for the recipes that follow, the dishes of Iftar, those joyful, celebratory, life-giving feasts: Shurbad (Lamb, Oat and Barley Soup); Hummus with Spiced Beef; the aromatic Somali rice, Bariis Somali; Upside-Down Chicken Rice; a one-pot lamb pasta, Baasto Isku Karis; a wealth of breads and pancakes, the buttery Malawax, a special draw; the cardamom-spiced beignets, Bur; Somali Chai Tres Leches; Spiced Date Cake with Caramel Sauce; and glorious Kunafa, the crispy, syrup-soaked pastry with cream. “And while many of these dishes are often made during Ramadan and Eid”, Ilhan Mohamed Abdi writes, “they are not limited to these occasions. They are meals that can live in your kitchen year-round.” I concur most enthusiastically! And I am very happy to be sharing with you today her sumptuous Macaroni Béchamel.
