Iftar Ideas

There are less than 10 days of Ramadan left! I can't believe it's almost over! Some of you may be hosting an iftar soon, so I made a list of iftar food that you can go through and hopefully pick out the ones that you like. :)

I love hosting iftars at my house but it's a lot of work! I co-hosted one last year with my sister and it was a success!  We prepared/cooked everything except for the biryani (credit goes to my dad). You will see a couple of photos in this post from last year's iftar.

Last year's iftar

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Iftar Starters

Although most people break their fast with dates, you can also serve drinks, fruit salad and even soup. 

• Dates

You can place dates in a plate or if you want to have a nice presentation, you can fill them up with nuts. If you do so, I would suggest you to place dates alone because some of your guests may be allergic to nuts. 

     Almond filled dates: 

• Soak the almonds overnight and peel off the skin the following day.
• Slice the dates just enough so you can fit the almond (don't cut it into 2)
• Remove pit and fill it with almonds
• Sprinkle some shredded coconut and/or sliced pistachio (optional)

Last year, I placed 2 plates of dates: one with simply dates surrounded by sliced pistachios and shredded coconut and other filled with almonds sprinkled with pistachio and shredded coconut.

Dates

• Drinks
• Rooh Afza is very popular South Asian syrup that is usually added in milk or water. It's very popular during Ramadan! I love mixing it with water because it's less filling and hydrating. It's also energizing. 

Rooh Afza Milk

• Jallab is a popular Middle Eastern syrup that's usually served during iftar. It's made with dates, grapes molasses and rose water. It's mixed with water and ice topped with pine nuts and raisins. Click here for the recipe. 

Photo by Plaintain Leaf (Andhra Recipes)

• Fresh Juice/Smoothies: Since Ramadan is in summer this year, you can make fresh juice or smoothies using summer fruits: watermelon, mango, etc.  

• Fruit Salad

I love eating fruit salad during Ramadan because it's nutritious and light.

     What I add in my fruit salad: 

• Apple
• Banana
• Grapes
• Pear
• Pomegranate Seeds
• Freshly squeezed orange juice 
• Chaat Masala (I don't add too much but I simply sprinkle some and mix all fruits)

    Watermelon Bowl: I like using watermelon as a bowl for the fruit salad.

• Cut watermelon in half and empty it with a spoon
• Wash it and fill it up with fruits (we didn't put all the of the fruit salad in it but instead put a clear plastic bowl and put the fruit salad there)
• You can use the watermelon to make a salad/juice or place it around the watermelon in a plate.

Fruit Salad

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Iftar Food

Here are a couple of food ideas. You may notice some of them are numbered. I've included few details/photos of those items in the following section.

I tried including different cultures/ethnicities and these are represented by following colors:

• Red: Indian/Pakistani
• Green: Afghan
• Blue: Middle Eastern

Soups
Lentil
Carrot
Harira
Ash

Salads

1. Fattoush

Tabouleh

Greek Salad

Appetizers

2. Samosa

Pakora
3. Dahi Baray/Vada

4. Gol Gappay/Pani Puri

5. Chaat Papri

Chapli Kebab
6. Wara Enab
Cheese Rakakat
7. Fatayer
8. Kibbeh
Falafel
9. Mantu
Ashak

Main

10. Biryani

Tandoori Chicken
11. Butter Chicken
Kofta curry
Shahi Paneer
Kafta
12. Shishtaouk
Al Kabsa

13. Kabuli Pulao
Kofta Chalaow
Sabzi
14. Caramelized Chicken
Roasted Chicken
Lasagna

Sides
Raita
Chutney (tamarind)
Naan
Hummus
Baba Ghanoush
Pita Bread
Rice

Desserts

15. Falooda

Ras Malai
16. Gajar Ka Halwa
Baklava
Sellou
Cream Rolls

17. Chocolate  Mousse
Cupcakes

18. Cookies

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Details and Pictures

1. Fattoush 

 I love this salad! I had some at Lebanese restaurants but my friend also made it at home and it was delicious. I found an online recipe but haven't tried making it myself yet. 

Click here for recipe. 

Fattoush

2. Samosa  

These are quite popular during iftars! I don't like the store-bought samosas, so I usually make them at home. I love the meat ones but I make some vegetarian ones for some of my friends who don't eat meat. 

Check out my video to see how I make my meat samosas:  

3. Dahi Baray/Dahi Vada 

I've never made it from scratch. I actually buy the frozen "baray/vada" and make my yogurt mixture and sprinkle it with coriander, red chutney and chilli powder. 

Check out Crave Cook Click website for the recipe.

Photo by Crave Cook Click

4. Pani Puri/Gol Gappay  

I usually buy the pack that comes with gol gappay and pani puri paste that you mix with water. I also make chickpeas and yogurt mixture separately. 

Photo found on Maharani Weddings website

5. Chaat Papri 

I love chaat papri! You can use samosa instead of papri and there, you have you samosa chaat.

Photo by Sula Indian Restaurant

Here's a recipe of chaat papdi (papri):

6. Wara Enab  

I've had this several times at my arab friends' homes. It's basically grape leaves usually stuffed with ground beef and rice. 

Check out Global Table Adventure website for the recipe.

Photo by Global Table Adventure

7. Fatayer  

Check out Chicho's kitchen for recipe. 

Photo by Leuke Recepten

8. Kibbeh 

I really like this meat appetizer. It's quite filling too. I've always bought them from this middle eastern stores or had them at restaurants. 

Photo by BurCArioca

9. Mantu 

If you haven't tried mantu, then you're certainly missing out. This Afghan dish is so delicious! My best friend is Afghan, so I've had it many times at her house especially during iftars and parties. 

Mantu

Here's a video of mantu recipe found on Sarah Zaffar's YouTube channel:

UPDATE: I've tried this recipe and my family loved it. I added minced meat to my lentil sauce because my best friend's mom does the same and I love it. Other than that I used all the ingredients that she mentioned in her video. I wasn't always sure the quantity she used, so I just estimated it. Nonetheless, it turned out delicious! I'm going to try to note down the ingredients next time and try to perfect it!

However, here are the ingredients that I've used along with some of the quantities: 

• Wonton Wrappers: I bought the wonton wrappers from Asian store but you can make it at home. There are few recipes online. Click here to see one of the recipes by Kitchen Simplicity.

• Mantu Filling: I'm not sure how much ground meat she used, so I just assumed she used half kg in total. I also reduced some of the other ingredients. 

• Ingredients: Half kg ground veal; 1 tbsp oil; 2 onions; garlic; 1 tbsp coriander powder; Black pepper

• Lentil & Meat sauce: I didn't use the pressure cooker. I simply boiled the gram split lentil separately and then added it to the sauce and cooked it covered for a bit with some water.

• 2 tbsp oil; 1 onion; Quarter kg ground veal; 1 tomato; garlic, 2 tbsp tomato paste; Half tsp turmeric and salt to taste; Water

• Yogurt: Yogurt, dried mint leaves, garlic and water (watch her video). However, I did omit garlic.

**I will make a blog post on it in the upcoming months with more precise ingredients and directions. It was my first time making it, so I didn't really note down the ingredients and/or just went with the flow. 

10. Biryani 

 I can make a lot of things but biryani is definitely not one of them. I made it twice in my life and it didn't turn out that great. I used National Biryani Masala Mix both times and followed the instructions but put less because it's very spicy!

Biryani

11. Butter Chicken  

I haven't really found a really good online recipe that I love but I've tried this one and is not bad: 

12. Shish Taouk: 

Here's a recipe by The Spice Kit Recipes: 

Photo by The Spice Kit Recipes

 13. Kabuli Pulao

I love kabuli pulao! It's can be made with lamb, beef or chicken. Most online recipes show the method of caramelizing sugar but my best friend's mom taught me this recipe using chicken and onion broth. I've tried the sugar method long time ago and it was a total fail but the latter method is much easier!

Caramelized sugar method: Recipe by Rehana Du Jour:

Photo by Rehana Du Jour

Chicken & Onion methods: Video recipe found on Sarah Zaffar's YouTube channel:

14. Caramelized Chicken:  

This is a sweet chicken recipe that is so easy to make but tastes so good! It's a crowd-pleaser. Click here to check out my blog post on it (recipe included).  

15. Falooda

I've never made it from scratch; I normally buy the falooda pack and follow instructions on the back. My sister and I made falooda last year for iftar. We poured in each plastic cup and refrigerated it overnight. 

Falooda

I've recently watched BubblegumHijab's video recipe and it looks so good:

16. Gajar Ka Halwa

BubblegumHijab's video recipe of it looks so delicious:

17. Chocolate Mousse

Last year we put chocolate mousse in small plastic cups and small piece of wafers. We also gave our mini plastic spoons. Everyone loved it!

Click here for recipe.

Chocolate mousse

18. Cookies

My friend made these cookies last year and they tasted so good! She individually packed them and so, I handed one out to each guest to take home. I find it's such a cute idea. You can either serve them or wrap them individually and give them as favors.

Ramadan Karim Cookies

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Few Tips...

• Some of your friends may have restrictions or allergies, so always keep that in mind when deciding what to serve. One of my close friends doesn't eat meat, so I usually make sure I have vegetarian main dish and appetizers for her. 

• Refrigerate your desserts overnight. If you're planning on serving pudding, mousse or anything of that sort, place them in cups or bowls, so you don't have to serve each person the day of the iftar.

• Arrange a praying spot for your guests :)

Ramadan Kareem!