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Ramadan 2027

Iftar Recipes

Ten Iftar recipes, from the sunnah opener of dates and water through soup, starters, a main and a dessert. Each has exact quantities, a realistic total time, and steps that say how long they take.

The Sunnah Opener: Dates, Water and a Light StartNot so much a recipe as the correct way to begin. How to break the fast so the meal that follows is comfortable rather than punishing.5 minserves 4Shorbat Adas — Red Lentil SoupThe soup that opens Iftar from Cairo to Damascus to Amman. Gentle on an empty stomach, ready in half an hour, and cheap enough to make in quantity.40 minserves 6Chicken SamosasThe Iftar table item people actually queue for. Fold a large batch before Ramadan, freeze them raw, and fry as many as you need each evening.70 minserves 24Chana ChaatCold, sharp, crunchy and ready in fifteen minutes with no cooking. The counterweight to a table full of fried things.15 minserves 6Dahi BaraySoft lentil dumplings soaked and served in chilled spiced yoghurt. Cooling, filling, and made entirely in advance.50 minserves 6Grilled Chicken TikkaMarinated in the afternoon, grilled in twenty minutes. The main course when the table already has enough fried food on it.40 minserves 4Fruit ChaatMixed fruit with lemon, chaat masala and a pinch of salt. Ten minutes, no cooking, and the fastest fluid on the table.12 minserves 6Beef NihariSlow-cooked shin in a deep, spiced gravy, thickened at the end. A weekend or special-occasion Iftar that repays every one of its four hours.223 minserves 6Rooh Afza Lemonade with Mint and Basil SeedsThe drink on almost every South Asian Iftar table, made properly: cold, not too sweet, with soaked basil seeds through it.10 minserves 6Qatayef with Cream and PistachioSmall pancakes cooked on one side only, folded around sweet cream and dipped in syrup. The dessert of Ramadan across the Arab world.85 minserves 20

How to build an Iftar that does not flatten you

The most common Iftar mistake is treating the first ten minutes as the whole meal. A long fast followed immediately by a large plate of fried food is the usual reason people feel heavy, sleepy and unable to pray comfortably afterwards.

The reported practice happens to solve this. Break the fast on dates and water, pray Maghrib, then eat. That fifteen-minute gap lets the stomach adjust, and it takes the edge off the hunger that otherwise drives a very large first plate.

A workable order of service

  1. Dates and water at the adhan, with the reported supplication.
  2. Maghrib.
  3. A light soup — lentil soup is the classic choice across the Arab world.
  4. One or two starters, ideally with something cold and sharp among them rather than everything fried.
  5. A protein main with a carbohydrate alongside.
  6. Dessert later in the evening rather than immediately, if at all.

Fluid

Drink steadily across the whole evening rather than a litre at once. A large volume taken quickly is largely passed rather than absorbed, and it also leaves no room for food. Water is the mainstay; soups, fruit and yoghurt all contribute as well.

Cooking for guests

Cook less than instinct suggests. People eat noticeably less after a long fast than hosts expect, especially once a starter course has been served. Ramadan produces a great deal of food waste in many households, which sits uneasily with a month about restraint — the Qur’an says to eat and drink without being excessive (Qur’an 7:31).