Khushboo Malhotra
Eid Mubarak! Eid al-Fitr, also known as the ‘festival of breaking the fast,’ marks the end of Ramadan and unites Muslims across the world for joyous celebrations.
Eid al-Fitr is celebrated during the first three days of Shawwal. Shawwal takes place during the tenth month of the Islamic calendar and starts with the sighting of the new moon.
Muslims from different countries honour different Eid traditions. However, one thing is constant: the food is always opulent and extravagant in taste. This holiday is often referred to as Meethi (sweet) Eid due to the variety of desserts consumed.
Here are some signature mainstays served during Eid al-Fitr in case you’re planning to hold a sumptuous feast at home this year!
Sheer Khurma
For Eid al-Fitr, it’s typical to indulge in sumptuous Sheer Khurma — a wholesome milk pudding from South Asia made with vermicelli-esque fine noodles (sevaiyaan) and cooked in whole milk for a rich, and creamy flavour. It’s served both hot and cold topped with nuts, dates and sugar and scented with spices like cardamom, saffron and rose water.
Kimami Sewaiyan
A similar counterpart of sheer khurma, Kimami sewaiyaan is a decadent dessert to relish in the festivities of Eid. It is rich, fragrant, and utterly scrumptious packed with the goodness of lotus seeds, almonds, coconut, cashews and raisins. It is simmered with a luscious mix of whole milk, khoya, sugar and roasted vermicelli for a thick consistency.
Shahi Tukda
Shahi Tukda literally translates to “royal piece,” and one bite of this mouthwatering dessert will transport you to heaven. Wow your guests with these ghee-fried bread slices soaked in rose and cardamom-scented sugar syrup. Then top it off to perfection with fragrant, sweetened, thickened milk called rabdi, sprinkled with nuts and saffron.
Baklava
Classic ‘Baklava’ remains a big part of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. It is a crunchy crisp phyllo pastry made by filling the layers of dough with pistachios, walnuts or almonds, butter, syrup and honey. The whole thing is soaked in a fragrant sweet syrup made with honey, lemon and cinnamon, and sometimes topped with kaymak or ice cream.
Lapis Legit
Influenced by the country’s history of Dutch colonisation, Lapis Legit is a traditional Indonesian spice-flavoured aromatic multilayered cake where each layer is made from poured and broiled batter, before being assembled into the finished cake. It’s perhaps one of the most time-consuming Eid dishes but it’s definitely worth waiting for!
Kebabs
One cannot imagine the Eid party without smoky, succulent and delectable kebabs made with a spicy minced meat mixture grilled on skewers. From shami kebabs, chicken seekh kebabs with rumali roti, galouti kebab, and more, these juicy appetizers are a great crowd-pleaser.
However, many believe kebabs are strictly for meat-lovers which is not entirely true. Be it the lip-smacking grilled paneer kebab, dahi ke kebab, or mushroom kebab.
Biryani
A quintessential Eid spread is incomplete without biryani, served together with raita, salad and pickles. The fragrant rice dish layered with succulent pieces of a whole spectrum of meats. From chicken and goat to lamb and mutton, biryani is hit across ages.
Mutton Korma
This robust mutton curry is swarming with aromatic masalas, cashew nut paste, rose water and saffron with succulent and spicy mutton pieces that pair very well with sheermal and bakarkhani.
Keema Samosas
These are deep-fried savoury pastry pockets filled with minced meat mixed with aromatic spices and are considered a popular appetizer on Eid.
Bolani
Eid celebrations cannot be imagined without serving some delicious and warm traditional Afghan bolanis. It’s a stuffed flatbread stuffed with leafy greens, lentils or minced meat and deep-fried for a thin crust, best served with yoghurt dipping sauces.
Butter Cookies
You might know these buttery delights as ghraybeh in the Middle East, naankhatai in South Asia, crescent-shaped sable cookies in North Africa, ma’amoul in Syria and Lebanon, kahk in Egypt, and klaicha in Iraq. While there are dozens of varieties and flavours, they all share a similar characteristic: a rich and utterly scrumptious buttery dough that instantly melts in your mouth.
Beef Rendang
The spicy coconut curry called beef rendang consists of beef slow-cooked in coconut milk and an aromatic blend of spices until the liquid reduces and the beef becomes fork-tender and caramelized. It’s enjoyed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and parts of the Philippines.
Lokum
The colourful jelly cubes of sweetness consist of rice flour and liquid and have a marshmallowy consistency, often topped with nuts and flavoured with floral essences promising endless Turkish delight.
Kaleji Curry
Chicken kaleji (liver) is a main course dish consisting of a spicy masala gravy with a unique flavour from the liver paired with chapatis or naan bread often served on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
You Xiang
This is a very important dish of the Hui Muslim community in China on the occasion of Eid. Often served with soup or rice, this is a simple fried, flour-based snack and many rituals surround its preparation and consumption. For instance, only the elders of the family can make you Xiang and must recite the Tasmiyah, a sacred Islamic phrase, prior to frying the dough.
Aseeda
This Yemeni jelly dessert is enjoyed in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Libya. There are many variations, but at its core aseeda is a ball of cooked wheat flour dough with a soft mouthfeel somewhere between a porridge and a dumpling. It’s made from wheat and honey and drizzled in date syrup, and it’s regularly served boiling hot and eaten fast!
Nihari
Nihari is a rich, slow-cooked meat stew flavoured with an array of soothing spices, kewda water and thickened with atta, or Pakistani & Indian-style durum whole wheat flour, containing a shank cut of beef, lamb and mutton, or goat meat, as well as chicken and bone marrow.
Briouat
Khushboo Malhotra
Khushboo is a Twitter Editor at Empoword Journalism. She is an Award-nominated lifestyle and pop culture journalist, writer, and budding entrepreneur aiming to break down the boundaries of cultural stigma and shame attached to mental health and sexual health and bring marginalised topics to light. Send your stories, tips, and press announcements to khushboomalhotrafreelance@gmail.com