Ramadan Mays til be in int's second week and many a home chef may feel rushed to create a satisfying meal to break the feast. The problem is that life - and mostly work interferes with it.There are ways to handle this and create an after sundown feast that's both satisfying and delicious.
New Contributor and Bon Appetit associate editor ZAynap Issa shows how to have a good meal ready in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section,Ramadan is for a month and has a fasting period between dawn and sundown. The first meal is suhir which has some breakfast staples like eggs and porridge along with oats and melon. There should be a lightness to it while he evening meal , or iftar has more substantial, heartier fare. Ms. Issa recommends home chefs audit their cooking strengths first of all. Make e something familiar , That way it will be quicker to prep and cook, She suggests a dish like pasta Alla Norma and has a recipe for a spiced eggplant and tomato one.It's a filling dish , full of eggplant , yogurt and mint along with the comforting weight of rigatoni pasta (or any big chunky kind) Stock, your freezer, pantry and fridge with intention also . Avoid a daily grocery trip,. Have plenty of beans and lentils along with spices blends like garam masala. Again these make it easier to prep a hearty meal without too much mixing,
Another must is prep ahead to get iftar ready quickly. The family will be hungry after those hours of fasting and they'll want something ready to eat.Working home chefs should use the weekends to get dinners ready or use the early evening hours. Basics like rice can be cooked in large batches and then refrigerated or frozen. It's easy to thaw out in the microwave Ginger and garlic pasta can also be made ahead in the blender. Onions can be peeled and trimmed , and cast last for up to a week in the fridge.Chutneys and hummus are other dishes that can be made ahead. Ms.Issa gives tow other recipes that cut down on prep and cooking time as well. There is cumin chicken fried rice.that uses a pound of boneless , skinless chicken parts along with scallions and a variety of different spices slike cumin and fresh ginger. It's serve with day old jasmine rice She also has a recipe for meat pitas which is sort of like a pizza. The pitas are split in half and each half is topped with ground beef or ground lamb .There are easily mixed spices to mix in the meat These are broiled in the oven on a sheet pan and have a variety of toppings from hummus to pomegranate molasses.
Iftar is a meal that should enjoyed with the family. It should be un hurried and savored. These dishes can help in creating that.
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