Clever ways to prepare for Iftar during Ramadan

The interesting thing about Ramadan is that even though people fast all day and look forward to breaking the fast with Iftar, the evening meal isn’t necessarily the big feast you might think it is.

“The thing to remember,” says food blogger and TASTE contributor Saadiyah Hendricks, “is that because you’re fasting, your stomach is shrinking. This means that by the time you’re ready to sit down for Iftar, you’re not going to eat nearly as much as you thought you would!”

Fatima Saib, TASTE’s own commercial content editor and author of cookbook The Hungry Table, concurs: “We don’t do a huge feast every night – unless there’s a special occasion like a birthday. That said, you obviously want a meal that is delicious and filling that won’t leave you feeling bloated, especially for the men who will go to mosque later.”

So, while Iftar won’t be as big a feast as you would find at Eid al-Fitr (when the end of Ramadan is celebrated), a lot of thought goes into getting a nourishing meal on the table, and a little prep work (and the freezer) can go a long way.

1. Keep it light

Says Saadiyah: “My advice would be to make a big batch of wholesome soup. This is easy to prepare ahead, divide into portions, and defrost on the day. Plus, soup is generally easier on the fasting stomach than richer foods. And it’s just a bit lighter, especially if you break the fast with a date or a savoury bite.”

Try this recipe for a nourishing chicken soup:

Creamy chicken soup recipe

Another thing Saadiyah has noticed is that this time can be quite indulgent. “There’s a lot of deep-frying going on,” she laughs. Just think about all those savouries such as samoosas, spring rolls and half-moons on the table. “Some cravings definitely come to the surface!” she says. But it can be helpful to see how you can make meals more wholesome. One thing she has noticed is that people are using their air-fryers to make things like samoosas. “And if you’re going to make curries in advance, I would suggest trying some of the non-cream-based curries, to cut out a little bit of richness.”

2. Prep ahead

While Fatima says that many families like to prepare fresh meals on the day, she likes having some prepped meals at the ready. “I always have a few containers of roasted tomato sauce in the freezer. It’s quick to defrost for a quick pasta or to pour over chicken breasts before they go into the oven.” Fatima uses fresh tomatoes, but you can also use canned tomatoes as in this recipe:

10-minute tomato sauce recipe

Another favourite of Fatima’s is making delicious meatballs using chicken mince for one batch and beef mince for another, spiced differently, then freezing them. “These are great with dhal or rice – or again – with pasta.” Try these lamb meatballs to make ahead and freeze.

Lamb meatballs in a sweet, sour and spicy tomato sauce recipe

Finally, Fatima’s other clever strategy is brining whole chickens and freezing them. “I like buying two whole chickens, marinating them in a butter brine with heaps of garlic, then freezing them. When I want to cook one, I take it out in the morning and it’s ready to pop into the oven by the time I need to cook. Then, I simply pour some stock around it in a baking dish and add a bunch of veggies.” To make this even more useful, she uses the leftovers to shred for easy chicken mayo sarmies for Suhoor the next morning.

3. Something sweet

When it comes to sweet things, there are a few little treats that can be made in advance or whipped up on the day. “If you’re keen to do some prep work, bollas can be made ahead and frozen, then the syrup can be added on the day,” says Saadiyah.

Bollas recipe

Fatima says: “By the time dessert rolls around, you’re often just too stuffed to eat (even though you probably didn’t eat much at all!), but when I do want to make something quickly, I can always depend on a roll of Woolies puff pastry.” It’s quick to defrost and so easy to cut into squares, score a border around the edge, bake and then fill with fresh fruit, cream and caramel.