It’s detox time!

This is not a diet regime I am starting lol, just the month of Ramadan/Ramzan (in Urdu) is here. Since I am a Muslim I thought it would be nice to introduce you to the fasting month observed by all Muslims. It is a month in the Islamic calendar where we have to observe fasting from dawn till dusk.

This is particularly an exciting time for all Muslims because at the end we celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr (in short Eid) which is our biggest religious event like Christmas. Muslims follow the Lunar calendar that’s why our months are different from January, February but we normally follow that in our daily lives.

This month has a completely different aura about it. The excitement from its start and leading towards the end keeps us on our toes. Ramadan has come in summers for most of us except Australia and New Zealand (I believe who are in winter season at the moment) hence we observe very long fasting hours. In Pakistan (my native country) it will be for around 15 hours and some in Europe will go up to 20 hours max.

The fast it self is known as ‘roza’. The breakfast is known as ‘Sahur (Arabic) Seh-ri (Urdu). It is to be completed in the early hours of morning before the first rays cracks on to the sky. The breaking of the fast happens just as the sun dips and is known as ‘Iftar or Iftari time’. How do we know when the first rays come up and descend? We have prayer calls 5 times a day to inform us of timings hence, there is a prayer call and we know when to stop and when to break the fast!

I called it the detox month because not only its great for internal detoxing of the body but for Muslims its an important time to get involved into our religious and spiritual duties that many of us might ignore otherwise. It also increases our appetite strength which in turns teaches us to keep our nerves and body in control.

Traditionally, dates are an important part of the meal, especially to break the fast. Food is of course a big part of this month. Much of it has to be kept at bay but still many special treats for iftar time are prepared and usually prep starts  2 hours before (this is a cultural thing not a religious duty).

special iftar treat (middle) known as jalebi

One of the best things in my country are the iftars set up on the side walks for people who cannot reach home in time or the poor who cannot afford to eat lavish iftar treats throughout the month. If you are stuck in traffic around 10-15 mins before iftar time, there will be people handing out water bottles, juice and a box of treats.

The malls and shopping areas a lit with decorative lights during the last 15 days as Eid is coming up and everyone is running here and there to grab their outfits, makeup, setting up their their homes in order for guests and making special treats for Eid (food again). This struggle is real people as the traffic gets worse and with fasting sometimes tempers roar on streets which is not the best sight and should be controlled.

During the last week we have a few ‘big nights’ where it is required for us pray all night. There are various iftar dinners and iftar parties that are hosted where guests are invited and lavish iftar and dinner treats are prepared at home. So keep in check for OOTD iftar, Fotd iftar lol and probably sehri (morning breakfast) will be more like “i woke up like this” blogs.

I can go on and on about this month as it is one of my favorite times of the year we wait for it eagerly! So to sum it all up I am excited to share my food and musings with all of you.

Let me know if you know about it and if any time have attended iftars and join me on:

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