by Gulrukh Tausif

Created on: September 07, 2009   Last Updated: May 10, 2012

Fasting in Ramadan sometimes gets akin to feasting in Ramadan as people approach the iftar time with anticipation of consuming good food after fasting all day. With changing times, the food preference of people has also changed and many western, Italian, Chinese and Arab dishes have become part of Pakistani cuisine. However, some traditions never change and people of Pakistan still look forward to their favorite iftar meals in Ramadan. Most of these items are prepared at home by women and great planning goes into the preparation of these savory iftar dishes

Dates:

Dates of every hue, color, texture and price are consumed in abundance in Ramadan. They are highly nutritious and an ideal food item with which to break the fast. Dates can be eaten plain or they can be seeded and filled with almonds, pistachio, cream, butter etc for enhanced flavor. They can be rolled in desiccated coconut or sprinkled with rose essence for fragrance and aesthetics. Dates are also covered with edible silver foil called "warq" to make them more appealing and giving them a place of honor on the iftar dining table.

Samosas:

No iftar in Pakistan is complete without this triangular, spicy and fried delicacy. The wafting aroma that comes from fried samosas is enough to make one salivate and look forward to the iftar time. Samosas can be filled with mashed potatoes, onions, spicy mince meat, cheese, chicken or cooked vegetables. It is usually served with mint, coriander or tamarind chutney. Literally thousands of samosa stalls spring up during Ramadan in every nook and corner of the country where vendors start frying this savory iftar item well before the maghrib prayers to meet the demands of the fasting populace.

Jalebi:

Jalebi is a pretzel shaped sweet dish that is generally eaten with samosas to counter their salty and spicy taste. It is also made of fried batter that is poured in concentric circles and then soaked in sugar syrup. It is usually bright orange and yellow due to food coloring.

Pakoras:

Another mouth watering iftar item, pakoras are fried balls of gram flour. A variety of vegetables including onions, potatoes, spinach, coriander leaves, eggplant and green chilies can be cut into tiny pieces and mixed with spicy flour batter. They are then deep fried to make tasty fritters. Onion rings, potato wedges and cauliflower florets can also be coated with the batter and fried to make a heavenly dish. The more adventurous like to dip whole green chilies in the batter and fry them

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