While writing this post, I have this smile on my face because this is going to be a big miss for many who might think that I’m going to talk about glorious recipes of great food items and dining out ideas on what to eat during Ramazan 🙂

So please be disappointed to learn that I’m not a dining out person. Having worked for quite sometime for the corporates and spending almost all Friday lunch breaks out (you get a longer one due to prayer time is added to it) at the restaurants, I have, sort of, moved on from this phase. Even if the husband asks to go out for food on Saturdays, I usually change the plan to going for a long drive than wasting two hours on a table, staring at each other and the world around and then eating the usual food – this is just not me!

So coming back to this post – I totally boycott eating out during Ramazan. It happened four years ago when I intentionally pledged with myself for not going out for Iftar. The food quality goes really bad everywhere (from my four year old experience). All these “All you can Eat” deals are extremely sub-standard. The food is not done properly, the management can’t seem to handle too many people and the service level drops.

Plus, I’m not a buffet person. I cannot seem to justify the sky rocketing prices with the little appetite I have. Two pakoras are in and I’m done for iftar. These things are surely not made for me. Irony of the fact is that no restaurant serves à la carte (not that I know of) and hence, nothing seems to work out for me. Lastly, men can run to the mosque for Mughrib prayer but women usually miss their salah which does not go well with the essence of our fast.

Having said that, you will be happy to know that I have no recommendation to make for any restaurant during Ramazan. So what option do we have? home-made food ? – hell yeah !!!

My food choices are pretty simple even when it comes to home-made iftar. I like to break my fast with a date, light drinks (Rooh Afzah and lemon Squash) followed by a bowl of Fruit Chaat OR Dahi Bhulas. I usually take nothing for dinner during Ramazan. Yes, my friend, the menu is over – you can now go to sleep =)

Lol, honestly I have no idea how to stuff myself with the speed of thunder just after breaking the fast. This doesn’t gel in with my eco-system. But my food preference cannot be set as an example for all so let’s be a little generous about the kind of food one must eat during Ramazan.

Fasting asks us to abstain from eating during a certain time period. Idea is to feel the pain of the poor, do kind deeds, focus on almsgiving and indulge in praying. However, when the fast is broken after 17 hours under scorching sun, the energy gets too low. In order to energize ourselves, a burst of sugar level is much needed. Hence, all sorts of drinks are welcome (minus fizzy drinks) if you are not diabetic.

Since a day longer abstinence on food do call out for some special celebration on breaking the fast – one or two special food items (preferably healthy and not too oily) such as fruit chat, dahi bhulas, pakoras, samosa should not hurt us, right? But having six kinds of pakoras, and a number of food items, sort of kill the essence of fast – that’s what I think.

Moderation is the key. It’s the time to remember others. Actually, it is the only month which is designed to feel about the others and not us. And at the end, Eid comes as a reward. Hence, I wish I could say it out loud to refrain from going out for iftar and be easy on yourself but I know I can’t because these are the kind of life choices one must make for himself.

Anyway, wish you all a happy and divine month of Ramazan – this one is surely special!