Islam Fasting Recipes
In Ramadan the day's food gathers at its two edges: suhoor, the pre-dawn meal eaten before the fast begins, and iftar, the sunset meal that breaks it. The iftar table opens gently — dates, soup, salad — before the grills and sweets arrive; suhoor favours slow fuel that carries a person to evening. The dishes below are the traditional ones, grouped by the meal they belong to, from Lebanese shorbat adas to Moroccan harira. For the fast itself, see What is Ramadan?.
Iftar — breaking the fast
Recipe · IftarFattoush (Lebanese Bread Salad)Lebanon's crunchy bread salad — crisped pita, romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, radish and herbs under a lemon-sumac dressing with pomegranate molasses — the fresh counterpoint of the iftar table.30 min · 6 servings
Recipe · IftarHarira (Moroccan Tomato, Lentil and Chickpea Soup)Morocco's beloved harira — tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas and fresh herbs thickened to a silky broth — the soup that breaks the fast at sunset, traditionally served with dates.40 min · 6 servings
Recipe · IftarOm Ali (Egyptian Bread Pudding)Om Ali — Egypt's great bread pudding of crisped palmiers soaked in sweetened hot milk, crowned with cream and broiled to a caramelised top — a Ramadan-table fixture, served bubbling.25 min · 8 servings
Recipe · IftarQatayef (Stuffed Semolina Pancakes)Qatayef — golden semolina pancakes stuffed with sweet cheese or spiced walnuts, crisped and dipped in syrup — the dessert that belongs to Ramadan nights in the Levant.1 h · 24 qatayef (2 dozen)
Recipe · IftarShish Tawook (Lebanese Grilled Chicken Skewers)Lebanon's shish tawook — halal chicken marinated in yogurt, lemon, garlic and tomato paste, grilled until charred at the edges — served with toum and warm pita at iftar.25 min · 3 servings
Recipe · IftarShorbat Adas (Lebanese Red Lentil Soup)Lebanon's golden red-lentil soup with cumin — the bowl that opens iftar tables across the Levant: gentle after a day of fasting, and ready in about 45 minutes.45 min · 4 servings
Recipe · IftarVegetable Samosas (Potato and Pea)Flaky, golden samosas with a spiced potato and pea filling — the South Asian staple that appears on iftar tables from Karachi to London, fried low and slow for a shattering crust.1 h 30 min · 14 samosasSuhoor — the pre-dawn meal
Recipe · SuhoorCheese Fatayer (Lebanese Cheese Pies)Cheese fatayer — soft olive-oil dough boats filled with feta, mozzarella, parsley and nigella seeds — baked ahead and warmed at suhoor, the Lebanese breakfast pastry that freezes like a dream.2 h 15 min · 18 fatayer
Recipe · SuhoorFoul Medames (Egyptian Fava Beans)Egypt's national breakfast — fava beans simmered with cumin and dressed with lemon, garlic and olive oil — the slow-burning, protein-rich bowl that carries a fasting day from suhoor.30 min · 4 servings
Recipe · SuhoorLabneh and Olive PlateLabneh — yogurt strained overnight to a thick, tangy cheese — spread in a shallow bowl under good olive oil, with marinated olives and warm pita: the simplest suhoor plate of the Levant.10 min · about 1 kg labneh; serves 8 as a plate
Recipe · SuhoorShakshuka (Eggs in Spiced Tomato Sauce)Eggs poached in a smoky tomato and pepper sauce with cumin, finished with feta — a one-pan suhoor with the protein and staying power a long fasting day asks for.35 min · 4 servings