One of the great rewards of any religious fast is the feast that breaks it. While heightened spiritual awareness, communion with the poor and drawing closer to God are at the heart of fasting, gathering at the table to celebrate its end is no less vital, and a lot more fun.
Next week, Muslims around the world will set aside the rigors of Ramadan, marked by prayer, charity and abstinence from food and drink during daylight hours, to enjoy an extraordinary meal for Eid al-Fitr (Ah-YEED al-FIT-er), or the “festival of breaking the fast.”
Because the Islamic calendar follows the moon, each year the dates of Ramadan shift forward by about 11 days. The monthlong fast of Ramadan, which began at sundown Sept. 12, ends with the sighting of the new moon.
“There seems to be a lot of mystery about what we do at Eid,” says Mahmoud Ajamia of Evanston. He and his family have been celebrating Eid al-Fitr in Chicago for 17 years, and they always invite non-Muslim friends to the feast. “They come and see that it’s really quite simple.”
Ajamia, a Palestinian American who grew up in Hebron, prepares a traditional Bedouin meal of mezze (Middle Eastern-style appetizers), mansaf (lamb braised in yogurt sauce), salad and baklava for Eid.
The mansaf, served on a large platter with toasted nuts and rice, was traditionally eaten with the right hand, while the left hand was held behind the back because it was considered bad luck.
This is the one day of the year that Ajamia does all of the cooking. His wife, Kristin Brown, is American.
“I do it because I want my kids to learn about the tradition,” he says. “Every generation should know where they come from and what their background is, so they know who they are and that they belong to something special. We need to know and understand our roots.”
Like many Muslims, Ajamia sees Eid as an opportunity to reach out and gather together new friends each year. To commemorate this, his wife asks guests to sign and date a special tablecloth used only for Eid. The signatures are then embroidered on the cloth. So each year when the Ajamias and their friends celebrate Eid, they see the history of their tradition, and the many friends they’ve shared it with, on the table before them.
“The centerpiece of our table is this cloth,” Ajamia says. “Over the years it represents a wonderful bringing together of many different people.
“Plus it’s just extremely good food and a lot of fun,” he adds. “I want to introduce others to the beautiful customs of our culture, and food is a perfect bridge for understanding.”
Natalie Mosallam of Chicago grew up in a Muslim Lebanese American household in Dearborn, Mich. This year, she hopes to bring her family to Chicago for Eid. “We always have a huge feast with the whole family,” she says.
“My mom and several of my aunts come over and cook all day. The final Eid is the big celebration of food, and adults give children gifts and money.”
That celebration of food for Mosallam’s family is no small feat: It includes numerous dips and breads, roasted baby lamb and shish kebab, then stuffed dishes, especially warak aleesh, or stuffed grape leaf rolls, as well the classic Lebanese dish of kibbe.
“My dad and I love eating kibbe with olive oil and Arabic bread,” she says. “As you eat, you hold a whole raw onion in one hand and take a bite right out of it with your meat and bread!”
Desserts include pastries, cookies and nuts.
“You can’t stop eating the luxurious chocolate-covered nuts we serve for Eid. The candies come wrapped in festive colored paper– and Arabs love nuts, so they’re in everything,” she says.
“We always invite non-Muslim friends for the Eid,” she adds. “We want them to come so we can fatten them up! We say ‘Eid Mubarak,’ which is ‘Blessed Eid,’ and we always explain what the significance of Ramadan and Eid are, to make everyone feel a part of the family.”
Mosallam describes the traditional Lebanese dishes her family makes with reverence, awe and downright excitement.
“This food is so good because it’s made with a lot of love,” she says. “That’s always been the case with our family and our people.”
Chicagoans can experience a traditional Middle Eastern Eid feast at Alhambra Palace, the 25,000- square-foot restaurant and night club at 1240 W. Randolph St. Executive chef Daniel P. Wright, formerly of Souk, has made Middle Eastern cuisine his specialty.
“People have been fasting and sacrificing for a month, so they’re going to come to Alhambra Palace ready for a fantastic meal,” he says. “And we’re happy to oblige!”
Wright’s extensive menu will include khardouf, which is an entire lamb stuffed with rice. The rice is accented with dill, mint and toasted pistachios. He will also serve mezze appetizers of hummus, baba ghanouj, tabbouleh, fattoush and falafel. The lamb is cooked until very tender, cut into pieces and served with the rice.
Middle Eastern pastries complete the meal with tea infused with a heady blend of mint and rose water.
Wright’s standard fare of kebabs, shawarma and fish will also be available. Everything is served family-style.
Traditional Muslims eat halal meat, which means that it is permissible under Islamic law because it has been properly blessed and specially handled.
“It costs us more money to bring in halal, but we know it’s important to some of our customers to do that,” Wright says. “The meat is treated much differently. I have gone and seen for myself how it’s done: a blessing is made that says the animal is killed in the name of God.
“I don’t like seeing the animals die, but as a chef I think it’s something I should see. And that halal leg of lamb is the freshest, most beautiful lamb I’ve ever seen.”
Though the more than 1 billion Muslims celebrating Eid this week the world over will each have their own traditions at the table, there is a commonality among them all of family ties and reaching out to others.
Just as the fast itself encourages solidarity with those who go without, the breaking of the fast is about sharing?both the food and the faith.
Mahmoud Ajamia considers it an honor to uphold his Eid traditions, “as a way to keep our history alive, and provide an entryway for others to experience the richness of our traditions.”
Toasted pine nut hummus
Preparation time:10 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
– Start the feast with hummus, a chickpea dip. Tahini (sesame paste) is available in specialty stores and in the Middle Eastern section of some supermarkets.
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) chickpeas, drained, rinsed
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts, see note
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup each: lemon juice, tahini
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon each: extra-virgin olive oil, chopped fresh parsley
Pita breads, quartered
1. Combine the chickpeas, 1/2 cup of the pine nuts, garlic and salt in a blender or food processor; blend until smooth. Gradually add the lemon juice and tahini by the tablespoon, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Add water by the tablespoon, increasing the amount if you prefer a thinner consistency.
2. Spread the hummus on a small plate. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of toasted pine nuts and parsley. Serve with pita bread.
Note: To toast pine nuts, cook in a small, dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving: 246 calories, 56% of calories from fat, 16 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 21 g carbohydrates, 7 g protein, 611 mg sodium, 4 g fiber
Bedouin braised lamb (Mansaf)
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
– Mahmoud Ajamia of Evanston serves this classic lamb dish for Eid al-Fitr, or the “festival of breaking the fast.” Dried yogurt (jameed) can be found at any Middle Eastern grocery store.
Lamb:
5 pounds lamb shoulder (cut in 4-ounce pieces) or shanks, fat trimmed
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon each: ground allspice, ground cardamom
1 container (16 ounces) dried yogurt stones (jameed) or Greek-style yogurt
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Rice:
5 cups water
3 cups basmati rice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon each: ground turmeric, freshly ground pepper
3 loaves lavash, saj or other Middle Eastern flat bread
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted, see note
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted, see note
1. Cover lamb with water in a Dutch oven; add the pepper, allspice and cardamom. Cover; heat to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook until almost cooked through, about 50 minutes. Remove 1 cup of the broth from the lamb; set aside for the rice.
2. Meanwhile, if using dried yogurt, place dried yogurt in 1 cup cold water; soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Blend in blender for 2 minutes, until liquefied. Strain; set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat; add garlic. Cook, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Add garlic and yogurt to lamb and broth in the Dutch oven; lower heat to low. Cook, without letting mixture come to a boil, until flavors come together, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, for the rice, combine water, rice, oil, turmeric, pepper and the 1 cup reserved lamb broth in a large saucepan. Heat to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover; lower heat to a simmer. Cook until rice is tender, about 30 minutes.
5. Heat the broiler; toast bread under the broiler until light golden and beginning to crisp, about 1 minute. Transfer to a single layer on a large platter. Ladle about 3 cups of the yogurt lamb broth over the bread to soften. Spread rice evenly over the top of the bread. Arrange meat on the rice. Sprinkle with almonds and pine nuts. Pass more yogurt lamb broth in a bowl at the table. Note: To toast slivered almonds and pine nuts, cook in a medium, dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving: 771 calories, 36% of calories from fat, 29 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 110 mg cholesterol, 75 g carbohydrates, 42 g protein, 189 mg sodium, 3 g fiber
Moroccan mint tea with rose water
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
– Chef Daniel Wright of Alhambra restaurant serves this version of mint tea at the restaurant. Rose water can be found at any Middle Eastern grocery store and many other grocery stores.
6 sprigs fresh mint
4 cups water
1/3 cup high quality loose black tea
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon rosewater
Combine the mint, water, tea, sugar and rose water in a medium saucepan. Heat to a boil; turn off heat. Steep 3-5 minutes. Strain through a strainer; serve.
Nutrition information per serving: 27 calories, 1% of calories from fat, 0.02 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 7 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 7 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
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Where to shop for ingredients:
— Here are a few markets in the area that sell Middle Eastern foods:
Al-Khyam Bakery and Grocery, 4738 N. Kedzie Ave., 773-583-3077
Middle East Bakery and Pastry, 1512 W. Foster Ave., 773-561-2224
Al Rasheed Bakery, 3255 W. 63rd St., 773-925-4711
Palestine Bakery, 10326 S. Harlem Ave., Palos Hills, 708-599-8424
Pita Inn Market & Bakery, 3924 Dempster St., Skokie, 847-675-0025
— For reservations and information about Alhambra Palace’s Eid feast, call the restaurant, 312-666-9555.
— Maureen Abood
