Edited by Yara Alsayes
One of the most vital parts of Ramadan is the breaking of bread aspect to it; when families gather to break their fast together. Iftar time is a very special time when even extended family meets to break fast at sunset, and the door is always open for any guest to drop in and share the meal. While Ramadan should be a month of compassion and letting go of earthly pleasures, we’ve noticed that the Egyptian dining table contradicts this sometimes. Here are five ways the Egyptian sufra is anti-Ramadan.
Too Much Unnecessary Food for the sake of Variety
Egyptians like to put a huge number of dishes on Ramadan Sufra. When family is invited over providing one or two main dishes isn’t enough. There has to be at least three or four different main dishes, just as many side dishes! That’s not to mention salads and soups. This results in so much food being wasted instead of going to those who really need it.
“While Ramadan should be a month of compassion and letting go of earthly pleasures, we’ve noticed that the Egyptian dining table contradicts this sometimes.”
Everything is Fried
Nowadays most of the food served on an Egyptian Ramadan Sufra is fried, which in such large quantities can cause some serious health issues. Ramadan is a time for you to detox your mind, body and soul, and detoxifying involves clean food that won’t give you a heart attack!
No Healthy Food!
If you check the salad to fried food ratio on your Ramadan sufra, you would instantly panic. When you haven’t eaten all day, your best bet is to go for fresh vegetables and fruits, yoghurt, and basically hydrating, light foods. However, this isn’t considered proper Ramadan food in Egypt.
We Eat More instead of Less
A Ramadan gathering has “rounds” that start since Maghrib prayer; each round is extremely important and not to be missed, starting from dates and Ramadan drinks and finally to deadly desserts. This ends up with us eating more than we normally do!
“Ramadan is a time for you to detox your mind, body and soul, and detoxifying involves clean food that won’t give you a heart attack!”
Showing off
We can all be a little pretentious sometimes. Sometimes these gatherings end up being competitions where each family tries to top the other’s sufra, resulting in huge amounts of unnecessary waste.