Breaking the fast with friends

Last weekend we had our first invitation to a friend's house to break the fast during this month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a holy month where Muslims often refrain from eating or drinking from sunrise until sunset. When they break the fast in the evening, it is called If-tar. We were so excited to be able to experience a real, local If-tar with friends. We learned the traditional ways they break the fast like what they eat and drink and when.

Here is a picture of our friend's daughter, Farah. I helped the wife in the kitchen before If-tar to finish preparing all of the food. The things on the round silver tray are like tiny pancakes filled with cream and pinched together on the sides. She then baked them, dipped them in a syrup (water and sugar mixture) and placed a pistachio nut in each one.
These are the larger pancake type desserts. We filled these with a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, coconut, and chopped walnuts. We then pinched the sides together, baked them, and drizzled them with the same syrup. These were my favorite! They totally melted in your mouth!

These were the main dish of the dinner. The dish is called Mashi and it consists of all types of vegetables cored or hollowed out and filled with rice and ground lamb. They are baked in the oven sitting up in a pot of tomato sauce with herbs. This is Daniel's new favorite local dish.

Once you hear the call to prayer which is the sign that If-tar has begun, you start out by eating dates. They believe this is the healthiest way to break an all-day fast. Some types of these dates are only sold during Ramadan. We were also served a fresh apricot juice that is only sold at this time of year as well.

This is the whole spread. After dates and juice, you normally eat a simple soup, then proceed to the main course. Besides the Mashi, we also had a rotisserie chicken, a salad, and special Ramadan bread. Then it was the yummy desserts, coffee, and later some fresh fruit. We experienced some seriously good hospitality that night!