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Day of Feasting: Eid ul-Fitr

2008_10_01-Eid02.jpgEid mubarak! The Jewish high holidays and Rosh Hashanah are not the only feast days being celebrated this week, as many of you pointed out. Eid ul-Fitr is being celebrated today by North American Muslims (it was celebrated in other parts of the world yesterday). Now, Eid is a fascinating and irresistible holiday for anyone interested in food; it involves feasting like you've hardly ever seen!

 
 

The feast marks the end of Ramadan - a month-long fast. During Ramadan observant Muslims do not eat or drink from sun-up to sundown. On Eid families get up early, go to the mosque for a short prayer, and then return home to a lavish breakfast and lunch. The food is delicious and plentiful in a way that can only be appreciated after a fast. It has similarities in this sense to an Orthodox Easter, which breaks a vegan fast on Easter morning with all sorts of meats, cheeses, and rich desserts.

What is eaten during Eid? The food is all very important, as you can imagine. It varies from country to country.

2008_10_01-Eid.jpgAbove you can see a typical Malaysian spread on Eid morning. It includes satay, rendang, and "The Very Famous Pudding." We're dying to know more about a pudding bearing that title. Rendang, a rich curry, is a very common Eid dish in Asia. You can find a similar recipe here at The Kitchn:

Malaysian Beef Curry

At the top of the post is another Malaysian sweet: almond London cookies. You can find a recipe for these here:

Almond London Cookies

2008_10_01-Eid03.jpgHere is an Eid dish from India - a sweet made with vermicelli noodles. In India, Africa, and the Middle East, this sort of sweet is common, as is the layered rice dish of biryani.

Biryani is utterly wonderful - here's a recipe to try:

Biryani

Here is one more Indian sweet we love:

Carrot Halwa

More on Eid food traditions at the BBC, with a recipe for Klaicha, a date-filled pastry

Are you celebrating Eid? How did you break your fast? What sorts of dishes are traditional in your household?

(Images: Flickr member deqalb, Flickr member My Life Story, and Flickr member code martial - all licensed for use under Creative Commons)

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Recipe Roundup, Eid, Eid ul-Fitr

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Comments (4)

Some additional details: the fast, or sawn, is broken with a small grouping of food (dates and water or milk) before iftar (evening meal) is shared with family and friends.

I observed Ramadan with my best friend two years ago and it was a great, personally challenging experience.

posted by Amandica on October 1st 2008 at 12:09pm
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"Here is an Eid dish from India - a sweet made with vermicelli noodles. In India, Africa, and the Middle East, this sort of sweet is common . . . "

It looks and sounds intriguing! What is the name of this dish?

posted by OneWallKitchen on October 1st 2008 at 2:02pm
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semiyan ki kheer or just Kheer. i personally like it milky...Milky Seviyan.
NPR has a few recipes.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15135985

posted by Storm on October 1st 2008 at 8:02pm
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If you're looking for recipes it is also called Seviyan ki kheer.

posted by gayatri on October 2nd 2008 at 8:37am
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