UAE | Heritage and Culture
Only traditional food in their Afghan home
"Ramadan is a time when people come together, and in my household, having iftar with the family is the most important part of this month," Fatima Rabbani, an Afghan expatriate, said.
- By Hind Al Yousef, Community Web Journalist
- Published: 00:20 September 5, 2008
- Image Credit: Vazhisojan/Gulf News
- Fatima Rabbani, Omar Mahboob and Mariam Mahboob always have iftar with the family.
As in many Muslim homes, Ramadan in the Rabbani household is mostly about sharing.
"Ramadan is a time when people come together, and in my household, having iftar with the family is the most important part of this month," Fatima Rabbani, an Afghan expatriate, said.
"In this day and age, everyone is so busy in their lives and people usually don't make any time for their families," she said.
"Ramadan gets them together and breaks that norm of being just too busy for your own family."
When it comes to iftar, Fatima's family follows customs that are practiced by many Muslims.
"Afghans usually break their fast, go and pray and only then do they come back to eat dinner," she said.
"We break our fast with very light food and only have our dinner after the Maghrib prayer."
Fatima's family also has their own Ramadan traditions.
"When it's a full house and all my sisters and brothers join us for iftar, we usually pray together. It's a norm which my parents have been practicing and have kept for years and years," Fatima said.
"Also, when we were growing up, iftar was the time when my father told us stories about the Prophets."
Family and friends visiting is also a custom during Ramadan.
"The whole month of Ramadan is a very special month as most of my family who live abroad try to fly in for this," Fatima said.
"We also like to have guests around especially for iftar."
When it comes to food, it's mostly Afghan cuisine at the Rabbanis during Ramadan.
"We have a very experienced cook who cooks the best Afghan dishes. We only eat traditional food at home," Fatima said.
"We usually have very light food as appetisers to break our fast, which include Aash or a traditional vegetable soup, dates and Boolani or chopped leeks stuffed in fried dough," she said.
Going out during the month of Ramadan is limited for Fatima.
"My parents are not based in Dubai, therefore, they fly in for the month so during this time we usually spend time at home with them. For us that means spending a lot of time with the family and less time going out," she adds.
In this day and age, everyone is so busy in their lives and people usually don't tend to make any time for their families."
Fatima Rabbani
Afghan expatriate
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