Iftar spiced up with Sri Lankan warmth

Abu Dhabi: A traditional Sri Lankan iftar party began at the villa apartment of Fatima Naziha where around 20 of her family friends and relatives had gathered to end their fast in congregation.

Some four women and a housemaid were busy in the kitchen preparing an array of Sri Lankan traditional dishes and snacks which range from falooda, pakoras, rolls to kanji, fish cutlets, patties, egg rolls, fruit salads and juices. All were prepared with traditional spices, coconut and home-made coconut milk.

Kanji, a wheat-and-meat-based porridge, is a popular Sri Lankan meal served across the country during Ramadan.

Fathima Naziha with her brother Mohammad Nawheed and Imna, her daughter, at their residence. Abdul Rahman/Gulf News

Humbleness and simplicity were visible everywhere. As iftar time approached, other women friends extended help and started spreading a big plastic sheet on the floor.

When all foodstuffs were laid on the iftar sheet, all people including children calmly settled down around it to end their fast. Each person passed the foodstuff for others.

“We love congregational iftar with our country fellows because we are away from home and miss, mostly importantly, the parents and relatives and also our traditional dishes. But Ramadan blesses us to get together and end our fast,” said Naziha who has been living in Abu Dhabi for the past three years with her seven-year-old daughter, Imna Mohammad, a Grade 2 student of International Indian School in Baniyas. Her husband resides in Europe.

“As a working woman, I would say Ramadan is much easier in the UAE than in other countries because of the reduced work hours and supportive environment for fasting people,” said Naziha, who works as a relationship manager.

“After finishing my job at 3pm, I rush home to prepare for iftar. Since I have got a maid, I don’t have to get involved in cooking all the time, but I have to help in selecting the correct mix of ingredients and in some preparations.

“Ramadan is about sharing, caring and togetherness, so we invite family friends, relatives and people from the Sri Lankan community each weekend,” she said.

“Our food is entirely different from what we have in this region. You may find rolls, samosas and fish cutlets here too, but ingredients and spices in our dishes are different, while our kanji is very similar to shorba, which Arabs make. The authentic Sri Lankan cuisine uses certain spices and coconut milk,” Naziha said.

“Here, we have all luxuries in life but I miss my parents and extended family members and, of course, the foods cooked by my mother.”

Naziha’s daughter Imna was busy chatting with other children who had gathered at the flat. “I like meeting and talking to them,” Imna said, adding she preferred friends over the food during occasions like the iftar gathering or family get-togethers.

A family friend of Naziha, Vinothiny Fatima, said, “It feels like we are in Sri Lanka as a number of family friends have gathered here to end the fast. Our relatives and friends back home are the only ones we miss here.

“The most important traditional food for us in Ramadan is kanji. Every home in Sri Lanka serves it. Even mosques across Sri Lanka distribute it for free to people.”

“Ramadan is a special month, which teaches us to stay calm, do good to others, control your anger and feel the pain of others and help them. It’s a monthlong training for us on how to lead our life throughout the year, not only for a month.”

Naziha’s brother, Mohammad Nawheed, 27, lives in Dubai but visits her sister on weekends to spend quality time with the family.

Nawheed said, “The most pleasing and refreshing time is when family and friends get together particularly when you are in a foreign land where you rarely find a person from your own country to interact. Such gatherings give us immense pleasure.”

Like others, kanji is his favourite dish too.

“We like spicy food as well but the spices are different and the method of preparation and mixture make our dishes unique. You will find samosa, pakora, rolls and meat and chicken dishes everywhere but our spices make it different,” said Nawheed who works as a relationship officer in City Bank. He has been living in the UAE for the last eight years.

Guests from Uzbekistan

Naziha had also invited an Uzbek couple, who are family friends, for the iftar.

Sardorbek Ahmadjanov, 38, who works with Etihad Airways, said, “Traditional Uzbek dishes are entirely different from the Arabic as well as Sri Lankan ones. I am here to end the fast with my wife, Ziyoda. We use very less spices in our food.”

“The Sri Lankan cuisine is spicy but I am fairly familiar with spicy food since I have been living here for more than 10 years, so I hope I will handle it today,” Ahmadjanov said before ending his fast.

“It feels great to get introduced to other nationalities and cultures. For me, I never hesitate in trying something new. Now, I love spicy food,” he added.

Recipes

Kanji
Ingredients: Wheat, onion, ground ginger and garlic, cinnamon, rampe or pandan leaves, curry leaves, ground cumin seeds, tomato, chilli powder, corn kernels, mushroom and coconut milk. Preparation: Soak wheat for at least five hours. Chop the onion. Heat oil in a pan and put chopped onions, ground ginger and garlic, pieces of cinnamon, rampe and curry leaves. Sauté until it becomes golden brown. Add ground cumin seeds. Grate a tomato and add. Add a little chilli powder and cook for a while.

Drain the soaked wheat and put it in the sautéed mix and add at least three cups of water. Add more water if the liquid dries up before the wheat is cooked. When cooked, the wheat should not be transparent.

The corn kernels can be added now along with chopped mushrooms. Add a little water if the liquid dries up. Cook for a few minutes.

Add 1 cup of thin coconut milk and ½ cup of thick coconut milk and cook. Just before the pan is removed from the stove, add chopped coriander leaves and enough salt and cook for a few minutes.

Fish cutlet
Ingredients: Mackerel or tuna fish without bones, potatoes, jalapeño peppers, onions, garlic, cloves, ginger, salt, curry powder, ground cumin, ground pepper, sugar, tomato sauce, oil, lemon juice, egg wash, and crust and breadcrumbs.

Preparation: Put potatoes in a saucepan and pour water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are tender. Remove potato skin and crush them. Mash the fish into small pieces.

Then in a saucepan, heat 3 tbsp of oil over medium flame. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and sauté until the onions become tender and translucent. Add the jalapeño and other peppers, salt, sugar and spices and sauté for about a minute. Add the fish and cook while mixing the spices with the fish for about 10-15 minutes. Add 2 tbsp of squeezed lemon juice and mix it. Add the potatoes and mix it through the fish until well combined. Add salt.

Take a spoonful of the mix and roll it into a smooth 1½ inch diameter ball. Leave these balls on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.

In a bowl, mix the two eggs and on a plate, mix the breadcrumbs with the optional spices. Evenly coat each fish ball with the egg mix and then coat them with the breadcrumbs. Now fry the balls until they turn a dark golden brown. Cutlets are ready to be had with sauce.