45 Ramadan Recipes to Fortify You and Break Your Fast
This year Ramadan begins around Saturday, April 2. For 30 days Muslims observing Ramadan around the world abstain from drinking and eating from dawn to dusk—or, for some, darkness—and many break their fast with iftar, an evening meal that may begin with several dates and a glass of water. Iftar dishes may include fortifying stews like haleem, refreshing salads and beverages, and protein-packed dishes to help those fasting regain their strength for the next day. Before the sun rises the next morning, the morning meal—sahur—is eaten to prepare fasting Muslims for the day ahead. Hydrating fruits like watermelon and energy-boosting foods like eggs and legumes, including ful medames, are often a part of sahur. Below you’ll find nourishing Ramadan recipes to help you stay energized. We’ve also included a few sweets—like kunafa and sheer korma—for Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of the holy month. (Fun fact: The words iftar, fitr, and fatur all share the same root, meaning breakfast.)
Photo by Dan Perez1/45Cantaloupe in Honeydew Almond Soup
“During Ramadan, there are two drinks always sold in the Old City of Jerusalem: a tamarind/orange blossom juice and a sweet almond juice,” writes cookbook author Reem Kassis. “Families buy them in bottles to take home and mix with water for a refreshing drink after breaking the fast. Almond was the choice for my family.” This refreshing Ramadan recipe is Kassis’s take on a beloved childhood dessert of melon slices and almond juice.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne5/45Dahi Dal (Yogurt Lentil Curry With Spinach)
Photo by Dan Perez6/45Nut and Sesame Seed Stuffed Pancakes
These soft and chewy pancakes—inspired by atayef and Korean hotteok—are filled with nuts, sesame seeds, tahini, and grape molasses. Reem Kassis recalls the first time she had hotteok: ”The dough is exceptionally soft and chewy, which was part of the appeal, but it also reminded me of a similar pancake, atayef, that my grandmother always prepared during Ramadan, which she filled with sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon.”
Photo by Liz and Max Haraala Hamilton8/45Kunafa
While kunafa is popular during Ramadan, it is also one of the most ubiquitous pastries across the Middle East. It may be intimidating to work with the stringy, vermicelli-like kataifi pastry for the first time, but it’s a simple dessert that can be on the table within an hour of turning on the oven.
Photo by Kristin Perers10/45Qrass Bil-Tamr (Ramadan Date Cookies)
During the month of Ramadan, writes chef Anissa Helou, “sweets occupy an important place in people’s lives. They are offered to guests who come to visit after sunset, or they are snacked on throughout the night before the fast starts again at sunrise.” These date-filled cookies—qrass bil-tamr—are “a typical Ramadan sweet, together with the nut versions called ma’mul, filled with pistachios or walnuts and shaped differently for people to tell which is which.”
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich11/45Sayur Lodeh (Vegetable Soup With Pressed Rice Cakes)
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton14/45Instant Pot Lamb Haleem
Haleem is a comforting and fortifying meal popular in South Asia, and can often be found at Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi iftars. As the stew gently simmers over several hours, the meat falls off the bone and the collagen and marrow melt into the stew. Preparing the haleem in an Instant Pot cuts down on cooking time, and also makes it an easy make-ahead Ramadan recipe.
Photo by Sara Remington16/45Majoon (Date Shake With Toasted Nuts)
To make cookbook author Louisa Shafia’s creamy date shake, blitz together Medjool dates, yogurt, vanilla, and cinnamon with some ice and water. Top it with an assortment of toasted nuts and seeds for a sweet, crunchy beverage for iftar or sahur.
Photo by Haarala Hamilton18/45Om Ali (Egyptian Bread Pudding)
This easy Egyptian bread pudding (called Om Ali or Umm Ali) is made with puff pastry, perfumed with rose water, and topped with an assortment of toasted nuts.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Erika Joyce19/45Qaliyeh-e Khorma (Spicy Sweet-and-Sour Salmon With Dates)
Using both syrupy date molasses and pitted, sliced dates gives this dish rounded sweetness, and a dash of apple cider vinegar provides a sour kick.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman, Food Styling by John Bjostad20/45Chicken Tagine With Apricots and Almonds
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani23/45Crispy Pita With Chickpeas and Yogurt (Fattet Hummus)
Photo by Laura Murray, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich26/45Tangy Vinegar Chicken With Barberries and Orange
Photo by Dan Perez27/45Broiled Eggplant Salad With Sumac Chicken and Pine Nuts
Whether mixed with tahini, yogurt, or just vegetables, there’s no end to grilled eggplant recipes in the Middle East. This dish is a riff on a Thai roasted eggplant salad served to Reem Kassis. “The contrast of flavors and textures was sublime,” Kassis writes. “This recipe, inspired by that dish but entirely Arab in flavor and ingredients, is wonderful as an appetizer or a full meal on its own.”
30/45Ful Medames
Photo by Jenny Zarins32/45Warbat (Filo Triangles With Cream Cheese, Pistachio, and Rose)
In Falastin, chef and cookbook author Sami Tamimi and co-writer Tara Wrigley describe warbat, a childhood favorite of Tamimi's, as a “flaky pastry—dripping with thick and sticky syrup and sprinkled with vivid green crushed pistachios.”
Photo by Laura Murray, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich33/45Stuffed Cabbage With Lemony Rice and Sumac
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani36/45Grilled Chicken Skewers With Toum (Shish Taouk)
Hans Gissinger37/45Walnut and Pistachio Baklava
In many Middle Eastern and North African countries, baklava is an essential part of Ramadan. To make your own, layer sheets of phyllo pastry with a mixture of walnuts, pistachios, lemon peel, cinnamon, and dried apples. Bake until golden brown, then brush the pastry with a syrup of honey and cinnamon until it glistens.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Erika Joyce38/45Persian Rice With Fava Beans and Dill (Baqala Polow)
Deborah Jones44/45Lentil Soup, Date Balls, Celery Salad
This is chef Mourad Lahlou’s take on the Moroccan soup harira. “Harira has the inexplicable quality of being both light and filling at the same time, making you feel perfectly content,” Lahlou writes. “That's why, besides being the national soup, it's also a religious institution: it's what every family in Morocco eats to break their daily fast all through the month long observance of Ramadan.”
Jason Lowe45/45Lamb Tagine With Chickpeas and Apricots
Braising an inexpensive cut like lamb shoulder in the Moroccan way transforms it into a thick, aromatic stew of meltingly tender meat, chickpeas, and dried fruit. If you like, steam the couscous with a large pinch of saffron. It’s a Ramadan recipe fitting for a crowd, and one you can make ahead of time.
