Published: 3 May 2022
Eid al-Fitr, also known as the “festival of breaking fast”, is celebrated by Muslims across the globe after an entire month of fasting and devotion for Ramadan. Celebrations last for up to three days and allow families and friends to gather and rejoice around a delicious feast.
Dishes served on Eid al-Fitr can vary drastically depending on the country of origin and the food traditions within families.
In an attempt to embrace the beauty of food cultures in muslim communities, here are a couple of unique dishes that muslims around the world look forward to on Eid.
1. Seffa Medfouna (Morocco)
Msemen, beghrir and chicken & olive tajine are the common currency in Moroccan households during special family gatherings. However, a little off the beaten path, you might stumble upon a dish called seffa medfouna.
At first glance, seffa medfouna features a mound of steamed broken vermicelli embellished with caramelised raisins, powdered sugar, ground almonds and cinnamon. But there’s more than meets the eyes! Arabic for “buried”, “medfouna” refers to the saffron-flavoured chicken hidden inside the vermicelli dome. Cooked until tender in butter and oil, the chicken is infused in a saffron sauce which includes ground ginger, turmeric powder, chopped sweet onions and freshly chopped coriander. A perfect tribute to the sweet and savoury nature of Morocco’s culinary scene.
In replacement of the vermicelli, you can also use angel-hair pasta or couscous. Some recipes call for fried almonds to give an added crunch, while others insist on the addition of the complex spice blend ras al hanout for a more authentic result.
2. Kleicha (Iraq)
Often referred to as the national cookie of Iraq, Kleicha is prepared using a gently spiced yeast dough and a sweet date-cardamom filling. Naturally, Iraqis’ liking of dates comes to no surprise as the country is one of the world’s major producers of dates.
Aromatics may vary from one recipe to another, with popular choices including rosewater, nigella seed, nuts and toasted sesame seeds. You can even make savoury cheese kleicha!
These cookies are not only enjoyed by Iraqi Muslims during Eid celebrations but also by Iraqi Christians during Christmas and Easter. They also used to be a very popular treat for Purim when there was a well-established Jewish community in Iraq.
With roots dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, kleicha’s ancestor, qullupu, used to be prepared by the ancient Sumerians to celebrate the New Year. Fun fact: This civilization, which expert Samuel Noah Kramer described as having “an unusual flair for technological invention1“, is actually behind the increments of sixty-second minutes and sixty-minute hours that make up our current system of time!
3. Manti (Central Asia/Eurasia)
These dense and chewy dumplings, made up of unleavened dough, are usually stuffed with a spiced minced meat mixture. However, the nature of manti stuffing varies significantly depending on the season, as well as personal preferences. Some recipes include small pieces of pumpkin, squash or potato in the filling.
The cooking method of choice is usually steaming, although some central Asian recipes favour boiling or frying. Depending on the region, your manti dumplings might be served alongside sour cream, a spicy tomato sauce, chili oil or even “under a creamy blanket of garlicky yogurt”2.
The origin of these dumplings remains somewhat uncertain. Very common in Central Asia/Eurasia, manti dumplings are very popular in Turkey, Afghanistan, Russia and other post-Soviet countries, as well as in Chinese Islamic cuisine. In fact, it is believed that manti originated with the Uyghur people in China before spreading to other cultures through the Silk Road.
Manties are also referred to as kaskoni in Uzbekistan and resemble other specialities such as Georgian khinkalis and Tibetan momos.
4. Lokum & Baklava (Turkey)
Turkish delight, also known as lokum, is a unique jelly-like candy made with starch and sugar, and often speckled with chopped nuts. Nowadays, a variety of flavours exist for this popular sweet, which used to live on the shelves of Arab apothecaries as a sore throat remedy in the 9th century. From rosewater and pistachios to bergamot orange and even chocolate, there is something for everyone to like!
Over the years, this fun and intriguing sweet snuck into the works of a number of writers including the scholar and author, C. S. Lewis. In his 1950 fantasy novel for children, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe“, Turkish delight was presented as the ultimate craving for Edmund, the third oldest Pevensie child.
“It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating,” said the Queen presently. “What would you like best to eat?”
“Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty,” said Edmund.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis, Chapter Four
As writer and former restaurant critic, Cara Strickland, beautifully puts it:
“For Edmund, Turkish delight represented a way to taste happier times, when his family was all together and the future was unmarred by world conflict. It is hard to blame him for reaching for the box the witch offers and filling his mouth as quickly as possible, to make up for lost time.3“
Another favourite for Muslim Turks during Eid celebrations are baklavas. These layered pastry desserts, soaked in syrup or honey, are stuffed with chopped nuts, typically pistachios and walnuts. That being said, if you are traveling in the Black sea region, you might stumble upon baklavas with hazelnut fillings.
5. Tufahije (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Tufahije is a Eid favourite that is often paired with a strong cup of coffee. This easy-to-make dessert is very popular in Bosnia and Herzegovenia, as well as Serbia, Macedonia and Croatia. It is essentially made up of peeled apples poached in sugar syrup and stuffed with a walnut filling. The latter combines crushed walnuts soaked in hot milk, sugar and butter. It is often topped with whipped cream and sometimes garnished with a cherry.
The Arabic word for apple (tuffàh, تفاحة) in “Tufahije” is not a mere coïncidence. Indeed, tufahije is said to have Persian origins and thought to have been introduced during Ottoman rule.
Sources
Aida. (2015). “Stewed Stuffed Apples in Syrup (Tufahije)”. Balkan Lunch Box.
Bambling, Michele and Fenton, Rebecca. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. (2020). “How to Make the Ancient Iraqi Cookie that Signals the End of Ramadan”. Smithsonian magazine.
Becky. (2014). “Tufahija: Bosnian stewed apple dessert”. Kid World Citizen.
Benlafquih, Christine. (2020). “Seffa Medfouna Recipe – Broken Vermicelli or Couscous with Chicken, Lamb or Beef”. Taste of Maroc.
Chrystal, Paul. (2021). “The History of Sweets”. Pen and Sword History. 256 pages.
Cosmo, Serena. (2017). “The Ultimate Pasta and Noodle Cookbook”. Cider Mill Press; Illustrated edition.
Dadoun, Sarah-Eden. (2019). “Kleicha”. 196 flavours.
Ergil, Leyla Yvonne. (2021). “Turkish and Ottoman traditions for Eid al-Fitr: A time for gratitude”. Daily Sabah.
Geerts Erlend. (2013).’‘What Is Baklava – and Where To Find the Best Baklava in Istanbul?”. Witt Magazine.
Jestrovic, Silvija. (2013). “Performance, Space, Utopia-Cities of War, Cities of Exile”. Palgrave Macmillan. 226 pages.
Kolesnichenko, Peter. (2016). “Manti steamed dumplings”. Peter’s Food Adventures.
1 Kramer, Samuel Noah. (1963). “The Sumerians-Their History, Culture, and Character”. University of Chicago Press. p.3.
Lozano, Gabriella. (2021). “Kleicha: History and Culture”
2 Malouf, Greg and Malouf, Lucy. (2008). “Turquoise: A Chef’s Travels in Turkey”. p.240.
Mark, Joshua J. (2012). “Sumerian Civilization: Inventing the Future”. World History Encyclopedia.
Rania, staff member, Keshen Goodman Public Library. (2021). “Celebrating Eid al-Fitr: History, Traditional Foods, and a Recipe”. Halifax Public Libraries.
3 Strickland, Cara. (2016). “Why Was Turkish Delight C.S. Lewis’s Guilty Pleasure?”. JSTOR Daily.
Wilson, Josh and Nesterov, Andrei. (2020). “Manti, Pozi, Bauzi: More Than Just Another Dumpling”. Folkways: The Roots and Influence of Modern Cultures.
