What Muslims around the world eat to break their fast during Ramadan
Mouth-watering.
Image: AP Photo/B.K. Bangash
By
Shelly Walia
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Iftar—a fast-breaking meal— is a daily ritual during the holy month of Ramadan.
A traditional Iftar menu comprises fruits, juice, milk, dates and water. The belief is that Prophet Mohammad ate three dates when he broke his fast.
However, meals tend to vary from one place to another. For instance, in Hyderabad, haleem is popular, but in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, observants usually break their fast with nombu kanji, a dish prepared with meat, veggies and porridge.
Other popular dishes are rice-based pulao and biryani, mutton curries, desserts, and sherbets. In Afghanistan, for instance, an Iftar meal tends to include soups and onion-based meat curries, kebabs and pulao. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, jalebis, haleem, parathas, meat curries, fruit salads, kebabs, piyajoo, and beguni, are famous.
The following pictures show Muslims around the world ending the day with a meal—some elaborate, some meagre.
Delhi, India
A Muslim boy prepares to distribute the Iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan at the Jama Masjid in the old quarters of Delhi, India, on June 25, 2015.Image: Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee
A Muslim man prepares his Iftar meal at the Jama Masjid in the old quarters of Delhi, India, on June 22, 2015.Image: Reuters/Adnan Abidi
Srinagar, India
A Kashmiri Muslim man prepares to distribute the Iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan outside a mosque in Srinagar, on June 20, 2015.Image: Reuters/Danish Ismail
Ahmedabad, India
Muslims eat their Iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Ahmedabad, India, on June 22, 2015.Image: Reuters/Amit Dave
Peshawar, Pakistan
A man makes bread before Iftar during the fasting month of Ramadan in Peshawar, Pakistan, on June 25, 2015.Image: Reuters/Khuram Pervez
Islamabad, Pakistan
Pakistani volunteers distribute food among poor people for Iftar in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 19, 2015.Image: AP Photo/B.K. Bangash
Karachi, Pakistan
Pakistani volunteers arrange food for Iftar at a local mosque during Ramadan in Karachi, Pakistan, on June 19, 2015.Image: AP Photo/Shakil Adil
Dhaka, Bangladesh
A Bangladeshi vendor, right, sells food items for Iftar, the evening meal for breaking the daily fast at a market area on the first day of Ramadan in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on June 19, 2015.Image: AP photo/A.M. Ahad
A Bangladeshi vendor sells food items for Iftar at a market area on the first day of Ramadan in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on June 19, 2015.Image: AP photo/A.M. Ahad
Jakarta, Indonesia
Office workers shop for Iftar at the main business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, on June 18, 2015.Image: AP Photo/Dita Alangkara
Cairo, Egypt
A volunteer carries food to tables as people wait to eat their Iftar meal to break their fast at charity tables that offer free food during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, on June 23, 2015.Image: Reuters/Asmaa Waguih
People queue to buy traditional juice before Iftar on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, on June 18, 2015.Image: Reuters/Asmaa Waguih
Doha, Qatar
Muslims have their Iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan outside a mosque in Doha, Qatar, on June 20, 2015.Image: Reuters/Naseem Zeitoon
Mogadishu, Somalia
Somali families receive Iftar meal from a Qatari charity organisation during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in capital Mogadishu, on June 22, 2015.Image: Reuters/Feisal Omar
Somali families receive Iftar meal from a Qatari charity organisation in capital Mogadishu, on June 22, 2015.Image: Reuters/Feisal Omar
Baghdad, Iraq
Children eat free food being distributed for Iftar, the meal after fasting, at the Abdul Khader al-Kilani mosque in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 23, 2015.Image: AP Photo/ Karim Kadim
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