Eid Mubarak.

Eid al Fitr (Sweet Eid) is the first Eid of the year and celebrates the end of Ramadan.  It also marks the anniversary of the Quran being revealed. Eid al fitr is the feast of breaking the fast. Ramadam is a period of either 29 or 30 days of fast from dawn to sunset. Muslims around the world embrace this fasting period with great focus and respect.You may remember my article on Global  Festivals and holy days in which I mentioned the second Eid al- Adha (salty Eid) celebrated later in the year. 


Through out the period of Ramadam each day after sunset - the fast is broken usually by eating a date. The date is believed by many Muslims to be a super food and that the best dates come from Medina in Saudi Arabia, which is where the prophet lived and also where he died. See my article 

 Ketupat

There are of course Eid celebrations all over the world and it usually starts with a bath and dressing up in new clothes, after which dates are eaten and then a visit their local mosque for special Eid prayers. According to wikipedia the Muslim community make up 23 %  the worlds population which is a considerable size of  all the religious groups:  There are 1,600million Muslim people. So there are lots of special dishes from a variety of countries on offer like; Ketupat (rice cakes) served in Korea. Dolma (stuffed vegetables) served Bosnia and Brongkos (Oxtail meat tofu and beans (served in Jakarta) 

Some Muslims I have spoken to express how calm they feel through out this period . And that is a time for peace and reflection and that it gives them great focus; including the Birmingham cricketer Moeen Ali   who claims fasting and playing cricket for England is no distraction - in fact quite he opposite.

Eid - al Fitr is a celebration with many types of food and dishes which may be eaten with friends and family. In my last artcle about Eid - al Adha I gave a recipe for  Tal Hue Ghost. Here is a quick sweet recipe for you to try that  help  celbrate this sweet Eid al Fitr

Barfi

Ingredients

125g Full cream Powdered milk

250 Caster sugar or add less

125 Water

 5 Green Cardamoms pods - seeds crushed

12  pistachio nuts shelled and chopped( unsalted)

Butter for greasing

Equipment

Sallow dish or baking tin lined with grease proof paper

Pan

Wooden spoon

Knife and chopping board

Method

1. Place the sugar and water into the pan. Boil and then allow to simmer for 6-7 minutes, until the mixture turns into a  sticky syrup
2. Add the powdered  milk, crushed cardamoms. pistachio nuts and mix well
3. Pour this mixture into the dish and leave to cool pistachio flakes on top
4. When the barfi has set cut into diamond shapes pieces

Tip:  Try adding a drop of rose water for a subtle fragrance, or desiccated coconut to the mixture before setting it. Or you could be very indulgent and cover the top with melted chocolate 

 Eid Mubarak

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