Eid-ul-Fitr is a festival of love and celebration, flavored with our traditional aromatic cuisines and cherished with the joy of family get-togethers. Muslims across the global will celebrate this Eid in a few days with full zeal, expressing their thankfulness to Allah Almighty for the countless blessing He has showered upon us.

These most awaited of holidays are nearly here, and this time around it’s going to be a long break. Most people are travelling back home to celebrate Eid with their families. This is the time of the year when everyone is eager to spend quality time with family, sharing their joys and sorrows. Scenes of mothers and aunts gossiping about the dramas and lawn fever; grandmothers cooking festive feasts for the whole family; kids playing all day long; and gathering Eidi from everyone are all too common. Eid is a blessing for everyone.

Eid starts with the ever-so-delicious Doodh Saviyan, nutty and flavorful saffron Sheer Khurma, followed by a lavish Eid special; biryani and kebabs for lunch. Meeting extended family and greeting friends is a treat in itself on Eid. Special barbecue get-togethers are also held at times in order to make Eid even more special.

On the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, a festive family dinner at my nana jan’s place was a family tradition. This is where all my cousins and I would receive our Eidis from elders. Counting the Eidi and making deals with Ami and Abu about what we wanted to buy from this treasure of ours was so much fun. My father used to secretly give me more Eidi (the perks of being the eldest in my family). That wasn’t the only reason, Abu always appreciated that I would get up early and get ready for Eid in my new clothes and bangles and greet him and my brother first thing upon their return from Eid prayers.

Then came a round of making phone calls to all elders and cousins in the family.

I would love to go spend Eid in Lahore with my cousins, or in Faisalabad with Ali’s family, and relive our childhood once again. As we grow older and take on new roles in life, the whole family get-togethers transform into a more domestic affair, which is fun in it’s own way. Now our children enjoy the festivities the way we used to. They are in the process of creating their own memories. I leave you here with many memories from the past which were filled with endless love and happiness.

For many of us, Eid is still about quality cuisine. Here I will suggest for you a 3-day menu for lunch and dinner for the holidays. You can easily pick and chose from these and come up with your own menu as well:

 

Frist Day of Eid

Lunch

Dinner

  • Mutton Kuna
  • Chicken Mughlai Curry
  • Keema Do Payaza
  • Naan
  • Podina Chatni
  • Aloo Bukhara Chatni
  • Fresh Salad
  • Lava Brownie with Caramel Sauce

Second Day of Eid

Lunch

Dinner

 

Third Day of Eid

Lunch

Dinner

Hope you have a yummy Eid this year, cheflings!

    Fatima Ali

    I am trained to be an IT professional. I served National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) for six years after graduating from the same university. As long as I can remember, cooking good food has been my passion and it makes me happy. My cooking lessons were a bit unusual though. Back in the day when digital did not mean much, my father would record cooking shows (knorr ka kitchen, kaukab khuwaja and Zee Khana Khazana – Chef Sanjeev Kapoor) for me to watch endless times later on, before trying the recipes out. I would make brownies and cold cake almost every day while my mother was asleep. This was my way of surprising her every evening. My mother cooks amazing food too and I have tried many of the recipes written in her recipe book. I draw inspiration from a number of chefs from televised cooking shows such as Late Chef Farah, Chef Rahat, Chef Mehboob, BBC Food, Masala TV, Chef Shai, Chef Sharmeen, Master Chef Australia and my ultimate favorite Chef Shireen Anwer. I would not be as good a cook I am now without passive guidance from each one of these.