Chasing iftars! (*Image heavy alert*)

We have not had a food post in a while folks. 😉

Ramadan (I promise, this will be the last Ramadan post this year!) is just about wrapping up. Eid might (or might not) be less than 24 hours away. And boy oh boy, what a month it has been!

Chaotic, stressful, insane, (pious of course) and most of all fun 🙂

Apart from the extra chores, prayers and socializing (mostly virtual); being the insatiable foodie/ food demon incarnate, a lot of time and energy has also been put into chasing iftars.

Most days, it’s homemade fare. Some days we try to be good and healthy and stick to dates and smoothies and on many occasions I give into my fried-“nadan”/ country cravings and go on a fry-athon.

Recreating mum’s recipes has been a fun, roller-coaster ride. Some were roaring successes, and some epic fails. Some items turned out to be surprisingly complicated to master while others were deceptively simple.

Then there was the whole ‘eating out’ madness. We have systematically hit almost every Indian/ South Asian eatery in town. We even contemplated a couple of swanky, five- star buffet thinggys, but then one seemed more than enough. I would rather buy a Jimmy Choo rather than spend another penny on those (almost 600 QAR per couple) dos. Na Na mister.

Moreover, I have come to the realization that a starving tummy though not choosy or difficult to please, derives most comfort from the familiar.

I might consider being adventurous with food on a normal day, but after fasting for over 16 hours, I NEED ME some spicy, full- flavored, tongue- tickling, taste- bud firing fare. The bland, so called international/ continental, whatever else soup and meat just doesn’t cut it folks!

So yes, we moved on to homey,familiar “budget” iftars.

Soon though, another problem arose. At every iftar, we ate familiar stuff, special Ramadan treats that we grew up eating. But most of it did not match up to the culinary heights and standards that our palates (thanks to genius-in-the-kitchen mums) were accustomed to. 😦

Then there was the pre- iftar traffic. We almost missed an iftar once, and would have if Qatar Charity did not come to our rescue.

Finally, we deiced to go the non- traditional route. Especially at the fag end (aka last week), when all bets (i.e. health/ fitness) were off. We decided to give in completely and eat whatever our hearts desired.

Subway for iftar? Yes,please!

Pizza? Super!

Beach picnic? Sure, darn the heat.

Salad and celery sticks???? Why not? Yalla, let’s give it a go….

And so it’s been a truly fantastic gastronomic adventure folks. One that my inner demons thoroughly relished.

Le Belly has no complaints!

Tonight we may stay in, or may go out for one last adventure (for this year), Le Belly has not decided yet.

Next year, hopefully (iA) we shall have a full fledged food guide on this space and I shall try and be as enthusiastic about clicking photographs as I am about downing these aforementioned delicacies, but for now this is all I have…

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Late nights and beach trips! Aah, the things one has to do for a half- decent shawarma…

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Literally chasing iftar! We seemed in perpetual hurry this month

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On really lucky days, everyone was home already and the roads were clear

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Like so.

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And then there were days such as this. We were running late for a reservation, and I was almost tempted to hop into KFC there.

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For those who aren’t familiar with this part of the world-  just before sundown, there are usually a bunch of kind folks, handing out “iftar-snack boxes” at traffic signals. They are sponsored by companies/ charities/ individuals.

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This one time, we were so late that we gladly accepted one!

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Budget eats for homey treats

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Things from “my” part of town (not The Mister’s)

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A couple of evenings ago, another dash to break our fasts

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Many of us know where this is 🙂 A couple of other families too, decided to brave the swealtering weather and break their fasts in the moisture laden sea breeze

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Probably not a poster-iftar for healthy eating 🙂

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But an occasional indulgence never hurt anyone, eh? #Mum would consider this is the worst iftar meal EVER!# My brain concurs, Le Belly would never…

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We waited to hear the canon shot/ azaan while Little Z inspected the grass quality

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Yay! The sunset…We actually had a private call to prayer, and a random- stranger- public prayer session

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Not sure what’s happening there, but I was too busy with my Stuffed Crust Chicken Supreme

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We aren’t always this naughty folks!

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A walk to kick start the digestion process. Sorry, no run this night. In fact it felt odd to stuff myself with worthless calories at a place where I usually come to burn them.

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And some play

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While The Mister lay comatose on the grass, chilling with his best bud.

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Till next time.

Dr J.