The many flavours of Eid

EID al-Fitr is a multi-layered celebration, just like the traditional pot of biryani usually served on this day.

In kitchens across the country, the scent of saffron and frying onions permeates the air, signalling the start of religious celebrations and the beginnings of a culinary feast. It’s a day of joy, reunion, and gratitude; where every dish tells a story, some steeped in tradition and others more modern.

For politician and businesswoman Fawzia Peer, the Eidgah is one of her most treasured moments. That’s when thousands of Muslims gather at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban for the morning Eid prayer.

“It’s a nostalgic sight: the men, women, and children separated in sections, the air buzzing with excitement and unity,” says Peer.

Afterward, the greetings begin: “Eid Mubarak!” echoes through the open ground, she says, adding to the special moment.

Then it's back home for breakfast; usually a selection of savoury treats like samoosas and almond milk. “It smells divine… the moment they walk in from prayer, they’re drawn straight to the kitchen,” she says.

Family and friends will gather on the day, gifts are exchanged, and some even make a trip to the cemetery to pray for their loved ones who have passed on, while many go visiting family and friends.

“While the kids run around and families embrace, we also take a moment to remember those suffering around the world,” says Peer. “We pray for peace in Palestine, for the people who’ve lost so much.”

Apart from new clothes there is also the tradition of Eidi, usually money which is offered to the children by older relatives, especially grandparents.

“What makes me laugh is that for years, when we were young, we used to get R50, and then came to R100, and we would tell them, ‘no no no, with inflation, it must be R1000 now.”

In the Peer home, lunch on Eid is the main meal of the day.

Peer does her food prep the day before, and then on Eid she is back in the kitchen at the crack of dawn. A big mutton roast, gravy chicken and two types of biryani are usually on the menu.

This year she is expecting a multi-generational gathering of about 12 guests for lunch and many more friends and family for tea later in the day. “So, it's quite a lot of work,” says Peer, although the kitchen is her happy place.

The star of the day is definitely the Biryani. “Biryani is an art. Some people now have new ways of making it but I am still with the old style of biryani, and I don't think I'm going to change, because I feel I make it very well, and the kids like it.”

A non-negotiable when cooking the dish is to ensure the onions are crispy. The meat marinates overnight, the rice must not be too soft and the potatoes must be fried, she says. Then the magical spices are added: saffron, cumin, pepper seeds, cardamom, chili powder, turmeric, garlic paste and green chilies.

“I also take three big tomatoes, boil them, then take off the peel, mash it, and put it in,” says Peer. The tables also creak under the selection of sweetmeats, a variety of cakes and lots of soft drinks.

Across the country, while the religious part of Eid remains the same, the home celebrations look different.

In Johannesburg, celebrity chef Fehmz keeps things lively with potluck-style gatherings, her Instagram-famous peri-peri prawns, and desserts that could outshine any traditional sweetmeat tray. Everyone in her family gets a turn to host Eid and this year it's her sister.

Their menu usually includes Biryani and a lamb roast, but the Peri Peri prawns are always a crowd favourite. This year Fehmz will be contributing a salt and pepper steak dish and a Russian honey cake to the feast. “It seems like a lot of it is centered around food but it's actually around meeting up with family and friends. In my house particularly, we always have dinner with groups who don't always have family around or who are from either another country and visiting.” Gifts exchanged are often edible like her Deluxe Trail Mix. 

Under the Fehmz Mocktails range she has also designed a new range of cordials in time for Eid, which are available on her website and some specialty stores.

For her, the day is about “lots of food, lots of talking, lots of laughing, lots of getting together,” says Fehmz.

From the saffron-scented Biryani in Peer’s home to the fiery tang of Fehmz’s prawns, Eid is, above all, a celebration of food, family, and culinary delights. Here are some of the recipes from DAMN GOOD FOOD, not completely traditional but absolutely delicious.

Peri Peri Prawns

Ingredients 

5 tbsp peri-peri oil

1 tsp cumin powder

½  tsp coriander powder 

3 to 4 tsp chili powder

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 tbsp green ginger garlic paste

2 tbsp mayonnaise

Salt, to taste

100g of garlic butter

2 kgs prawns deveined and butterflied

2 tbsp tomato paste

60 ml garlic sauce

30 ml mustard sauce

60 ml peri-peri sauce (optional)

500 ml fresh cream

Juice of 1 to 2 lemons 

½ bunch of chopped fresh coriander.

Method 

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 30ml of the peri-peri oil with all the dry spices, the green ginger garlic paste, mayonnaise and salt. 
2. In a large flat saucepan on medium heat, put 50 grams of the garlic butter and the balance of the peri-peri oil. Stir in half of the spice mix that you made earlier. 
3. Press each prawn into the heated pan to sear by pressing the flesh into the pan like a butterfly. Ensure that it holds its shape for 1 minute to “set” it open. Then remove to a dish and set aside. Do it in batches of 6 to 7 prawns at a time until all the prawns are done. Set the prawns aside.
4. Add the balance of the garlic butter to the pan, the balance of the spice mix, the tomato paste, garlic sauce, mustard sauce, peri-peri sauce and 350 ml of the fresh cream.
5. Once it begins to simmer, add the seared prawns. Mix well so that the prawns are well coated. Cook until done. 
6. Once the prawns are cooked, drizzle over the balance of the fresh cream and lemon juice.
7. Garnish with coriander and serve with veggies, potato chips, spicy rice, or whatever you desire.

TIP! Do not close the pot as it results in shrinkage and the prawns can easily overcook. 

EID MILK (Boeber or Kheer)

Ingredients 

1 cup vermicelli

60g butter or ghee

100g flaked almonds

Handful of chopped pistachio nuts (optional)

1-2 tbsp ground almonds

1 large cinnamon stick

2 elachi or green cardamom pods

½ tsp elachi powder

pinch of nutmeg powder

1 tin condensed milk

1 tin cardamom milk

1 tin dessert cream or substitute with 250ml fresh cream, 

½ cup sago rinsed 

2 tbsp coconut optional

2 litres fresh milk

Sultanas (optional) 

Method 

1. In a large sauce pan, sauté the vermicelli in the ghee until golden. 
2. Add the flaked almonds, pistachios, ground almonds and spices, and sauté a few more minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a slow boil. 
4. Cook for 2-3 hours until rich and thick. 
5. Add more milk if it's too thick.
6. Serve and celebrate.

Settings

Deluxe Spicy Trail Mix

12 samosa pur leaves or spring roll sheets

1 packet (120g) BBQ Big Corn Bites 

1 packet (120g) Tomato Big Corn Bites

1 packet (120g) Bugles or cone-shaped corn chips

1 packet (120g) spiral-shaped corn chips

150g pretzels

60 pretzel sticks broken in half

200g roasted, salted peanuts

100g salted chip sticks

2 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

2tsp chilli flakes

Salt,to taste

Vagaar

50 ml oil

2tbsp white sesame seeds

10 curry leaves, chopped

2 fresh green chilli, sliced

1tsp white poppy seeds

Method

1.Preheat the oven to 100°C

2.Separate all the samosa pur leaves then stack together again. Cut the samosa pur into half lengths. Then cut into even squares about 2 cm by 2 cm.

3. Deep fry in oil at 190°C until golden brown. In a large mixing bowl, add the fried samosa pur leaf squares, all the potato chip varieties as well as the pretzels, pretzel sticks, peanuts and chip sticks. Sprinkle over the chili powder and chili flakes.

4.Toss well to mix all the ingredients evenly.

5. Season with salt. 

6.Adjust the heat by adding more fine chili powder to suit your personal heat tolerance.

7. Spread the mix onto a large baking tray or two depending on your oven size. Toast in the oven at 100°C for 20 minutes, turning the mixture once halfway through. Once done, return to the mixing bowl and leave to cool completely for 2-3 hours.

8.Resist the urge to eat the entire mixture but never deny yourself a taster. Once cooled, it's time to make the vaagar (see below). Throw the heated oil over the trail mix and toss well to distribute evenly.

9. Store in airtight containers. Lasts up to 4 weeks, that's if you don't finish it in one sitting.

Vaagar

1 In a small saucepan, add the oil and heat it gently.

2. Add the sesame seeds and toast lightly. Turn off the heat and immediately add the curry leaves, chili and poppy seeds. It will toast in the heat of the oil.