End the holy month of fasting with a festive feast for the whole family.
After eating the traditional date to end the fast, making an abundance of food is a great way of showing gratitude for our loved ones.
From savoury quick bites to sweet treats, these recipes are wonderful additions to your holiday.
Whatever you choose to make for your celebration, be sure to keep the day full of festive cheer.
Mutton biryani
When we think of Eid, our minds go straight to biryani. It's aromatic, and comforting, and every single bite is an explosion of flavour.
Ingredients
1kg mutton shoulder, cut into bite-size pieces
½ cup curd
¼ tsp turmeric
1½ tsp salt
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
½ cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
3 onions, thickly sliced
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
3 tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp garam masala
½ cup milk
¼ cup water
Method
Wash and clean the mutton and pat dry with paper towels. Place the mutton in a large bowl.
Combine the curd, turmeric, and salt and pour over the mutton. Mix well and cover and marinate for at least 2 hours. Add ghee and oil to a large pressure cooker and allow it to heat up on a medium flame.
Add cumin seeds, cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, and cinnamon, and fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add sliced onions and fry for 2 minutes or until the onions are slightly browning.
Add ginger garlic paste and tomatoes, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the marinated mutton and cook on high for 4-5 minutes till the mutton starts browning.
Add chilli powder and garam masala and stir to combine. Add the milk and water, stir, and ensure that they are well mixed.
Tightly seal the lid and pressure cook on medium for 25-30 minutes. The mutton, once cooked, must be fork-tender but should not fall apart.
Serve with cooked basmati rice.
Tiramisu
This recipe only takes five minutes and is easy to make.
Ingredients
1 cup brewed coffee (strong)
2 tbsp sugar
1 packet of Boudoir biscuits
500g coffee flavoured yoghurt
Cocoa powder
Mix the brewed coffee and sugar together and let it cool to room temperature. Add the coffee into a wide bowl and lightly dip the Boudoir biscuits, horizontally into the coffee for 2 seconds.
Lay the dipped biscuits into your serving plate. Add the yoghurt on top of the dipped biscuits and spread it out evenly.
Sprinkle the cocoa powder over the yoghurt and leave it in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight to set.
Mango cheesecake
This recipe solves the century-old issue of the open can of mango pulp in the fridge that you have not figured out how to finish yet, plus it makes a great Eid dessert for one. Most of the ingredients for this easy cheesecake will be available in your kitchen.
Ingredients
Base
250g Tennis biscuits
100g butter, melted
Filling
1 tsp vanilla essence
600g smooth cottage or cream cheese
¾ cup icing sugar
284ml fresh cream
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
Topping
2 x 410g tins of sliced mangoes in light syrup, drained
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp gelatine
⅓ cup boiled water
1 large fresh mango, peeled and thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
Method
The base
Lightly grease and line a 20cm loose-bottomed tin with baking parchment or greaseproof paper.
Put the biscuits in a plastic food bag and crush them to crumbs, using a rolling pin.
Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, then pour over the melted butter.
Mix thoroughly until the crumbs are completely coated with the melted butter.
Tip them into the prepared tin and press firmly down into the base to create an even layer.
Chill in the fridge for 1 hour to set firmly.
The filling
Place the cottage cheese, icing sugar, and vanilla essence in a bowl, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
Pour in the cream, lemon rind, and juice, mixing until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Now spoon the cream mixture onto the biscuit base, working from the edges inwards and making sure that there are no air bubbles.
Smooth the top of the cheesecake down with the back of a dessert spoon or spatula.
Leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours before adding the topping.
The topping
Mash or liquidise the tinned mangos until smooth.
Mix the boiling water, sugar, and gelatine, stirring rapidly with a fork until dissolved.
Cool slightly, then add to the mango pulp.
Mix well and pour on top of the cheesecake.
Refrigerate overnight to set.
Toss the mango slices in a bowl with the lemon juice and arrange them on top before slicing and serving.
For a nice shine, you can melt a little apricot jam with water and brush over top of the mango slices just before serving.
To unmould, place the base on top of a can (tin of baked beans), then gradually pull the sides of the tin down.
Slip the cake onto a serving plate, removing the lining paper and base.
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