Easy iftar and sehri recipes

Raise your hand if pasta is the only solution for all kinds of dinner emergencies.  You don't have any meal prepared for the unsolicited guests who just won't go away without enjoying a hearty meal? Well, there's always the 'easy to cook' pasta as your side aide.

You are too tired to experiment for iftar today, well there's pasta again — to your rescue. Every woman, man, girl, boy would vouch for pasta being their ultimate saviour, to any sort of food predicament, and I am no stranger to those either.

My favourite on the pasta list is the Chicken Margherita Pasta. It's a classic that is bound to be liked by everyone, even the finicky children. So, here's a great base recipe for all of you to enjoy. 

CHICKEN MARGHERITA PASTA

Ingredients

8 ounces of penne pasta

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

5 large tomatoes, diced

4 green onions, sliced

1 tsp salt

8 ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Grated Parmesan cheese

Method

Place freshly cooked pasta in a large bowl; set aside. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and pepper flakes to the hot oil and stir for a minute. Add the diced tomatoes and green onions, sprinkle with salt. Cook and stir until just heated through. Toss the cooked pasta into the mixture. Add in the sliced fresh mozzarella and basil leaves; toss to mix. Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese as topping.

Oats Porridge

Personally, I am a bit of a short–cut cook. To me, even the simplest of dishes can be the tastiest. And this Ramadan if you opt for a healthy and simple sehri, then oats porridge can be your answer to every problem, like it is for me.

Ingredients

1/2 cup, easy to cook, rolled oats

1/2 cup milk

2 cups water

2 tablespoon sugar

Method

Place the oats in a pan over medium heat. Add in the water and then slowly add in the milk.

Add sugar as per taste. I usually add 2 tablespoon sugar. If you decide on adding fruits later, then you can skip the sugar part completely. But please remember that honey cannot be added while the oats are on the stove, honey must be added when the porridge has cooled down, as honey may become toxic when heated.

Do stir often and allow the porridge to simmer. The porridge will also thicken as it cooks. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

Serve the oats porridge hot. If you want to make the porridge more interesting, you can add in dry fruits or fresh fruits when it has cooled down completely.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Food and Styling: RBR

Eating the same iftar items can get boring, so why not change things up. Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed