We’re midway through Ramadan, the ninth and most sacred month of the year for Muslims. During this period, observant Muslims consume no food or drink between dawn and dusk, and while non-Muslims may think of Ramadan primarily as a fasting month, food is a huge focus.

People get up early to eat before dawn. They sit down together to break the fast after nightfall. And there are grand food traditions around Eid al-Fitr, the celebratory feasting day that concludes Ramadan.

There are about 50 Muslim-majority countries in the world, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey, and large Muslim minorities in countries such as India and the United States.

In Australia, 3.2 per cent of the population identified as Muslim in the 2021 census, making it the country’s second-largest religious grouping after Christianity. Overall, Muslims make up around a quarter of the world’s population.

Date night

This year, Ramadan began on March 1 and will end when the new moon appears, either on March 30 or 31. There are exemptions from fasting for the very young and the very old, the pregnant or menstruating, the sick and those travelling long distances.

Food traditions vary greatly depending on country and culture. In Turkey, a special round, checkered pide is served during Ramadan. In Pakistan, the wheat and lamb porridge haleem is popular. Helo-murr, a fermented, spiced corn drink, is essential in Sudan. But across most Muslim communities, dates are a Ramadan tradition – they are said to be a favourite food of the prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, and also sweet and energy-giving.

“They’re perfect to begin Iftar, the evening meal that breaks the fast,” says Gilava Pour, the Iranian-born founder of Exotic Bazaar, a Victorian-based Middle Eastern meal kit company.

“We stuff dates with walnuts and eat them with tea. The vitamins, minerals and sweetness slowly bring up blood sugar, pairing with the good fats of walnuts, which give high protein and nutrition to your brain,” says Pour. “You don’t get a sugar spike.”

Dates can also be an important part of Suhoor, the meal before sunrise. “You have a little gathering, try to have a complete high-protein meal,” says Pour.

“My grandma would wake up at 4am and set a table of cheese, bread, nuts, dates, a few leftovers from Iftar, and tea. You wake up and you are immediately feasting. The intimacy and togetherness of the early morning was such a nice feeling.”

A time of reflection

Ramadan is a time of discipline, spiritual renewal and unity. “Fasting is difficult for the first few days, but then your body gets used to it, you feel lighter, you feel proud, you don’t feel tempted,” says Pour. “It’s a time of reflection, health, and helping people who have to go without.”

In Iran, her family would gather at her grandmother’s house for Iftar. During the month of Ramadan, they would gather several times to make enormous quantities of ash reshteh, a hearty Persian stew that includes plentiful herbs, legumes and noodles. It would be offered to the community, particularly those in need.

“Anyone could come to the door with their own containers and we would fill up hundreds of pots,” says Pour. Decorating the ash reshteh is an important part of the process. “We had a line-up of family, first putting on crispy fried shallots, yoghurt and fragrant mint oil. I mixed oil with dried mint and would drizzle it on top.”

As with Easter in the Christian tradition, Ramadan shifts according to the lunar calendar, so people would sometimes shuffle through snow and sometimes amble in mild spring weather to meet for Iftar.

Shake the house

This year Ramadan coincides with Nowruz, the pre-Islamic Persian New Year, a key period on the Iranian calendar.

“We prepare for Nowruz for 21 days, doing a deep clean – we call it ‘shake the house’ – and sprouting sabzi by soaking grains in water,” says Pour. The sabzi – a plate of sprouted wheat, barley or lentils – will become the most important item on the haft-seen, the Nowruz ceremonial table, which is laid with symbolic items during the 13-day celebration.

“How is your sabzi? What’s the state of your sabzi? These are the key topics of conversation in the weeks leading to Nowruz,” says Pour. Ash reshteh is also a traditional food for Nowruz and Pour thinks we’re lucky that it coincides with autumn in Australia this year.

“It’s a good food for autumn because having vegetables and high-protein food is cleansing and nourishing,” she says. “It’s a good way to start the season and reflect on the first part of the year.”

This year, Nowruz begins on March 20 and will continue as Ramadan draws to a close upon the sighting of the new moon. At that point, the feasting of Eid al-Fitr begins.

“It’s religion and also fun, seeing who spots the moon first,” says Pour. “You look forward to Eid like Christmas. It’s also a time of donations. We would take care packages to the local mosque and think about people who have to go without.”