Eid in Austin
Braised lamb w/ pipián rojo and crispy potatoes — and me!
Ramadan is a challenge no matter what. For me, the month of Ramadan provides an important opportunity to introspect, practice self-discipline, trust in your own strength, and remember intimately that there are so many people that have no choice but to go without.
This is something my family has been doing for hundreds of years and even though I am not religious, it feels important for me to connect to this ancestral history.
Pilau w/ cauliflower and fried onions
Fasting every day from sunup until sundown proves extra difficult when working in the service industry. Whether I was prepping recipes, working on the line, or waiting tables, food was always at the forefront of my mind. It was humbling to remember how damn easy it is for me to access a veritable abundance of food and to note how mindlessly I typically consume a handful of almonds or an afternoon coffee. Your body, of course, acclimates and it gets easier day by day. The hardest part for me though, as always, is the feeling of isolation. My dad’s side of the family is Muslim, but they live far away, and my relationship with my father is shaky at best. There was no communal breaking of bread come iftar – the meal you have after sunset. In fact, most nights during the week, I worked as a server. I’d shove some dates in my mouth crouched down in the wait station to break my fast while trying to get my tables in a good enough place for me to step off and scarf down a meal. My coworkers had little to no understanding of what I was going through.
That. Lamb.
My girlfriend Maria did fast alongside me this year in an incredibly meaningful show of love and support. Her generosity in holding this tradition with me when she did not have to was a type of care that I have never experienced. It helped me feel so much less alone.
We decided to host a big (huge) dinner to celebrate Eid, the end of the month of Ramadan. We dreamed up a menu that combined some Indian classics and Mexican flavors:
Samosas w/ handmade pastry filled with potatoes and peas — my Dadima’s recipe
Vegetarian pilau w/ cauliflower and fried onions
Braised lamb served with pipián rojo and crispy potatoes —Ramadan and Lent overlapped this year. Pipián is a typical lenten dish similar to mole and lamb is traditionally eaten for Eid
Salad with radishes, cucumber, jicama, lime juice, and lots of parsley, cilantro, and dill
White chocolate and pistachio custard w/ raspberry-rose compote
I spent the day cooking like crazy with my incredible mother as sous chef. I was running around right up until the guests arrived, so to be honest, I was in a bit of a stressed out daze for the first hour or so. Seeing this eclectic mix of our friends and family, nearly all of whom had never celebrated Eid before, cozy up at folding tables and chairs in our living room turned banquet hall was beautiful. They passed around big platters of food, mingled and laughed in the candlelight, and felt the love and effort that Maria and I put in, both for the month of Ramadan and this special day.
