My son is now one and half, and this will be his first Ramazan. I want to create an environment at home where he begin to understand the importance of this holy month. To give him an extra sense of the occasion, I am also installing Ramazan decorations all over our home. Though we always welcome Ramazan with the utmost reverence every year, my newfound teacher-like instincts for my son are making me especially excited this time.

Ramazan is the most awesome month of the year, and promises countless blessings for those seeking them. This is also that time in our lives when Ramazan falls in middle of summer. The cycle repeats after every few decades, and we now have the longest and hottest days. This means fasting this year will require preparation; so you have enough time for your prayers alongside your daily chores and work.

The holy month is the best time to bring about a positive change in your daily eating habits and lifestyle as well. Preparation and storage are two secrets for managing your time properly in Ramazan, and will help you better organize yourself and carve out quality time for your prayers.

Preparations tips for Ramazan

  1. Make a list and bulk shop in advance

This will not only save you time and effort, but also protect you from heat and traffic jams while fasting. You can do this for basics like basin, flour, chat masala, oil, sugar and so on.

2. Make more storage space

You can do this by cleaning your pantry, fridge and freezer.

3. Prepare staple iftar and sehar items beforehand

Save time and energy by preparing and storing the following ingredients beforehand, making your iftar and sehri preps hassle-free:

  • Lemons will be an important ingredient: squeeze lemon juice and freeze in ice cube trays. Place the frozen cubes in ziplock bags
  • Make sugar syrup and store in bottles in the fridge
  • Freeze the pulp and puree of seasonal fruits such as falsa, strawberries, papaya, peach, mango and keri for later use in drinks and smoothies
  • Prepare and store vegetables; chop and boil spinach and freeze tomatoes, peas and bean sprouts
  • Make coriander and mint chutneys and freeze them for later use
  • Peel ginger garlic and freeze. Alternatlvely, you may blend it with green chilies and oil, then store in the fridge
  • For chats, boil and freeze chickpeas and kidney beans
  • Make other chutneys such as alu bukhara, imli and khobani in advance and store them in the fridge

4. Make yogurt at home

Yogurt is a very popular item for both sehri and iftar, and is eaten both plain and as lassi or raitas/chutneys. You can save a bunch of money and time by preparing it at home in large quantities that will last a couple of days

5. Switch to cooler, lighter, healthier meals

Eat salads and drink smoothies to fulfill your appetite instead of traditional curries and burgers. Healthy eating habits must be observed during Ramazan, as it will be a hot and long day therefore it is very important to keep our body hydrated and energized

6. Meal tips

  • Eat snacks at iftar
  • Eat dinner at sehri
  • Eat dessert 2 hours after iftar
  • Your intake of water between iftar and sehar will be key in keeping your body hydrated

At the end of the day, Ramazan is a month for fasting and prayer. It is a special month, and must be celebrated as one. While you will need to spend time in the kitchen, you can reduce that time by preparing ahead of time, thus freeing up precious time for praying and reciting the Holy Quran.

I hope these tips help you make the most of these very special days – Happy fasting everyone :)

    Fatima Ali

    I am trained to be an IT professional. I served National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) for six years after graduating from the same university. As long as I can remember, cooking good food has been my passion and it makes me happy. My cooking lessons were a bit unusual though. Back in the day when digital did not mean much, my father would record cooking shows (knorr ka kitchen, kaukab khuwaja and Zee Khana Khazana – Chef Sanjeev Kapoor) for me to watch endless times later on, before trying the recipes out. I would make brownies and cold cake almost every day while my mother was asleep. This was my way of surprising her every evening. My mother cooks amazing food too and I have tried many of the recipes written in her recipe book. I draw inspiration from a number of chefs from televised cooking shows such as Late Chef Farah, Chef Rahat, Chef Mehboob, BBC Food, Masala TV, Chef Shai, Chef Sharmeen, Master Chef Australia and my ultimate favorite Chef Shireen Anwer. I would not be as good a cook I am now without passive guidance from each one of these.