Essential recipes and ingredients during Ramadan

Ramadan is an important month-long religious observance for Muslims who observe it by fasting, prayer, reflection, and community engagement.

The 30 day period of fasting begins at sunrise and ends as sunset and observant Muslims eat only before sunrise for the “Suhoor” and after sunset for the “Iftar.”

The evening Iftar is a popular celebration when Muslims come together and reflect on the importance of Ramadan, their lives and their community and share food with friends and family.

Ziyad Brothers, one of the nation’s largest distributors of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods that cater to Muslim needs, has identified the top 10 food items and ingredients purchased by Muslims during the Ramadan observance, and features an online database of “Ramadan Essential Recipes” in which these and other ingredients are used.

“There are many popular ingredients featured during Ramadan but among the most popular purchased by consumers are Dates and Date Paste, Jameed, Tahini, Lentils, Labna, Yogurt, Basmati rice, Ghee, Vermicelli and a variety of spices,” said Marissa Ziyad, Director of Marketing for Ziyad Brothers.

“The most popular recipes in which these ingredients are used include Makloubeh, Mansaf, Molokhiya, stuffed Grape Leaves, Lentil soup, Fattoush salad, Knafeh and Mamoul.”

Marissa Ziyad said that each recipe in the Ziyad Brothers online database of “Ramadan Essential Recipes” details ingredients and cooking instructions for preparing the popular Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food dishes.

Recipes for these popular dishes, which are detailed online by visiting www.ziyad.com/recipes, are:

Makloubeh – Meaning upside down. This is a rice and meat dish with fried vegetables that uses Ziyad Brand Basmati Rice, and their special Ziyad Brand Makloubeh spice.

Mansaf – A popular lamb and rice dish with yogurt sauce and toasted nuts. Ziyad Brand Jameed makes this dish feel like home.

Molokhiya – A spinach like stew cooked with chicken and served with fresh squeezed lemon. Ziyad Brand offers the main ingredients used like Dried Molokhiya, Sultan Frozen Molokhiya, and Ziyad Coriander.

Grape leaves are grape vine leaves wrapped around a rice and meat blend, and then cooked with lamb pieces in a tomato sauce. Necessary ingredients for this dish are Ziyad Brand Ghee, Ziyad Brand Allspice, Ziyad Brand Grape Leaves.

Lentil Soup is a Ramadan Essential dish. It replenishes the body after a long day of fasting and the main ingredient is Ziyad Brand Red Lentils.

Fattoush Salad is a mixed green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, radishes, green onion, parsley, fresh mint, and the dressing is made from Ziyad Brand Sumac, Ziyad Brand Pomegranate Molasses, and Ziyad Brand Dried Mint.

Kunafa is a warm dessert with sweet cheese and shredded Kataifi dough topped with simple syrup. Ingredients used for this dish are Ziyad Brand Rose Water, Ziyad Brand Sugar Free Simple Syrup, Dana Brand Sweet Cheese, Ziyad Brand Butter Ghee, and Ziyad Brand Kataifi Dough.

Mamoul is a cookie stuffed usually with dates, walnuts, and pistachios. Main ingredients used are Ziyad Brand Semolina, Ziyad Brand Ghee, Ziyad Brand Mahlab, Ziyad Brand Date Paste, Ziyad Brand Cinnamon, Ziyad Brand Cardamom.

“While these are the most popular ingredients and recipes based on our history of nearly 60 years in the Mediterranean and Middle East food wholesale industry, there are so many more to explore that satisfy our consumer’s needs,” said Marissa Ziyad.

For more information, visit Ziyad Brothers online at www.Ziyad.com and explore the recipe tabs for more Middle Eastern recipes!

ABOUT ZIYAD

Ziyad is a leading omni-channel provider of branded Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food and beverage products. Founded as a small bakery in 1966 in Chicago, Ziyad now owns numerous brands and partners with dozens of world-class companies on an exclusive basis to deliver their brands to the North American market. For more information on Ziyad, visit us online at www.Ziyad.com.