A Pakistani family's Iftar tribute to the ancestors

Abu Dhabi - "We need to pass this legacy to our kids, so when they grow up, they keep us alive, as much as we have kept our parents alive."

Ramadan is not only a time of fasting, charity, reflection and appreciation, but one that unites family members who live apart from each other, both alive and deceased, according to Tauseef Farooqi, a Pakistani resident in Abu Dhabi.
The 50-year-old commercial director at a water and power plant company, who moved to the UAE 16 years ago from his home country, told us that Iftar is a special time that not only lets his family connect with relatives around the world, but also with his late mother and grandmother. "We all cook the same traditional recipes and Pakistani dishes passed down the generations," Farooqi says.
"So, having this meal at Iftar today, lets us connect to our mothers and grandmothers who handed down these treasured recipes to us, before they left this life. We are, thus, still together, through tastes and memory, if not physically together," he adds.
Farooqi has two daughters aged 7 and 11, and a 3-year-old son. His wife Erum, who insures that the family's Iftar tradition is kept alive, recently opened a media solutions marketing company, after 20 years of being a homemaker. He says Erum's cooking skills takes him back to his own childhood, growing up in Pakistan. "Every time I have one of these dishes, I get taken down memory lane. We cook the food that our parents once served us, and now we're serving it to our children."
Some of the family's signature dishes are pakoras, minced samosas, dahi baray and dahi phulki. Fruit chaat is also on the menu. This salad is made of fruits like watermelon, papaya, banana, pomegranate, grapes, apples, pineapple, and served with a sprinkling of black salt, roasted cumin powder, black pepper and chaat masala powder. "it's important to keep our tradition alive; we feel Ramadan is not complete without these dishes. They are truly in our blood," notes Farooqi.
The family's favourite drink is rooh afza, a popular syrupy, icy drink, similar to the Gulf region's own popular drink - Vimto. Although celebrating Ramadan away from his home country, the family stresses that the UAE is their home away from home, insuring that all expats feel the true and unique essence of Ramadan. "What is wonderful here that the UAE is a multinational country, and everyone is experiencing Ramadan, despite cultural differences," they say.
"At my workplace alone, there are over 30 nationalities, and non-Muslims too appreciate and respect the fact that we're fasting, and do not eat or drink in front of us," Farooqi says.
"Ramadan is a religious oblivation, and it does not matter in which country we perform this obligation, as long as we do it from the heart."
He also noted that it is important to share meals not just with the family, but with the community, friends, co-workers, and the less fortunate. "We tend to have Iftar together as a family, but I also have Iftar gatherings outside; it's important to unite as many people as possible."
Although Farooqi and Erum's children are very young, they have already started fasting and understanding the deeper meaning of patience during Ramadan. "I have been fasting since age 7, and my younger daughter has started fasting this Ramadan, also at 7!" he proudly notes.
The father of three also shared how the family ends their fast at the dinner table. "The moment we hear the call for prayer (Azaan in Urdu), we raise our hands and pray to God to accept our fast. We then each take a date and end the fast; this is followed by water, and small entrée-like dishes.
"We usually wait an hour or two to have the main meal, which has bread, meat, chicken, rice and lentils." At the end of the day, when their tummies are full, and the streets begin to get busy, with Ramadan tents and parks becoming crowded, it is crucial to carry out religious duties, states Farooqi, and not just during Ramadan. "We need to be patient and kind and help those in need, at all times."
"We need to pass this legacy to our kids, so when they grow up, they keep us alive, as much as we have kept our parents alive."
jasmine@khaleejtimes.com