Suhur/Suhoor or Sehri is not obligatory but a practice on the basis of the teachings and practices of Prophet Muhammad. Muslims belief that there is great blessings in Suhur and happily wake up in the wee hour during Ramadan. It is a very special time and meal during Ramadan.
The experience of Suhoor in Bangladesh is something I have been missing a lot this year. Even though it has never been the practice of eating a huge meal or cooking during suhoor for my family, I still miss the hustling and bustling of the time. Last week was great as Ali was working from home, so we had some quiet time during Sehri while R was sleeping. This week, he’s traveling, so I’m just waking up alone.
Seeing the lights turning on in the different houses and the hurried activities to finish the meal before Fajr is a festivity of its own. Most of the houses in my old neighborhood were one-storied and had a courtyard between the main house and the kitchen. I could easily tell who was up cooking for sehri and who is late to wake up and rushing to eat something if I looked out of my bedroom window or stepped into the balcony in our two-storied home.
We could hear the sehri announcements from at least three masjids from the house I grew up. Each imam from the different masjids would provide a free wake up call service to the community and request all to wake up for Sehri through his amplifier speaker. Then came the 30 minutes, 10 minutes and 5 minutes reminder to finish sehri. In between, there were usually beautiful Hamd and Naat. Some had beautiful melodious voices making you never want to stop listening to the songs and poems. Then, there were some not so melodious voices that provided endless source of laughter for the family.
As much as I miss the hustling and bustling, I like to keep cooking at a minimum during Ramadan. I usually do some heavy lift cooking in the weeks leading to Ramadan and freeze some family favorites so that we can just take out and enjoy during the month. Kafta Mishwiyyeh is a type of meatball(also known as kofta, kefta kofteh, etc.) I often freeze in bulk. The Muhammara recipe I shared few weeks ago goes hand in hand with this Middle Eastern Kafta. Even if you have to make it in a hurry, it’s the easiest recipe ever once you have all the ingredients in hand.
Layering muhammara, a simple salad or sliced tomato drizzled with olive oil, topped with the Kafta Mishwiyyeh in a big serving platter is a great way to enjoy food with your loved ones, family style. Your taste buds will be dancing from the bursts of different flavors from the layers of goodness. If you don’t want to serve the family style, make a pita sandwich with muhammara spread and some of these delicious Kafta. Whether Ramadan or not, you can enjoy these meatballs anytime of the year.
Stop by to check the Ramadan Special page. You’ll find some great tips for decor and recipes for suhoor and iftar.
- 1 lb of ground beef
- ½ lb of ground lamb
- 1 egg
- 1 cup onions, finely minced and liquid discarded
- 1 cup parsley, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- ⅓ teaspoon nutmeg powder
- ⅓ teaspoon allspice powder
- ⅓ teaspoon fenugreek powder
- ⅓ teaspoon cloves powder
- ⅓ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ⅓ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Salt according to taste
- Dash of Cayenne pepper (optional)
- Mix all ingredients and shape as patties or as balls to put on skewers.
- Grease grill with oil and place the Kafta gently on the grill on medium heat. About 5-6 minutes.
- Gently turn the kafta over and cook evenly on all sides.
Substitute ground turkey or additional ground beef if ground lamb is not available.
An alternative way of preparing the Kafta is in the oven. Bake 20 minutes on 350 degree Fahrenheit turning once. Then broil about 5 minutes turning once.
Instead of taking powdered spices, you may combine all the whole spices and crush/powder in a coffee grinder (my preferred way).
Pin the Kofta Recipe
[print_this]রেসিপি: কোপ্তা মিশউয়ে
উপকরণ:
১ পাউন্ড গরুর কিমা
১/২ পাউন্ড ভেড়া বা খাশির কিমা
১ টি ডিম
১ কাপ পেঁয়াজ, কুঁচি কুঁচি করে কাটা এবং পেঁয়ােজর পানি ঝরিয়ে নেয়া
১ কাপ পার্সলে পাতা, কুঁচি কুঁচি করে কাটা
১/২ চা চামচ রসুন পেস্ট
১/৩ চা চামচ জায়ফল গুঁড়া
১/৩ চা চামচ জয়ত্রী গুঁড়া
১/৩ চা চামচ মেথি গুঁড়া
১/৩ চা চামচ লবঙ্গ গুঁড়া
১/৩ চা চামচ দারুচিনি গুঁড়া
১/৩ চা চামচ গোল মরিচ গুঁড়া
স্বাদ অনুযায়ী লবণ
দু-এক চিমটি মরিচ গুঁড়া (ঐচ্ছিক)
প্রণালী:
১. সমস্ত উপকরন মিশিয়ে, বল অথবা চ্যাপ্টা গোলাকার আকৃতির কোপ্তা তৈরী করুন।
২. গ্রীলে তেল দিয়ে মাঝারি তােপ কোপ্তা ৫-৬ মিনিট গ্রীল করুন।
৩. সাবধানে কোপ্তা উল্টিয়ে চারিদিক সমানভাবে গ্রীল করুন।
৪. গ্রীল করতে না চাইলে, কোপ্তা ওভেনে ২০-২৫ মিনিট বেক করা যায়।
প্রয়োজনিও কিছু টিপস্ এর জনে্য দয়াকরে আটির্কেল অথবা ইংরেজি রেসিপির নোট সেকশনটা একটু দেখে নেবেন।[/print_this]
Lovely dish – this has such great flavor. And it’s such a good idea to prepare food ahead for Ramadan – makes things a bit less hectic. Good stuff – thanks.
Delicious looking Lebanese meatballs!
Traditions er kotha porte shobshomoye bhalo lage. Bangla ey recipe ta dekhe aro bhalo laglo. Ramadan er din guli bhalo katuk tomar. Eyi recipe ta try korar icche ache … chicken diye hobey ki? Ba mutton?
deliciously done looks fabulous
I miss the suhoor in India when I would visit during Ramadan, it was always so different to the ones in England and I would watch my aunts and uncles have so much fun in the morning cooking and eating. With those memories in mind, I try to keep it fun for my children. It is by early in the morning and we have some grumpies sometimes but most of the time it’s so much fun and the girls are always in a good mood. Last year, we went to IHOP for suhoor just for fun. We probably will this year too. In Houston, I had suhoor parties for my cousins, it was so much fun.
The Kefta look wonderful Lail, and they really are a great make ahead meal.
Nazneen
My husband would love these meatballs!
I will confess to being one of those people that generally sleeps through Sehri but these kebabs would definitely make me get up! 🙂
A great idea to do some prep cooking in the weeks proceeding Ramadan, it makes your life so much easier. Love the flavors and spices in your meatballs. Have a great weekend. Take care, BAM
Yummy! This is perfect and bet tastes so much more delish when prepped ahead of time 🙂
I so wish I could reach many of those meatballs skewers… This dish looks divine!
I love the Arabic spices for meats. Irresistible!
Can you please explain how do you freeze them?
I usually freeze them after grilling/baking and fully thaw before consuming. However, the koftas can also be frozen raw after you have shaped them into small balls. If you are freezing it’s better to bake than grill. Hope this helps. Let me know if additional questions.