I just found out that a Muslim friend was planning on staying in his apartment and studying all day on Eid-al-Fitr, which (he tells me) is a week from Sunday. I’m horrified by this, because I don’t think anybody should spend a major holiday alone slaving over journal articles on angiogenesis, so I told him that he should come over for dinner. What do Lebanese people usually eat on Eid? Anybody have any good recipes? Is there anything else special that I should try to have around? I keep kosher, so I know my meat is acceptably hallal, and I know not to cook with wine, but I’m otherwise pretty clueless, Orthodox Jews not being prone to making or eating Eid meals ;j
You should just go to McDonald’s for their all-new Eid-al-Fitr Meal! It comes with a toy surprise!
No clue, but that’s so considerate of you! It sucks to spend holidays alone.
Kudos to you for being such a great friend!
Generally, Eid will be a feast day. Its not Eid-al-Adha, where the traditional meal would be lamb of some description, but Eid-al Fitr, which is the end of Ramadhan.
In our house we generally have samosas/kebabs of some description, followed by a spicy roast chicken, or tandoori chicken, with salad, pillau rice, potato-ey things, and pitta bread, followed with a desert of kulfi (Indian ice-cream), or gulab jambu (rose flavoured sweet bread balls smothered in syrup). Lots of Indian sweets, and hot chai. But we are Indian Muslim, so YMMV.
Well it’s not official, but while I was at UM I had several Muslim friends from Dearborn, so I’m pretty sure the words for the end of Ramadan translate to “the day in which wolfman’s muslim friend’s families create vast quantities of food and have a celebration in which wolfman attempts to eat his own weight in home cooked yummies.”
My family’s Bengali, so YMMV, but this is our traditional Eid food.
Stuffed Dalpuri
Shingara (can’t find a link on me, but it’s on the net somewhere)
Steamed rice
Ramen noodles mixed with shrip, spices, and beef.
Like I said, family’s Bengali. I have no idea if this is an “across the board” sorta thing.
Well, here’s a site that describes what that holiday in Lebanon is like:
There’s a sidebar that talks about a special pastry called maamul, which is served on feast days.
And here’s one that talks about traditional Lebanese food:
GilaB, I have in my hands a Lebanese cookbook from 1959. Alas, the writer was a Lebanese Christian, so it doesn’t specifically mention Eid-al-Fitr recipes. They do seem to be classic Lebanese recipes though.
One lovely looking menu consists of tabbouleh, farareej mashwieh (roasted garlic lemon chicken), garlic paste, maamul, fruit and coffee. If you would like recipes email me and I’ll be happy to type some out tonight.
It’s a classic cookbook, with some of everything so if the above isn’t appealing to you there are lots more recipes, too.
Whip up a big juicy pork loin roast, with creamy buttery mashed potatoes on the side…maybe with grilled shrimp as a starter. Then you can both sit and stare at it morosely before heading over to McDonald’s for the all-new Eid-al-Fitr Meal.
Ike, I love how your suggestions are always so helpful and constructive 
Irreverent Tone, thanks so much! I’ve just emailed you - that menu sounds really great, and like something I’d be capable of cooking.
Are there any other traditions I should know about? My own googling indicates that people eat a lot of candy - is that true for adults also, or just for little kids? Should I be timing this for Sunday dinner, lunch, what?
The whole cookbook I mentioned earlier (Food From the Arab World by Marie Karam Khayat and Margaret Clark Keating) has been posted online.
If anyone wants the link just email me.
Just a note. Halal is much less restrictive than Kosher. And all my Muslim friends have said they are happy to eat any Kosher food so long as it does not contain alcohol. The prohibition on alcohol in halal food is sometimes extended to prohibit wine vinegar and soy sauce (which is naturally fermented and has an extremely low alcohol content).
Lots of sweets. For everyone!
The main feast would probably be at lunchtime. The Eid prayer is said around 10:30am, and then there’d be food about 1-ish.
Hope that’s helpful.
How did dinner turn out, GilaB?