Cooking tips for Ramadan

Cooking tips for Ramadhan

1. Make a plan for the daily Sehr and Iftar menu!
This will save you a lot of time as you won’t have to decide everyday what to make. Make a list of your housemates’ favourite foods. Get a blank calendar from a nearby shop and jot down the different foods that you plan to make on different days. Create a shopping list. Label the groceries and other cooking stuff that you buy so that you don’t have difficulty in distinguishing the different types of food while they are frozen.

2. Buy in bulk!
Remember that you’ve got to save time for other activities during Ramadan. Buying in bulk would mean that you would have to go to the stores less. You can then utilize this time better by engaging in some other activities. This will also help you if some surprise guests show up for Sehr or Iftar.

3. Prepare the cooking stuff well in time!
Specify a time every day for preparing the stuff, such as washing the meat and adding salt to it etc., that you’ll need to cook. Make it early in the day so that you won’t be very tense about the lack of time in the evening especially near Iftar time when you’re feeling very tired.

4. Clean as you work!
Normally, you would have to take out some extra time to clean your kitchen and the dishes etc. after Sehr or Iftar. This does take a lot of time. However, if you clean as you prepare the stuff and cook, you’ll be left with very little work to do once the dishes are brought in for washing.

5. Stay hydrated as you cook!
Although most people don’t take care of this, this is very important to maintain one’s energy in the kitchen. Though you cannot drink during fasting, remember to open the windows and doors and turn on the fan to diffuse out the heat more quickly. Of course, after Iftar, if you’ve specified a time for cooking too, remember to have enough drinks.

6. Use the leftovers wisely!
Most people tend to cook more than what is required. Remember to use these leftovers in the next meal. This would actually result in saving a lot of preparation and cooking time. If you were expecting guests and no one came, you could even use these leftovers alone for the next meal if they are enough.

7. Have a backup meal ready and set the table before sleeping!
There are times when your sleeping plan doesn’t work out as you expected it to and when you wake up, you realize that it’s too late to make anything. Have a backup meal ready for such occasions. Moreover, set the table before you go to sleep so that you don’t have to waste time for that in the morning when you’re feeling sleepier than usual.

8. Do dhikr while cooking!
Most people don’t talk much while cooking especially if they’re cooking alone. If you’re one of those people, you could utilize this time in doing dhikr or revising some Surah that you have memorized.

9. Utilize the extra hands that you might have!
If you’ve got a huge household, there might be people who aren’t doing anything at all and would be able to help you in your cooking. Ask them to do errands for you. However, if you think that the person might actually cause you to waste more time, send him on an errand which won’t involve you at all knowing that he’ll be able to manage it alright.

10. Remember to pray for barakah (blessing) in your time!
Though you might have very little time for cooking, you could finish everything in that little time if you’ve got barakah in it. Remember to ask Allah Azza Wajal to provide you with that