Salma and Solly Abed, owners of Eastern Temptations in Joburg share how their family celebrate the breaking of the Ramadan fast with Roberta Thatcher
How will you and your family be celebrating Eid-al-Fitr this year?
The day before Eid is always very exciting because that is when you prepare the house for the celebrations, get your outfits ready and do all the food prepping.
Because the Islamic months change with the sighting of the moon, you don't know exactly which day Eid will be on until the last minute, so it can be quite stressful - three years ago we got burnt very badly!
This year we'll have about 25 people over for lunch, then there'll be a tea and afterwards the whole family, probably 40 or 50 people, will join us for supper.
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What is a typical Eid meal?
Nine times out of 10 people make biryani for Eid. We'll definitely be making one, we're just trying to decide whether it will be chicken or fish.
Sweets are such a big part of Eid celebrations, what dessert will you be making?
Either a gajar halwa or a soji halwa. Both are rich with lots of nuts, ghee and milk.
Where do you get your recipes from?
Most are passed down through the family. A good reference for me is the book Indian Delights by Zuleikha Mayat.
I think every Indian home has one, because every new bride gets one. It really has alles and everything in it.
As Eid approaches, what do you find you sell more of?
Definitely lots of ghee, rice and lentils for the biryanis, and also a lot of saffron. We also make sweets and biscuits that are very popular, like burfee, chana magaj, coconut ice and laddoo. And of course, many women come to get their mendhi (henna tattoos) done here.
Visit: Eastern Temptations, 35 Greenhill Road, Emmarentia, Johannesburg, 011-646-8429
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