- [Bim] Hi, I'm Bim Adewunmi.
- [Ahmed] I'm Ahmed Ali Akbar.
- [Bim] And this Ramadan, I'm going to be making
some Nigerian style potato and egg for suhoor.
- [Ahmed] And I'm gonna be making
some Pakistani style pakoras for iftar.
- [Bim] Ramadan is a month of the Islamic calendar
and during that month you fast from sunup to sundown
every day, and so suhoor is the predawn meal.
You have this before the sun comes up,
and when I was growing up the thing that we had
most commonly was something that we Nigerians call egg,
singular, always egg, and you can put anything in there,
like sardines or corned beef or sausages, or whatever,
like it really is a DIY situation.
- [Ahmed] I think eggs are a really common thing.
They're easy, they're quick.
- [Bim] High protein, super nutritious
and they fill you up for longer
so you don't feel the pangs of hunger nearly as much.
- [Ahmed] You're looking at basically 12 to 19 hours
of not eating or drinking during the day.
- [Bim] And that includes water, before you ask.
- [Ahmed] Fasting means different things to different people
but it's ultimately a way to try to make yourself
a better person during the month of Ramadan.
Unfortunately, also what happens is sometimes
when you break your fast you're very hungry
and you eat a lot of food, so the thing that I make
is something that I shovel in my face,
when it's time to break fast.
- [Bim] Tell us a little bit about
what you're gonna make for iftar.
- [Ahmed] So iftar is the time where you break your fast,
you know, you hear the call to prayer,
you eat a date and you drink some water
and then, somebody's probably already preparing the food,
and one of the things that we always prepare
is this pakora, which is a fried vegetable fritter.
The pakoras can basically be any fried vegetable.
It's like the chickpea flour is the thing
that really makes it what it is,
it's usually potatoes, onions, jalapenos, eggplant,
it's really anything you want, so it's like a really
special treat, this is like the unhealthy side
of your fast breaking, what I love about pakoras
is that they're not always pretty,
they're just like a whole bunch of, mess of vegetables
with batter on top of them,
so I like it when there's a jalapeno and an onion
and a potato in one pakora.
They are a really special thing of bringing people together
where everyone wants to pluck them
right out of the oil when they're hot.
They don't even get to a plate really, you know,
because they're best when they're immediately
crispy out of the oil.
(soft music)
- [Bim] I love Ramadan, every year.
It makes me feel really connected,
there are literally millions of us across the world
all doing the same thing at the same time.
I found that really heartwarming.
It makes me incredibly happy, like I'm really part
of a global community.
[Ahmed] Oh yes.
(soft music)