The 20 Best Ramadan Dishes for an Egyptian Iftar Table

How to build a balanced iftar table

The biggest mistake in Ramadan is putting everything on the table at once, so the stomach is hit all at once after fifteen hours of fasting. The order that works: a warm or cold drink to replace fluids, then a soup to open the stomach gradually, then light starters, then the main course — and the sweet after the maghrib prayer, not alongside the food.

First: drinks — where iftar starts

Ramadan drinks aren't an indulgence; they're the first thing to replace fluids and sugar after a fast.

• Khoshaf with apricot leather and dried fruit — the richest in iron and potassium, and made by soaking with no cooking at all.
• Qamar al-din juice — the best known of them all, with a colour and body of its own.
• Sobia — creamy with coconut, and more filling than the rest.
• Erksous — a genuinely Egyptian drink, but be careful if you have high blood pressure.
• Tamarind — sharp, refreshing and appetite-opening.
• Carob — naturally sweet and easy on the stomach.

Second: soup — to open the stomach

Soup prepares the digestive system for the heavier food that follows. Two dominate the Egyptian and Arab table:

• Orzo soup with chicken — the most common in Egypt, and its secret is toasting the pasta before the stock.
• Algerian chorba with freekeh — heavier, and substantial enough to be a meal on its own.

Third: starters — the part people wait for

• Sambousek with meat and cheese — made and frozen weeks before Ramadan.
• Fried Syrian kibbeh — more work, but the result earns it.
• Tunisian brik with tuna and egg — two minutes to cook and properly crisp.
• Egyptian ta'ameya — the cheapest and most filling starter, and the beans must be soaked, never boiled.
• Hummus with tahini — make it two days ahead and keep it in the fridge.
• Lebanese tabbouleh — the only green thing most people actually eat in Ramadan.

Fourth: the main courses

These are what change day to day. The choice depends on how much time you have:

• Baked béchamel pasta — assembled in the morning and baked half an hour before the call to prayer.
• Stuffed vine leaves — long work; better for a gathering than a weekday.
• Fattah with beef — the Eid dish, but made often in Ramadan too.
• Molokhia with chicken — the fastest main, done in an hour.
• Saudi kabsa — one pot that feeds the whole family.
• Palestinian maqluba — the one that impresses guests on looks alone.
• Okra stew with beef — the classic winter dish.

Fifth: the sweets

Sweets come after the maghrib prayer, not with iftar — the stomach won't take it.

• Stuffed qatayef — the symbol of Ramadan, without contest.
• Kunafa with nuts — one tray lasts a week.
• Luqmat al-qadi — the cheapest and quickest sweet, done in fifteen minutes.
• Basbousa with cream — keeps for days and improves as it sits.
• Coffee muhallabia — light on the stomach after a heavy iftar.

A month-ahead prep plan

The biggest time-saver in Ramadan is preparing ahead. Freeze raw weeks before: sambousek, kibbeh, ta'ameya and rolled vine leaves. Make once a week: syrup, hummus, daqqa and tomato sauce.

One last piece of advice

Don't put more than one main course on the table. A single main with a soup, starters and a drink is more than enough for four people — the rest just piles up in the fridge and gets thrown away.