Recipes for suhoor this Ramadan — with make-ahead options and substitution suggestions too
A variety of delicious ideas to keep you nourished and energized with no stress
It's almost Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims all over the world, and as usual Muslims won't imbibe food or water from dawn until dusk for the duration. (For those unfamiliar, the first meal of the day — suhoor — must be eaten before the sun rises, and the meal to break the day's fast — iftar — is enjoyed as soon as the sun sets.) So, a day without food and drink can be as long as 17 hours for those of us who reside in northern countries like Canada. For the month of April, the sun will rise as early as 5:45 a.m. if you live on the West Coast.
Right now, you may be organizing your pantries and kitchens, and preparing meal plans for suhoor and iftar. In order to stay active and energized throughout this long day of fasting, you'll be thinking of ways to fuel up first thing in the morning. Of course the choices for the pre-dawn meal of suhoor vary from person to person and culture to culture. The options are endless and personal, as some of you may want a light meal, while others may be looking for something more substantial. In this round-up of ideas for suhoor, we have options for a wide range of tastes. And bearing in mind that many will be preparing your meals the night before, to avoid fiddling around in the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning, we have tips to help you do just that too. What's more, with all of us staying at home and shopping less, we've provided ideas for substitutions that will yield delicious results.
For the breakfast lover
Who likes to have breakfast at every meal? Eggs for lunch? Pancakes for dinner? I know, there are lots of you out there! My personal favourite is shakshukha, because you can make the base of the dish the night before, using a pantry favourite these days — canned tomatoes — and simply crack the eggs into it the morning of your fast. The permutations for a shakshukha are endless. Throw in those wilted fresh herbs that you know aren't going to last much longer. That block of cheddar that is lurking in the corner of your fridge? Grate it onto your eggs. That crispy chili oil? Drizzle a bit of it on the egg yolks. And then sit down and enjoy your jammy tomato and eggs dish alongside toasted bread or a bowl of fruit, and you'll be set for the rest of your day of fasting. You can also make extra tomato sauce, and freeze it to make the dish again throughout Ramadan.
Pancakes are another dish to prepare the night before. Fry these beauties up, wrap them in parchment paper or foil, and store them in the fridge. Warm them up the next morning in the oven, and enjoy with a drizzle of maple syrup. Don't have any syrup right now? Smear a little jam or butter on top, or maybe make a little sauce with the apples or pears you need to use up. By transforming your fruit into a compote or sauce, you'll get more out of the fruit you have on hand.
Sweet Potato Goat Cheese Frittata
For this frittata, bake your sweet potatoes the night before, and you can saute the onions, too. These can be stored in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the frittata the next morning. You can swap out the fresh spinach for frozen, and if you don't have Italian seasoning, dig deep into your pantry: try cumin powder, turmeric powder, or sumac — get creative!
For the meat lover
There are those who prefer to get their protein fix via meat to keep them feeling nourished through a full day of fasting. Meat dishes can be paired with bread or rice dishes, and even enjoyed on their own. There are plenty of options for the meat lover during Ramadan.
These Jamaican patties are a real treat for your suhoor meal. The dough needs to rest a bit, even overnight, but once you've shaped the patties and stuffed them with this fragrant spiced meat, you can store them in your freezer and take them out the night before you wake up for suhoor. If you don't have Jamaican yellow curry powder in your pantry at the moment, try using garam masala, or ras-al-hanout instead. No scotch bonnets? Use pickled jalapenos from a can or jar, or those green Thai bird chilies you may have on hand. You can even add a few squirts of your favourite hot sauce in a pinch.
Sarosh's Chicken Jalfrezi Pita Pockets with Quick-Pickled Onions
Roast a chicken during the day or pick up a rotisserie chicken and stretch it out over the week for your suhoor (or iftar) meals. You can make the quick pickle in advance for these pita pockets and customize the fillings to suit your preferences and to use up anything you have on hand.
Beef Kofta Curry with Fluffy Rice, Beans & Peas
Canned lentils may be sitting in your pantry right now, and they'd make a wonderful addition to this beef-based dish. Prepare it in its entirety in advance, and keep it in an airtight container in your fridge. All you have to do is warm it up in the morning! This meat-based curry is fragrant with ginger and curry paste, but if you don't have any of the latter, don't worry, you can make a mix of spices you may already have in your pantry: cumin seeds, dried turmeric, cayenne pepper, coriander seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, etc.
For the liquid breakfast lover
If you're a fan of smoothies for breakfast, you may already have your perfect quick and easy for suhoor meal in mind. They're not only quick to prepare, but also quick to eat. Here are some options to inspire smoothie newbies and experts alike. Just make sure no one else in the house is sleeping, because your blender will make a lot of noise before the crack of dawn!
Coffee Smoothie or Mocha Almond Smoothie
This coffee-based smoothie is a perfect pick-me-up for those of you who aren't going to catch a few more winks after suhoor. Dates are traditionally consumed during Ramadan, especially at iftar, to break the fast, but there are no rules saying it shouldn't be consumed for suhoor. And with their long shelf life, dates are a fantastic pantry staple to consider having right now. This smoothie has dates, almond butter and yogurt, lovely flavours for a morning treat. No almond butter? Try peanut butter. No almond milk? Add whichever milk you prefer, dairy or non-dairy. The best part is that you can prepare your coffee the night before and the smoothie comes together in the morning.
Why not have a chocolate treat some mornings? You can have your mint ready and washed from the night before, then when you're up for suhoor, add all the ingredients to the blender. You don't have to use fresh bananas, this is the perfect recipe for using up those bananas that were darkening too fast that you threw in your freezer.
For a drink which has great health benefits, with turmeric as its star ingredient, make this Golden milkshake scented with ginger. If you don't have stevia, you can add honey, maple syrup, or you can make a simple syrup with good old plain sugar from your pantry. And guess what? You can make this the night before and keep it cool in a thermos in your fridge.
For those who want to keep it light with a suhoor snack
Some of us can't abide the idea of having a large meal at five in the morning, though we know we need to keep hydrated and energized during the day. These options may be for you. Grab a piping hot cup of tea, a glass of non-dairy milk, or a tall glass of water, and snack on these goodies before the sun begins to rise.
This recipe is a real treat and can be frozen — just remember to take a portion out of the freezer the night before suhoor, and warm it up, wrapped in foil, at 200F degrees in the oven the morning of. There are lots of options for substitutions; you can transform these muffins into a vegetarian version by replacing the meat with frozen corn or peas. Don't have cheddar? You can use any type of cheese you have on hand these days: goat cheese, Gruyere, the sky's the limit! You can also swap the apple for pears.
Oat Spice and Everything Nice Power Balls
These date-based power balls can be made ahead of time and again, and they can be frozen for up to two weeks. Remove them from the freezer the night before, and enjoy them for suhoor. Bonus: you can also munch on them in the evening, during iftar, with a cup of cardamom-scented tea. The recipe calls for long-life items that may be in your pantry at the moment, such as desiccated coconut, oats, cashews and almond butter.
Everyone loves a basic muffin recipe, this one works well as you can add nuts, dried fruit or whatever frozen fruit you have on hand. They can be prepared in advance, and frozen, too. Make sure you defrost them the night before.
For vegetarians or those who don't want to eat meat first thing in the morning
If you are looking for nourishing and comforting meat-free dishes you can adapt to your tastes and likings, these three recipes are for you.
This is a hearty dish which allows you to use a myriad of your pantry staples. The recipe calls for red lentils, but really, you can use whichever variety of lentil you have in your kitchen cupboard right now. Instead of root vegetables, you can add all sorts of vegetables, even broccoli or cauliflower. You don't have to use fresh tomatoes, pull out those canned tomatoes. And if you don't have those either, thin some tomato paste in a bit of water and add it into the pot. No coriander or mustard seeds? Ask yourself, what are my favourite spices and ue those: sumac, zaatar, paprika — whatever you have on hand. Lastly, if you want to enjoy the stew as a soup, add a bit of liquid gold: that chicken or vegetable stock you may have in your freezer. This soup keeps for almost a week in the fridge, so make it in advance, and simply warm it up in the morning for suhoor. Maybe you'll want to have some buttered toast with it, on the side.
If you have made a visit recently to your local South Asian grocery store, use the paneer you bought to make this velvety curry for your suhoor. The sauce can be made in advance and frozen, or kept in an airtight container in your fridge for a week; all you'll have to do is add the paneer in the morning, warm it up, and enjoy with steamed rice made from the night before, or naan.
This chickpea burger will put your chickpeas to good use, whether you're using the canned version or preparing the dried version from scratch at home. Fry these beauties up the night before you fast and warm them up in the microwave, or in the oven, the morning of your fasting day. You can use any flour in place of the quinoa flour, and this is also lovely enjoyed without the bun — just sandwich it between a jade-green lettuce leaf, or have the patty on its own with some mango pickle or chili sauce on the side.
Shayma Owaise Saadat is a food writer and chef. She lives in Toronto with her husband and son. You can follow her culinary journey at www.shaymasaadat.com or on Instagram at @SpiceSpoon.
