Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha

‘That which God said to the rose, and caused it to laugh in full-blown beauty, He said to my heart, and made it a hundred times more beautiful.’

RUMI

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I couldn’t write this chapter without referencing it to the beauty I feel inside on a sublime Eid day, when I am surrounded by my family and dear friends. I welcome the Eid chaos, laughter and banter as guests and well-wishers pass by to share Eid greetings. But as the sounds and voices start fading into the background, I find myself being reminded of my father and our little Eid day rituals. His absence is so tangible and amplified on days such as this. In fact, it is on days like Eid that we ache for those loved ones we have lost, we miss the ones who are so far away and we regret the absence of friends and family from whom we might have turned away.

It’s in these moments when things start feeling a little more real and raw, but also in these moments when I am fully aware of being in the presence of beauty. What is sometimes so broken is often breathtakingly beautiful. A smile creeps across my face as I remember the earlier Eid breakfasts at home, the clutter in the kitchen after Eid lunch was prepared and the organised chaos as the first set of guests left and my father’s voice welcomed the next set coming in. Our home, like so many other Cape Malay homes on Eid day, would be filled with nothing but love and beauty.

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Butter Biscuits

There are very distinct and palpable aromas that indicate that Eid has arrived – the smell of butter biscuits baking in a hot oven is indeed one of them! If you want to get soulful and fill your kitchen with sunshine, then making and baking these biscuits provides all of that and more. It not only takes me back to my childhood, but the taste of the first warm, light and buttery biscuit that comes out of the oven is just indescribable! MAKES 60–80 BISCUITS, DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE COOKIE CUTTERS USED

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For the biscuit dough

For decorating the biscuits

  1. 1.Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease and flour two baking trays.
  2. 2.Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.
  3. 3.Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream on high speed until it is soft and feathery light.
  4. 4.Add the oil and mix further to ensure that it is well blended with the butter.
  5. 5.Add the castor sugar and mix well until you have a very smooth and creamy consistency.
  6. 6.Add the vanilla essence and egg and blend in well.
  7. 7.Lastly, add the sifted dry ingredients and mix to form a firm dough.
  8. 8.Place the dough on a floured surface and, using a well-floured rolling pin, roll out to 3–4 mm thick.
  9. 9.Use cookie cutters to cut out the desired shapes of the biscuits and decorate with toppings of your choice.
  10. 10.Place the biscuits on the greased baking sheets and trays and bake for 8–10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Hertzoggies

This very traditional little biscuit base filled with apricot jam and sweetened coconut is well known in all Cape Malay homes. It was named after General J.B.M. Hertzog, who was a South African Prime Minister during the early part of the twentieth century. It is said that it was his favourite cookie. The beauty of these little gems is that the taste improves day after day and, like most Cape Malay desserts, cakes and biscuits, it must be accompanied by a cup of hot tea. Needless to say, it has made our Eid table every year without fail; of all the cakes and Eid desserts, this one was my father’s favourite. MAKES APPROXIMATELY 60 BISCUIT BASES

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For the biscuit dough

For the filling

  1. 1.Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Grease and flour two baking trays.
  2. 2.Sift both flours and the baking powder into a bowl and set aside.
  3. 3.Place the butter, castor sugar and oil into the bowl of an electric mixer and cream together to form a fluffy, cohesive mixture.
  4. 4.To this add the egg and vanilla essence and mix together to form a light batter.
  5. 5.Gradually add the sifted ingredients to the wet mixture to form the biscuit dough.
  6. 6.Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough to a thickness of 3–4 mm.
  7. 7.Use a flower-shaped or round cookie cutter to cut out the desired biscuit shape and place the cut-out shapes into patty pans. These will form the biscuit shells.
  8. 8.Place a teaspoonful of the sweetened coconut mixture on the one side of the biscuit shell. The other part of the biscuit will be filled with a teaspoon of jam after being baked.
  9. 9.Bake for 10–15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
  10. 10.After removing the biscuits from the oven, place a teaspoonful of apricot jam next to the coconut. Leave to cool completely before serving.

Three-Bowl Eid Chocolate Cake

On any Eid table, there is a requirement for one spectacular cake that takes centre stage. In fact, there are bakeries in Cape Town who have a myriad beautifully decorated cakes for sale for those who choose not to bake their own. The only challenge is that you need to get your order placed a good few weeks before Eid to escape the chaos of last-minute cake shopping.

My centrepiece is this chocolate cake, which was originally a vanilla sponge cake recipe shared by a colleague many years ago. A velvety, rich chocolate ganache just trickling over the edges of a delightfully moist and light chocolate sponge and lightly dusted with edible glitter for sparkle or rose petals for elegance is gorgeous. But if you really want to make a statement, then go with Lorraine Pascale’s ‘I can’t believe you made that cake’. In the original recipe she uses chocolate cigarillos around the sides of the cake. Unfortunately, they’re not easily available at your local supermarket and you will have to order them online. However, a quick and easy alternative is chocolate fingers, wafers, chocolate swirls, Flakes, etc. SERVES 8

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For the cake batter

For the chocolate ganache

For decorating the cake

NOTES: The cake tins do not have to be greased for this cake.
You will need three separate mixing bowls.

Bowl 1 (use a fairly large bowl because it will also be used to combine all the ingredients at the end)

Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt together. Set aside.

Bowl 2

  1. 1.Separate the egg whites and place the yolks in bowl.
  2. 2.Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites with 1⁄2 C (125 ml) of the castor sugar until stiff and fluffy and a meringue consistency.

Bowl 3

Add the remaining 1 C (250 ml) castor sugar to the egg yolks, along with the water, vanilla essence and oil. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved.

Preparing the cake batter

  1. 1.Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
  2. 2.Add the wet mixture from bowl 3 to the sifted dry ingredients in bowl 1. Mix together until it forms a smooth, chocolatey batter.
  3. 3.Gently fold in the whipped egg whites from bowl 2 until all of the ingredients are well blended. DO NOT stir the batter.
  4. 4.Turn out the batter into two ungreased 23 cm-diameter cake tins and bake for 20–30 minutes.
  5. 5.Allow the cakes to cool in the tins. Use a knife to gently separate the edges of the cakes from the tins and turn out onto a cooling rack.
  6. 6.Sandwich the two cake layers together with the apricot jam.

Preparing the ganache

  1. 1.Fill a medium-sized pot with 2 C (500 ml) water.
  2. 2.Suspend a glass bowl on the rim of the pot but make sure that the water in the pot does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Bring the water to the boil.
  3. 3.Pour the cream into the bowl and add the chocolate chips. If you’re using slabs of chocolate, cut the chocolate into small pieces and add to the bowl.
  4. 4.Once the water is boiling, turn down the heat and stir the mixture gently until the chocolate is smooth and silky.
  5. 5.The butter can be added at the end. This gives the chocolate ganache a beautifully glossy and shiny appearance.
  6. 6.Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, letting it run and drip down the sides.

Decorating the cake

  1. 1.Once the cake is covered in a layer of ganache, then simply place the chocolate sticks one by one next to each other all around the cake.
  2. 2.Allow the chocolate ganache to settle for about 5 minutes to secure the chocolate sticks.
  3. 3.Arrange the berries or rose petals on the top of the cake.

Eid Trifle

I don’t think we make trifle at any other time of the year but on Eid. I take no credit for this recipe, as it belongs to my sister-in-law, Fatima Isaacs. She not only has the patience to allow the different colour jellies to set, but also takes the time to make her own custard and then adorns the trifle with creams and chocolate. You will need an ornate, transparent round bowl that can show off all the trifle layers. Ensure that the jelly is partially set before adding the next layer. You can use Lady Finger biscuits, Madeira cake or a standard sponge cake – I’ve selected sponge cake for this recipe. SERVES AT LEAST 12

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  1. 1.Prepare the jellies separately in individual bowls as per the package instructions and refrigerate for about 1 hour. The jelly should have the consistency of thick porridge.
  2. 2.Place one layer of the sponge cake at the bottom of the round bowl.
  3. 3.Pour the thick green jelly over the top of the sponge layer and then sprinkle half of the canned fruit over the jelly.
  4. 4.Place spoonsful of custard on top of this and then add the next layer of sponge cake.
  5. 5.Repeat the same process with the red jelly and remaining fruit and custard.
  6. 6.Pour the dessert crème over the custard layer and scoop dollops of fresh cream on top of this.
  7. 7.Scatter the chocolate shards on top of the fresh cream and set aside in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Corned Tongue and Corned Beef

Corned tongue and corned beef not only signify that Eid breakfast is well on its way, but it’s also the perfect way to satisfy palates after a month-long fast. I’ve clumped these two recipes together as they are prepared exactly the same way. You can go through the effort of curing your own meat, but I find it so much easier to pick up corned tongue and beef from my local butcher as it’s readily available around Eid time. For me there is nothing that comes close to a succulent, still warm sliver of corned tongue. My father enjoyed both of these Eid delicacies and he wouldn’t have it any other way than on freshly baked rolls, with a good spread of butter and dollop of English mustard! You’ll need heavy-duty foil in which to wrap the corned meat soon after it has been cooked. SERVES 8–10

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  1. 1.Simply place the corned tongue or beef into a large pot, cover with enough water and boil over a high heat for about 2 hours.
  2. 2.Top up the pot with water whenever you see that it has evaporated.
  3. 3.With the final addition of water, reduce the heat to a medium setting and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.
  4. 4.Reduce the heat further to a low setting and allow the meat to cook dry, almost searing it lightly for about 15 minutes.
  5. 5.Remove the meat from the pot and set aside in a glass dish or on a plate. Cover the entire cut of meat with foil and allow this to rest for about 30 minutes before serving.
  6. 6.For corned tongue, the outer layer of the tongue can easily be peeled off, uncovering the fleshy part of the tongue that just melts in your mouth!

Big Ma’s Roast Leg of Lamb

I have been blessed with the calibre of Cape Malay cooks and bakers we have in our family and the wisdom that has been passed on to me. One of these cooks is my grandmother from my mother’s side, Zainab Lagardien, and she has played a significant role in most of the roast dishes and recipes I have cooked over the years. One such recipe is our Eid roast leg of lamb, duly christened ‘Big Ma’s Eid Roast’. She believes that adding carrots and pickling onions provides the lamb with the sweetness it requires. She also maintains that the only other vegetable I should add to this dish is baby potatoes, still safely protected in their skins. You’ll also need nothing more than salt, pepper and a dash of oil – what happens afterwards is sublime! SERVES 8–10 (DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE LEG OF LAMB)

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It’s important to ask your butcher to do the following:

Leave some fat on the meat because this will provide the added moisture to what can easily become a very dry piece of meat.

Cut or just break the bone of the leg of lamb in two places so that it allows the lamb to almost mould itself to the curvature of the pot. This also helps the meat to cook through evenly, creating enough moisture.

Preparing the lamb

  1. 1.Gently massage the leg of lamb with the salt and pepper and set aside for 15 minutes before roasting.
  2. 2.Heat the oil over a high heat and place the leg of lamb in a large pot. Sear the one side of the meat for about 5 minutes, continuing to cook over a high heat. Turn the meat over and repeat the process.
  3. 3.Add enough water (1–1.5 litres) to the pot to cover the lamb. Cook, covered, over a high heat for 45–60 minutes, or until the water has evaporated and the meat has lightly browned. Ensure that you slant the lid off the pot to allow some of the vapour to escape.
  4. 4.Turn the meat over and repeat the process, using 1–1.5 litres of water and allowing the lamb to cook for another 45–60 minutes. As the water evaporates, reduce the heat to a medium setting and allow the meat to gently brown.
  5. 5.Place all the vegetables in the pot, wedging them in between the meat, and add about 1 C (250 ml) water. Cook, covered, for 20–30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
  6. 6.Place the lamb on a cutting board and carve. Plate the slices of lamb and the vegetables on a serving platter, along with any sauce or gravy that is left behind in the pot.
  7. 7.You can add additional water, pepper and cornflour to make a thicker gravy. I simply add water, reduce it further and then pour all the gravy over the lamb and vegetables and serve.

Crayfish Curry

Cape Malay crayfish curry is synonymous with Eid and is cooked with bite-sized portions of kingklip. My father, like most Cape Malays, had a crayfish ‘connection’. This meant that he had a friend, who knew an uncle, who had a son, who could get crayfish from a boeta at a very good price. Of course, these days there are many restrictions around catching crayfish and quotas on the number of crayfish made available for re-sale. But, in the good old days, my father would come home with up to 10 big, live crayfish (whole, not tails). I would watch from start to finish how my father would prepare these and turn them into the most delicious curry. If you’re using crayfish tails instead of whole crayfish, then you will need at least 12 crayfish tails. SERVES 6–8

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Preparing and cleaning the crayfish

  1. 1.Hold the head and body in one hand and the tail part in the other. Ensure that your fingers squeeze into the gap between the tail and the body, apply pressure, twist and pull the tail away from the body.
  2. 2.Place the tail flesh side facing up and use scissors to cut right down the middle of the tail. Remove the digestive tract, which resembles a piece of cord, running down the length of the tail of the crayfish.
  3. 3.The tails can then be cut in half if necessary. I use the claws and shells of the crayfish as well because this really does enhance the flavour of the curry. I also use a mallet to gently bash and crack the claws. It makes the meat much easier to remove once served and eaten.
  4. 4.According my dad, the secret to a good crayfish curry is what lies hidden in the torso of the crayfish. If you cut the torso in half, you’ll discover a mushy, orange-pink substance, which is the ‘good stuff’ that distinguishes a good crayfish curry from a phenomenal one!

Preparing the curry

  1. 1.Heat the oil over a medium/high heat and add the onions, garlic, chilli paste and curry leaves and cook for 5–7 minutes.
  2. 2.Reduce the heat to medium and add the masalas, cumin and turmeric, stirring gently. Cook for about 10 minutes.
  3. 3.Place the canned tomatoes in a blender and blend to a fairly smooth purée. Add this to the cooked ingredients. Add the water and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes.
  4. 4.Add the crayfish portions and salt and cook on high heat for 10 minutes before adding the fish. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
  5. 5.Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with fluffy White Rice (pp. 164–165).

Steak Pie

It’s simply not Eid without an Eid pie! My father wanted nothing more than my mom’s steak pie with her homemade flaky pastry. As a child, I would watch her roll layer after layer, adding grated butter and then smoothing out the pastry. She would point at the little bubbles that would form on top of the dough as the butter would start settling, creating the air required for the flaky pastry. I would watch as the first layer of pastry was placed snug in the baking sheet, just waiting to welcome the steak filling. Thereafter she would carefully cover the top with another sheet of pastry, sealing the edges, taking her time with every step. SERVES 8–10

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For the flaky pastry

For the steak filling

For the topping

Preheat the oven 200 °C, which will be lowered to 180 ºC, 15 minutes after the pie has been placed in the oven. Grease and flour a baking sheet.

Preparing the flaky pastry

  1. 1.Sift half of the flour and 2 tsp (10 ml) cream of tartar into a bowl. Set aside.
  2. 2.In another bowl, sift the remaining 1 tsp (5 ml) cream of tartar and the cornflour together. Set aside.
  3. 3.In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg yolks and vinegar together and set aside.
  4. 4.Using a large mixing bowl, sift the remaining flour, salt and sugar together. Grate 200 g of the cold butter into this bowl. Use your fingers to rub the ingredients together to form a crumbly mixture.
  5. 5.Add the cold water and the egg mixture and continue to mix this with your hands until the ingredients start coming together to form a fairly sticky dough. Gradually add small portions of the remaining flour mixture and knead lightly to transform the sticky dough to a smoother and pliable one.
  6. 6.Sprinkle about 1 Tbsp (15 ml) of the cornflour mixture over the dough and lay it out on a well-floured surface.
  7. 7.Ensure that the rolling pin is floured and roll out the pastry to form a long, rectangular shape. Once this is done, sprinkle another 1 Tbsp (15 ml) of the cornflour mixture over the dough and allow this to rest for about 10 minutes.
  8. 8.Take the remaining butter and divide it into 4 cubes of 200 g each.
  9. 9.Grate 1 cube of butter over about two-thirds of the dough and sprinkle over 2–3 Tbsp (30–45 ml) cornflour. Set the rest of the butter aside in the fridge to keep cold, for later use.
  10. 10.Fold a third of the dough over, again sprinkling with cornflour and fold this section over to resemble an envelope or sachet. Allow to rest for about 20 minutes.
  11. 11.Repeat this process about three times, until all the cubes of butter and the rest of the cornflour is used.
  12. 12.Fold the dough neatly into a square and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Preparing the steak filling

  1. 1.Soak the sago in 1⁄2 C (125 ml) water for 15 minutes.
  2. 2.Heat the oil over a high heat and add the onions and garlic. Sauté this for 3 minutes.
  3. 3.Add the cubes of steak and all the spices and cook, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring intermittently.
  4. 4.Cook, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes, or until some of the water has evaporated.
  5. 5.Drain the sago and add this to the steak mixture. Stir well and cook for about 5 minutes.
  6. 6.Add about a 1⁄4 C (60 ml) of the water along with the crushed lockshen or vermicelli and cook for about 10 minutes until the mixture has thickened.
  7. 7.Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. Remove the cloves and allspice pimentos before filling the pie.

Assembling the pie

  1. 1.Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
  2. 2.Divide the already prepared flaky pastry into two sections. One will serve as the base of the pie and the other the top.
  3. 3.Roll out the one section to about 5 mm in thickness and wide enough to cover the bottom and edges of the baking tray.
  4. 4.Spread the filling over the pie base to cover all edges, centre and corners evenly.
  5. 5.Grate the boiled eggs over the steak filling or cut into slices and neatly arrange on top.
  6. 6.Roll out the second section of pastry to the same thickness as the first and wide enough to cover and seal the top of the pie; trim off any excess pastry. You can seal the edges by just pinching the sides together or by using a fork to press the edges together. Either way, the aim is to seal the edges and not to allow any of the filling to leak out.
  7. 7.Make a light incision in the top and centre of the pie.
  8. 8.Brush with egg wash.
  9. 9.Bake for 10 minutes at 200 °C, then reduce the heat to 180 °C and bake for a further 30–40 minutes until the pie is golden, flaky and crisp.

Lamb Biryani

Lamb biryani (or breyani) is also associated with Eid and often served for lunch or dinner. Traditional Cape Malay biryani is not as spicy as Indian biryani. In the past, the biryani was made with white parboiled rice but today this has been substituted with white basmati rice. The recipe below is articulated in steps, as this is the only way I can walk you through the preparation and cooking process to ensure you achieve success! If you’re using saffron for the marinade, you can omit the turmeric because it only serves as a colouring agent in this dish. SERVES 8–10

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For the marinade

For the biryani

Step 1 – Making the marinade

Place all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix to form a cohesive and smooth marinade.

Step 2 – Marinating the meat

Rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towel. Place in a bowl or container. Massage the ginger, garlic and 1 tsp (5 ml) salt into the meat and add this to the biryani marinade. It needs to marinate for at least 3–4 hours, or overnight if possible.

Step 3 – Preparing the lentils

Cook the lentils in a pot with the 2 C (500 ml) water and boil for 20 minutes until tender. Rinse and drain in a colander and set aside.

Step 4 – Preparing the rice

  1. 1.Wash the rice in several changes of water until the water runs clear. Rinse and drain in a colander.
  2. 2.Heat 2 Tbsp (30 ml) of the oil over a medium heat in a medium-sized pot or pan. To this, add the rice and toss until all the grains are glossy and well coated with the oil.
  3. 3.Add 100 ml of the hot water to the rice and cook, covered, over a medium/low heat for 8–10 minutes.
  4. 4.Remove from the heat and set aside.

Step 5 – Frying the potatoes

  1. 1.Heat the remaining 220 ml oil over a high heat in the same pot in which you intend cooking the biryani.
  2. 2.Add the quartered potatoes to the warm oil and reduce the heat to a medium setting.
  3. 3.Shallow-fry the potatoes for about 10 minutes until all the sides are golden.
  4. 4.Remove the partially fried potatoes from the warm oil and set aside.

Step 6 – Braising the onions

  1. 1.In the same pot you used for frying the potatoes and still containing the warm oil, increase the heat to high and add the onion slices.
  2. 2.Keep a watchful eye as the onions can burn if left unattended.
  3. 3.Stir frequently and braise for 8–10 minutes until golden and crisp.
  4. 4.Remove half of the onions from the hot oil and set aside for garnishing.

Step 7 – Cooking the meat

  1. 1.In the same pot with the leftover onions still sizzling, add the meat and marinade and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes on a medium/high heat.
  2. 2.Reduce the heat to medium/low and cook, covered, for a further 30 minutes. The meat should be slow-cooked to allow all of the spices to permeate and infuse into the meat. You should have a thickish, not watery, gravy before moving on to the next step. Remove the meat and gravy from the pot and set aside in a container. Keep covered.

Step 8 – Layering the pot

  1. 1.Using the same pot, place the partially fried potatoes at the bottom of the pot. Use half of the cooked rice to cover the potatoes.
  2. 2.Sprinkle 1⁄2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt and half the saffron over the rice.
  3. 3.Spoon the meat and gravy on top of the rice. Now cover the meat with the cooked lentils and ensure that they are evenly spread.
  4. 4.Sprinkle the other half of the rice and remaining 1⁄2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt over the lentils.
  5. 5.Spread the reserved onions evenly over the rice, along with a final scattering of the remaining saffron.

Step 9 – Final stage to perfection

  1. 1.Cut the butter into little pieces and place these randomly over the final layer of ingredients. Use the remaining 200 ml hot water and sprinkle generously over the rice.
  2. 2.Use a sheet of foil or wax paper to cover the contents in the pot, as this assists in locking in the steam, allowing all the flavours to develop further.
  3. 3.Cover securely with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes over a high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  4. 4.Once cooked, garnish the biryani with halved boiled eggs and a few strands of saffron. Serve hot with Cape Malay Tomato and Onion Salad (p. 176).