Grey clouds, pouring rain and cool breeze….made me to pull my feet under a warm blanket and settled down to read by sipping hot chocolate. But as I lay on bed my thoughts took their own route and drowned me in a nostalgic line where we use gather for Eid and celebrate it with much fun and love. As the memories start to flood, I slowly kicked my blanket and moved to sit before my laptop to pen down my Eid day at home.
Eid is always been a family affair. Relatives and friends come and go exchanging wishes and gifts, cooking feasts, shopping and reading salah altogether, which I love the most was mostly would be any typical Eid day will look like. As you all know Eid ul Fitr is celebrated after fasting in the month of Ramadan for 30 days whereas Eid –ul-Adha is celebrated on 10th day of Dhul’Hajjah, the last month in Muslim Calendar and also marks the end of Hajj (Pilgrimage). On this day the qurbani meat is evenly distributed in three equal parts. One is for poor and needy, second is for relatives (distributed irrespective of poor or wealthy) and friends and third is for home.
At that time, we use to give qurbani in our backyard, by the time men are back from Eidgah (place where Eid namaz is performed)…we women in the family perform namaz at home and get into work by packing the meat for friends, relatives and for poor and needy . I still remember how my grandma, mom and aunt use to pack meat in separate bags for everyone to distribute. It is used to be a day long affair. In the process we also receive qurbani meat from many others. As the quantity of meat is more, one of us in the family will sit and slice the boneless meat into thin long strips, which is washed and then kept in big strainer to drain all the water. To this ginger-garlic paste, red chili powder, garam masala, salt and turmeric powder is rubbed and then tied to a string and left to dry under hot sun by covering with a thin layer of cloth (cheesecloth/old washed cotton saree) for 3-4 days. After much sun drying the meat will turn stiff, sometimes we use wooden pestle and soften the dried meat before deep frying ….We can store this in a sterilized jar for 3-4 months. Just take the required amount and heat 4-5 tbsp. of oil and when it heats up deep fry this dried meat strips until crisp and serve with rice and dal. These are called Sukke Kawab. (Will update the pics once I receive my share of kabab’s)
In many houses, breakfast on the Eid day will be Kaleji ka Salan and roti. Afternoon is for biryani and in the evening we will get busy making sukke kawab’s. Been a kid, I use to run up and down the stairs helping my uncles and aunts to tie the meat to dry. In some houses biryani is prepared in the evening and by evening women in the family will go out to meet relatives to exchange festive greetings and gifts. Bakrid/Eid-ul-Adha is a three day affair, some families give qurbani on next day of Eid, depending on the availability of qasaab (the person who cuts and cleans the meat). These days as many are staying in apartments, a mutual ground or open area or farm is allotted in many areas for performing qurbani. Meat for the poor and needy is directly getting distributed from there; keeping the modern man busy time into consideration, things are changing rapidly.
We make small packs of nearly 300-500gms of meat and store them in deep freezer to use later. Some make shamiya/Shami Kabab and keep them in deep freezer to fry them later, some meat is made into kheema (mutton mince) and placed in freezer bags. With almost ¾th of the qurbani lamb meat bones, a big pot of Nihari will be cooked overnight to be served in breakfast for next day. For some days meat is used in many recipes like Arbi Gosht, Aloo Gosht ka Khorma, Ambada Gosht, Aloo-Methi Gosht, Bhendi Gosht , Chukka Gosht, , Gosht ka Mahekhaliya , Kheem Fry, Gavar ki Phalli Gosht, Sem ki Phalli Gosht, Tamatar Gosht, Turai Gosht, , etc; Happy Eid to all….Have a safe and blessed Eid-ul-Adha…
NOTE: You can find a pictorial post on how to make sukke kawab in colder places at Zaiqa.net.
Adiba Anwar says
So yummy and well garnished foods. It is inviting me to go into kitchen and try all of them at once.
Lubna Karim says
Glad to know that…thank you so much…
Saba Negash says
The dishes look amazing! In my family, we usually have a gourmet breakfast but nothing as lavish as this 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Lubna Karim says
Its crazy on eid days in my family…..
Zainab Dokrat says
Everything looks so yummy!! Eid mubarak btw hope you had a blessed Eid 🙂 (www.spicyfusionkitchen.com)
Lubna Karim says
Allumdulliah we had wonderful Eid and hope the same with you…
shaz ali says
yes back home qurbani is different and your post has taken me down memory lane of meat distribution and cooking all day along with eating with family friends.
Lubna Karim says
Nostalgic memories….thank you…
muslimah says
Eid Mubarak, thanks for sharing these lovely recipes the pictures made me hunger
Lubna Karim says
Awww…wish I could make all these for you…
thrifdeedubai says
Oh yum! I’m drooling!! Eid Mubarak thanks for sharing, will be coming back for more!
Lubna Karim says
Belated Eid wishes to you too…Hope you had great Eid…thank you….
mymodernhejab says
These all look so delicious! Doesn’t need to be Eid to enjoy great food! 🙂
Lubna Karim says
Yeah true…thank you…
Multicultural Motherhood says
Some lovely recipes here. Hope you had a good Eid! #MuslimahBloggers
Lubna Karim says
Allhumdulliah we had great Eid and hope the same there…thank you…
Aminat says
I love how you wrote this post. You didn’t just share recipes but shared stories behind the recipe. Your childhood Eid memories sound great. Eid Mubarak
Lubna Karim says
Thank you for all the compliments….