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| Home | Issues | The Daily Star Home | Volume 5 Issue 33, Tuesday, August 17, 2010 |
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Green Bengal Smoothie Banana Crunch Breakfast Smoothie Jackfruit Smoothie Banana Mango Smoothie Iced Tea Fruit Spiced Hot Aromatic Drink Fizzy Fruit Drink Iced Coffee Mocktail Deshi Specials Sunset suppers FARZANA NAZRUL
During Ramadan, most of us prefer a big feast, including halim, dahi bara, fruit salad, pasta, beguni, piyaju and many more, after a long hard day of fasting. Some people, on the other hand, prefer the usual bhaat since the timing of Maghrib is late in the evening. Eating an early dinner for Iftar is much healthier, as a matter of fact. After a good dinner, eating something light like a bowl of yoghurt a little later into the night is a healthier option and leaves you with a stomach empty enough for sehri. For those who prefer an early dinner, here are some recipes you could try out with steamed rice and a side dish of some healthy cooked vegetable this Ramadan to fulfil your appetite: Deshi Style Duck Roast Method: Now wash the duck with the skin and mix it with all the spices except special mixed masala and marinate for 3-4 hours. Heat oil in a wok and fry 2 cups sliced onions to make bereshta. Remove bereshta from the oil and fry the duck in it until golden brown, then remove and keep aside. In that same oil, one by one add all the spices and cook for a few minutes. Then add the duck to the spices, and cook further until spices release an aroma. Now pour 1½ cups of water to help the meat go tender. Once the duck is tender and the water has reduced somewhat, add the prepared special masala mix over the duck and fry for a few minutes. Crush the bereshta and put it over the duck and allow to simmer for 2 minutes. Once the duck is cooked, place in a serving dish and stuff with the boiled potatoes and whole onions, seasoned with salt and pepper. Finally, brush the duck with a little honey and bake for 20 minutes at 180°C. Chicken With Sweet and Sour Mango Mustard Sauce Method: Fish Cutlet Beef With Pineapple Method: Iftar Special Iftar hotspots around town
Although iftar used to be a meal to be had at home with family, it has increasingly morphed into a meal to be had in restaurants around town, making an occasion of it with family and friends. It was bound to happen as all the eateries in town, both fine dining and fast food, compete with each other to attract customers with enticing deals and additions to their menu. The following are just a sample of the many options available to diners. Heritage Apart from the exclusive iftar options, one can also opt for their other offers -intimate candlelit dinners, gourmet meals, outdoor catering, special buffet and others. This Ramadan they have seasoned their menu with a combination of traditional and unorthodox iftar savouries -- beef and mutton tehari, shahi haleem, atoshi kebab, sutli jilapi, motichur laddu,kaju barfi and rasogollar payesh and so on. Needless to say, that unique stamp of Heritage remains the wide assortment of sweets that are being offered. Spend fun-filled relaxed moments with your family or friends and return with memories to last a lifetime. Platinum Suites The soup menu includes the traditional haleem with mutton, and there is also a desserts tray featuring payesh, fruit salad, fresh dates, shahi tukra, gajar halwa, and mini jilapi. For reservations, contact House #58, Road #11, Block-F, Banani, Dhaka or call 8831409. The 8 Come join The 8 for the most exotic Iftar in town, as The 8 celebrates Ramadan @ Tk625++ per person. For reservations call 0192755 8888.
The 8 offers Fattoush: Traditional Levantine salad made from toasted or fried pieces of pita bread combined with mixed greens and other vegetables. Kibbeh: An Assyrian dish made of wheat and chopped meat. The best-known variety is a torpedo-shaped fried croquette stuffed with minced beef or lamb. Beef in creamy eggplant curry/Lebanese rice/assorted Kebabs Le Saigon Le Saigon offers: Deep fried parcels stuffed with cheese and mashed potatoes/ Cambodian beef stew stuffed into deep fried spring rolls/ Sweet BBQ chicken wings. Pho Bo: Traditional Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. Tzajik : Shredded cucumber mixed with peppered garlic infused yoghurt. Traditional shahi tukra : Toasted bread soaked in a creamy sweet milk sauce. Vietnamese Sago pudding : Bubble tea textured pudding with coconut milk. Iftar/Dinner at Le Saigon is priced at Tk500 ++. Khazana Khazana is obsessive about serving their guests with the most authentic Indian dishes and this Ramadan, Khazana has gone the 'extra mile' to achieve that: special spices and herbs have been flown in from India to guarantee originality. The iftar items are available at Iftar Bazaar, in their old location (House # 12, Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan 2) from 1:00pm. Khazana is also holding a buffet iftar dinner throughout the month at a price of Tk. 799 ++ per person. Along with private guests, Khazana also offers special packages for corporate customers. For corporate iftar parties there are different sets of offers to choose from. Khazana has also designed iftar boxes and dalas for take-away this year. Every good thing should have a sweet ending. Khazana brings you 'Khazana Mithai', a range of fresh, authentic, exciting sweets. Khazana has sweet shops at their Gulshan and Dhanmondi outlets. They will also be selling selected iftar items at their Dhanmondi outlet. Some of the original Khazana Mithai specialties include son papri, gulab jamun, rasmalai, motichur laddu, kaju barfi, lemon sandesh, raj bhog and so on. For reservation and more information, please call 8826127, 8821965, 01711476379.
They have over 40 items selected for their regular buffet. They also have a fabulous take-away service, so if you are around Gulshan #2 and looking for a place to break your fast, you can always drop in at Topkapi. LS Pick(take away) EFES Their buffet items change week to week but they have over 40 items fixed for the take away, so go ahead and pick any item of your own choice. Go to13, Gulshan South Avenue, Dhaka-1212 or call 9899720. Street Iftaar Yes, the street iftars. Absolutely perfect for you when you don't have enough time to get home and can grab something delightful to eat while you're on your way.
Another popular street iftar junction is Bijoy Nagar, right near Shilpakala academy. Also known as one of the busiest places around, Bijoy Nagar is famous for it's traffic. If you ever happen to get stuck there with no way out and it's almost time for the Azaan, all you have to do is get out of your vehicle and take your pick from the variety of food you can eat from the street iftar bazaar there! Everything about Ramadan is special. The food, the streets, even the air has a different feel. But here in Bangladesh, our street iftar bazaars are what make it complete! By Tanziral Dilshad Ditan and LS Desk Check It Out Iftar and philanthropy at Nando's NANDO'S has introduced an iftar menu for the month of Ramadan in a press event held at their Dhanmondi outlet on Wednesday August 11. The menu will be available all through the month, and consists of three mouth-watering dishes that are sure to have fasters going back to the eatery. What is unique about this offer, and indeed all of Nando's food, is the health aspect. Tarak Bhattacharya, the COO of MGH Restaurants Limited, the company that operates Nando's in Bangladesh, said, “Our chickens are 100% cholesterol free and stripped of fat in three stages. None of our cooking processes involves any oil. Instead, we use our world-famous Peri Peri sauce, which itself is extremely rich in vitamins and minerals. “Although we have a habit of eating fried foods for iftar, it really isn't a healthy thing to do on an empty stomach. Since our chicken is not fried in oil, it is a much healthier option for iftar,” he added. Nando's have added three iftar meals to their menu for Ramadan. The first is the ¼ Chicken Meal served with wings, fruits Peri chaat and various other sides, and also with two different drinks, priced at Tk550. Then there is the succulent Steak Meal with the chicken steak served with tasty sides and drinks priced at Tk650. The sides include the quintessential iftar fruit, the date. Concessions have also been made for our weakness for fried food, as they form part of the side, but accompanied as they are by healthier items, it should not raise too many health concerns. Last, but in no way least, is the priciest item on the menu, but still worth the expenditure. The exotic Chicken Espatada, priced at Tk750, is a large platter of soft and juicy chunks of chicken and sides that include Nando's delicious potato wedges. Like the other meals, the meal includes drinks, and will leave you feeling fulfilled at the end of a long day of fasting. The most worthy aspect of Nando's Ramadan campaign though, is not the food, delicious though it may be. In keeping with the tradition of Islamic philanthropy, Nandos' encourage guests to donate a Nando's Meal to someone less fortunate, after which Nando’s will match the donation. Then, every Thursday orphans from various orphanages will be invited to Nando's to enjoy these iftar meals. Even if no one donates, which would indeed be very selfish, Nando's has set aside a certain amount to share with the underprivileged children. Apart from a grand, healthy iftar to soothe our hunger, Nando's offers us the opportunity to soothe our souls by partaking in some much-needed philanthropy during this holy month. By STS |
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Topkapi 
One of the most famous corners happens to be road number 32 in Dhanmondi, right near Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's house. Since that place happens to be one of the busiest places in all of Dhaka, people serve iftar on the streets to people who are too late to get home or people who can't afford something too fancy for iftar. But who's to say you won't get anything fancy there? You'll get the A to Z of iftar! From jilapi, to piyaju, to beguni and ofcourse, nobody wants to miss the halim!