Making Food for 15 people: Ramadan Edition
It was Friday when my dear friend Gasser told me that he wanted my help cooking Iftar for tomorrow, Saturday.
I agreed, not because I found the idea appealing, but rather because I found it enjoyable to spend time with Gasser (no homo). So I woke up and left my home at 11, heading to Gasser’s apartment. Then I saw the humongous amount of ingredients they had, along with my friend David.
That is when I found out we were not making food for 5, 8, or even 10 people. We were making food for 15 hungry, fasting people while, of course, fasting ourselves.
And so we started.
First thing we did was organize the chaos. Not even in a serious way, just “you do this, I do that, don’t touch my cutting board” type of organizing.
We ended up making macarona béchamel, chicken, and a Middle Eastern-style salad. David also made konafa. And honestly we kind of shared everything else. Nobody had one job the whole time. You’d start on pasta then somehow end up washing dishes or cutting onions.
Macarona béchamel
Section titled “Macarona béchamel”This one took most of the effort.
We boiled a ridiculous amount of pasta, drained it, and then moved to the sauces. The meat sauce was straightforward: onions, ground beef, garlic, spices, tomato sauce, and patience.
Then the béchamel. Which is basically you standing there whisking while your arm slowly gives up on you. Butter, flour, milk, salt, pepper, a little nutmeg. We made a lot of it, because for 15 people “a lot” is still somehow not enough.
We layered everything in big trays: pasta → meat → pasta → béchamel on top and bottom, cheese above it and then into the oven.
When it finally came out and the top was golden, that’s when it felt real. Like okay, we might actually feed everyone.
Chicken
Section titled “Chicken”Chicken was more forgiving. Season it well, don’t undercook it, and you’re good.
My usual ingredients are garlic, lemon, spices, oil. Cooked it in batches. The smell was torture while fasting, but it kept us going.
The salad was basically us chopping nonstop.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, parsley. Lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, sumac. Simple but it works every time, especially with heavy food like béchamel.
Konafa
Section titled “Konafa”David handled the konafa. I’m not even going to pretend I helped much with that one. He took it seriously. Syrup, cheese, the whole thing. It came out looking way too good for a student apartment kitchen.
Right before iftar
Section titled “Right before iftar”The last hour was the most stressful part. Everything is almost ready but not exactly ready, and you keep checking the clock like it’s going to change something.
Trays coming in and out of the oven, people texting “I’m on my way,” someone asking where the plates are, someone else looking for foil.
Then Maghrib hit.
And the first bite was insane. Like your body remembers food exists and immediately forgives the whole day. People ate fast. The macarona béchamel got demolished. Chicken went right after. The salad actually held its own. And the konafa… didn’t last. After that it was the usual: sitting around, talking, feeling full, acting like we’re not about to face the dishes.
But yeah. Cooking for 15 while fasting is not a small thing.
We survived.
