Kuwaiti Umm Badr spends hours of Ramadan in the kitchen, preparing the delicious dishes that her family - like all Kuwaiti families - used to eat during the holy month.

Umm Badr begins cooking the "puree", which takes 6 hours to ripen on a low heat, before moving on to boiling meat and vegetables mixed with different colors of spices, to prepare the "Thareed", which is called "Tashreeb" in Kuwait.

Umm Badr does not forget to decorate the breakfast table with different types of fried foods such as "samosas" and "kebabs", with their varieties lined up next to them.

“Tashreeb” or “Tharid” is boiled meat with vegetables and bread, cut into small pieces (Al-Jazeera)

"Mash" and "porridge" (impregnation)

The Kuwaiti Iftar table is not devoid of “harees” and “al-tharid” or “tashreeb”, according to Chef Osama Al-Qassar, who began explaining to Al-Jazeera Net the methods of preparing it.

Regarding the "harees", the Qassar says that he is the ruler of the Kuwaiti table. Wheat and meat are cooked for long hours until they are melted together. When emptying it into the dishes, melted Arabic ghee is added to it, and the scholars sprinkle it, meaning ground cinnamon and sugar.

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He added that the Kuwaiti table for Ramadan is also led by "Al-Tashreeb" or "Al-Tharid", which is boiled meat with vegetables and small pieces of bread.

Machboos and soup

Al-Qassar continues that "Majboos" meat or chicken is also one of the main meals in the iftar of Kuwaitis, as rice or "bread" as it is called in Kuwait is cooked and decorated with chicken or grilled meat.

Kuwaitis prefer to eat the well-known soups, such as lentils, wheat, or vegetables, on their breakfast tables, and it is also indispensable for the “al-Arouq” bread, which is prepared from wheat flour mixed with chickpea flour, and onions and leafy vegetables such as coriander, dill and spices are added to the mixture, and then fried in the oil.

Sweets "Barr Al-Waleed" ... and "Elba"

According to Chef Al Qassar;

The dried "apricot" infusion known as "Qamar al-Din Juice" dominates the drinks preferred by Kuwaitis, as well as the famous sweets such as Luqaimat or Lokma al-Qadi and Mahlabiyya "Barr al-Oualidin" and "alba" that resembles "cream caramel" but is made home.

Dried "apricot" drenched, known as "Qamar al-Din" juice, to dominate Ramadan drinks preferred by Kuwaitis (communication sites)

Ramadan habits in light of Corona

However, Al-Qassar did not succeed in hiding the grief he suffered during his narration of the details of the cooking components, due to the absence of Ramadan customs due to the Corona pandemic and its repercussions, despite the commitment of the people of Kuwait to them generation after generation.

Minors and neighbors of his neighborhood used to exchange food dishes shortly before the breakfast cannon, but this matter is no longer available under Corona.

Likewise, the Qassar and his people were not able for the second year in a row to set up Ramadan tents near the mosque, as they used to break the fast of the poor and needy in it.

Al-Qassar elaborates on what he misses, saying that he longs for a group breakfast with his brother Suleiman, his two sisters and their families, but they only exchanged pictures of their cooking in a group they established in the WhatsApp application by phone.

Chef Osama Al-Qassar: We miss exchanging food dishes with neighbors, fasting meals, and family breakfasts due to Corona (Al-Jazeera)

This is what you need on the breakfast table

And in the time of Corona;

The Ramadan table must be filled with meals that increase the body's immunity, according to Dr. Abdullah Al-Mutawa, who specializes in therapeutic nutrition and sports.

Al-Mutawa confirms - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that the Kuwaiti breakfast table fulfills about 70% of the nutritional value that the body needs.

The dish of “Tashreeb” or “Thareed” is an integrated food for the fasting person because it contains “brown bread” (wheat) as a result of the use of brown bread or tortillas, and then provides the body with beneficial fibers in addition to protein and natural fats from meat or chicken that provide the body with energy, as well as Vitamins contained in vegetables such as squash, zucchini and potatoes.

And about the "mash" dish;

Al-Mutawa states that it is a healthy food with a high nutritional value, as it contains whole grains rich in fiber and easy to digest, in addition to the natural fats from meat and chicken.

Dr..

Abdullah Al-Mutawa: The Kuwaiti Ramadan table meets 70% of the nutritional value needed by the fasting person (Al-Jazeera)

4 colors are absent from the Kuwaiti Ramadan table

Al-Mutawa pointed to a habit absent from the Kuwaiti Ramadan table, which are 4 colors needed by the body.

Al-Mutawa explained that the first of these colors is green, as the fasting person is usually busy with types of food and forgets vegetables, whether cooked or in the authorities.

The fasting person neglects the white color during the nights of Ramadan, and he refers to “dairy products” such as milk, cheese and yogurt, especially low sodium “salt,” which the mutawa advises to eat during the suhoor meal.

And the third color that the fasting person neglects is the yellow color represented in fish oil and seafood, as Al-Mutawa says that it is rare to be present on the Ramadan meal on the pretext that it causes thirst.

Here, Al-Mutawa explains that fish has a strong effect on health because of its monounsaturated fats important for heart and arterial health, memory strength, brain cells, bone and joint health, as well as its ability to improve mood.

As for the fourth and last color that people neglect in Ramadan - according to Al-Mutawa - it is the red color available in fruits such as watermelon, strawberries and others, calling for eating them and not being distracted by sweets.

Luqaimat (The Awama - Lokmat Al Qadi) is one of the most famous Ramadan sweets in Kuwait (Al Jazeera)

What is the best time to eat fruits and sweets?

Al-Mutawa stresses that the best time to eat fruits in Ramadan is between Iftar and Suhoor after the stomach has digested breakfast food, and he points to the importance of bananas rich in vitamins and potassium that are important for heart health, as they work to regulate their strokes, control blood pressure, and reduce the feeling of thirst.

As for sweets prepared by the mutawa, which are harmful in Ramadan and elsewhere, the best time to eat them is two hours after eating breakfast, when the stomach is empty after the food has moved into the intestine, and the damage caused by sugars is reduced, such as weight gain, satiety, and high blood sugar. And a sense of lethargy, and fat storage in the abdominal area.