4 fab food ideas to make your Eid spread more scrupmtious

As the dazzling prospect of Eid beckons, so does the dreaded spectre of a conveyor belt of guests rocking up at your door needing to be fed in small doses. If the thought of soaking and peeling almonds for sheer khorma makes you want to curl up into a ball and hide, you are not alone. Instead, turn to these non-traditional – but easy – ways to keep your stream of guests satisfied. 

Bake a cake or a batch of cookies 

Do you bake? If so, excellent. If not, why not? Baking is the easiest thing in the world.  Anyone can do it, including a reasonably intelligent baboon. With instinct forming a large part of the kitchen slavery that is Pakistani cooking (‘thora sa masala daal do’), for the novice, the mere thought of cooking can be the equivalent of walking across hot coal. However, for baking, all you need is the right equipment and the ability to read. You can have a hot cake or a batch of cookies ready in an hour. Do not be put off by PhD level decorating scattered across Pinterest. We are not decorating anything here. Beauty lies in simplicity. As does taste. Google is your friend here. Chocolate chip cookies, oat-and-raisin cookies, marble cake, coffee walnut cake, lemon bars – all of these delights await. You do not need cookie cutters or icing bags to outperform restaurant cookies. You just need a wooden spoon, a large bowl, the right ingredients, and most importantly, initiative. Start googling and get baking. 

Ice cream shakes 

The blender is your partner in crime here. After a month of guzzling back red syrupy drinks plied with sugar every evening, it is time to turn to a different kind of sugary drink: the humble ice cream shake. Forget expensive coffee houses with their coffee coolers and frappes. You can make one at home for a fraction of the cost and wow your guests (and yourself). All you need is milk, ice cream – any flavour – and, of course, a  blender. Add some decaf instant coffee and you will forever join the snobs who turn up their noses at coffee chains. Unlike baking ventures, this is an experiment that does depend on a measure of instinct – but be not alarmed. There is not a lot that can go wrong with vanilla ice cream, milk, and decaf coffee. Amaze your guests, and be sure to tell them assure them it took forever to do it. If you belong to the inexplicable minority that doesn’t like ice cream, you can always take lemonade powder, throw in ice cubes, a handful of mint leaves, cold water, and give it a whizz. Keep a couple of jugs in the fridge and never look towards serving fizzy drinks again. 

Soy sauce and vinegar chicken sandwiches 

Can we please retire the humble and pungent boiled egg sandwich now? It has had its day in the sun and can go back to Enid Blyton Famous Five novels where it belongs. For the ultimate sandwich, all you need is chopped up boneless chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper. Throw it in a pan, cover, and let cook. Bash up your chicken with a potato masher when it’s done – no need to dirty up your food processor – and mix in as much mayonnaise as you want. Throw in some chopped lettuce and thinly sliced cucumber for the ultimate treat, and you will have a sandwich that will rival any preening club sandwich you’ll find in high tea menus. Cut off the crusts if you want to give off the aura of professionalism, but there is no need. 

Potato wedges

Why do wedges beat fries? Because you don’t need to ferret about for a peeler or get splattered with hot oil. The more mature and evolved cousin of the french fries, wedges only need to be chopped, seasoned and lightly oiled before being slammed into an oven or air fryer. Crispy wedges are the perfect accompaniment to the aforementioned chicken sandwich. Coupled with a freshly baked marble cake and washed down with a coffee shake, you cannot ask for a nicer meal after a month of torturing your body with deep fried deliciousness. 

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