An Iftar feast at Asateer @ Atlantis The Palm, Dubai Recipe

“Dubai? During August? You must be crazy” said my friends. “Firstly, the heat will kill you, and secondly it’s Ramadan! Nothing happens during Ramadan – you can’t eat, you can’t drink – what’s the point?”. I have to say – they were spot-on regarding the heat. 40C heat at 80% humidity is like walking through warm syrup, a passage lubricated by your own perspiration. Nice. But they were pretty wide of the mark about nothing happening during Ramadan.

Ramadan is the Muslim holy month, a time during which observant Muslims fast between the hours of sunrise and sunset and offer more daily prayers than usual. It is a time of spiritual contemplation and charitable works, but also a time for visiting family and friends. During…