The South Asian puffed breads called puris are served year-round and are prepared for most holidays. In Egypt, fried fish is traditionally served the last night of Ramadan . In a similar manner, an ordinary Iranian legume soup is enriched for Ramadan with dried fruits . The primary feature of the Ramadan table is not so much the uniqueness of the dishes, but their richness and variety . The Muslim calendar is a lunar calendar, and its rotation through the solar agricultural year has made it impractical for strictly seasonal dishes to acquire permanence in association with Muslim holidays .
Many festive foods are labor-intensive, some requiring preparation over several days.
This results in part from the quantities in which festive foods are customarily prepared, and their often elaborate character. The time and attention invested in the preparation of such foods becomes a part of their essential value . All Rights Reserved Permission is explicitly granted for educational and non-profit purposes.