Each year, Affinity runs Ramadan events that range
from formal dinners at the Parliament of New South Wales,
to pop-up iftars that welcome asylum seekers and refugees.
The most intimate experiences are the home iftars, where
strangers of different faiths and cultural backgrounds are
invited to break bread with Muslim families across Sydney.I
arrive early at the Ozturks’ for a glimpse of the
feast preparation. Ahmet, who greets me at the door,
is unflinchingly upbeat for someone who juggles
work and fatherhood without a trace of caffeine in
his bloodstream.
“Of the 30 nights of Ramadan, we’ll host for 10 to
15 nights,” says Tuba. Preparation begins well beforehand,
with shopping for dried goods done weeks before the start
of the holy month. Pastries are made and frozen for the
nights ahead, and women gather around the table for
day-long shifts of wrapping vine leaves. The amount of
work is breathtaking, like doing Christmas or Thanksgiving
or Lunar New Year feasts every day for a month.
“I remember folding napkins, doing little iftar chores for
my parents, ever since I was little,” says Tuba. Her mother
Ayse is the head chef of the house. As she reveals the content
of each simmering pot, I’m struck by the precision with
which she works — any idle moments are filled with cleaning,
slicing or stirring. In the middle of a conversation, she slips
half a stick of butter into a pan of burghul and rice. “This,”
says Tuba, “Is why Turkish food tastes so good.”
On the menu tonight is a spread of stuffed vine leaves,
stewed okra, fried peppers, dips and börek filled with feta
and spring onion. All this is followed by a main course of
slow-cooked biftek sarma, a roulade of beef served with that
golden, buttery burghul pilaf.
My stomach growls as I help set the table, and I can’t
help but ask the obvious: “How are you supposed to do all
this on an empty stomach?”
“When you’re fasting, the first two days are hard, but
after the third day, you get used to it,” says Tuba. “The key
for Muslims is that it’s not the month to be hungry, but a
time to reflect — so you can better understand people who
are in need.”For more information about Ainity’s annual
home iftar program, visit ainity.org.au or
email [email protected]