Mexican Rice and Chicken with Feta Rolls and Chutney (Mexico, Pakistan)

Memories of her first Ramadan, after she converted, fill Eva with emotions. “The Muslims that I met, they just took me in as part of their family” she explains. Eva grew up in Mexico before the family moved to the US when she was a child. She was raised Catholic but converted to Islam a month after starting college.  “I knew pretty much right away that it was the religion for me. And so after studying it, the first Muslim I saw on campus - a hijabi- I was like, “hey, I want to be Muslim!” I was wearing a miniskirt but she totally embraced me”. 

Eva ended up spending her first Ramadan with one of the first person she met after converting, and who became her best friend. “I lived with her and her Pakistani family and they embraced me. And I experienced the most beautiful first Ramadan ever. I long for it, as I've never been able to attain that same spirit again. I feel like a lot of Muslims when they start out, struggle adapting to Islam. They struggle with the fasting, and with the believing. But being immersed in this family, I didn't have to go through any of that. I could practice and I had an entire family of people super welcoming and super supportive. So it was just a really beautiful Ramadan”. 

Until then, Eva had never had Pakistani food and also got to experience that for the first time. “I grew up in Brooklyn and you know, in Black Brooklyn and Caribbean Brooklyn with really no other flavors except for Caribbean flavors, right? But it was just so delicious. Everything was so thought out, with the most elaborate iftars and lofty suhoor spreads.  And to this day, I always make her mom’s chutney. And every time I make it, I think of them. And I say a little prayer for them. And I'm just so grateful”.

Eva now makes it a point to share the spirit of Ramadan with others. “Every year we've gotten to sharing something with our kids’ [primarily non-Muslim] school community. And that has been sort of a tradition. We’ll read books and plan an activity. This year, the kids decorated paper mosques and scenery and then they put them all up in the hallways all over the school, it was just so heartfelt!”. 

Eva has also created rituals in her home. “Growing up, Christmas was very special - for Mexican families it’s huge, the whole town goes into parade mode! So I wanted my kids to feel that magic with Ramadan, especially since we're a minority in this country. So we kind of do big  parties, “Welcome Ramadan” parties, and  we do this little thing where every night the kids write their good deeds and we drop them in a box, and we read books together. We do a lot of rituals, and a lot of parties for Eid. My sister and I really try to make it extremely fun and extremely big so that, Insh’Allah, the kids have good memories of it when they grow older”.

In addition to being a mom to three kids, Eva works as a nurse while finishing her studies to become a midwife.   

When cooking, health is top of her mind. “We try to eat organic foods and we also have the privilege of having a garden. So some of our food like herbs, tomatoes, or eggplants -when in season- we just pick from the backyard.” Beyond that, Eva and her family  are inspired by a mix of influences.  “My husband is Puerto Rican, I'm Mexican and Haitian and then a lot of my upbringing as a Muslim came from my Pakistani and Yemeni friends. And so that always influences how I cook”.

The Iftar meal she shares with us here encompasses that mix of influences, from the Mexican rice to the Middle East -inspired chicken cooked with organic spices from Organic Spice Tree (which is owned by Muslim women). And then there are her daughter’s feta rolls served with the Pakistani chutney from her favorite family’s recipe and a mixed salad from whatever is picked in the garden.

Raqib Family Chutney recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup Cilantro/ and mint

2 jalapeños 

1/2 tomato 

1 small onion

2 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

3tbs yogurt

A pinch of salt(as desired)

Directions

Mix it all in a chopper to desired consistency.

Maimouna’s Feta Rolls

Ingredients

1.5 cups of crumbled feta cheese

one egg

Salt & pepper

Fresh dill and mint to taste 

Spring roll wraps

Directions

1. Mix it all together and stuff the spring roll wraps.

2. Fry in a bit of oil until golden.

3. Dip in chutney and enjoy!

Mexican Rice

Ingredients

2 large tomatoes

one small onion

one garlic clove

2 tbsp bouillon cube

1/4 cup of avocado oil

1 cup of long-grain white rice

a bunch of Cilantro 

Directions

1. In a blender mix the tomatoes, onion, garlic and bouillon with 1/2 cup of water.

2. Blend to a smooth puree and set aside.

3. In a pot heat the avocado oil, add the rice and toast it in the oil until it turns golden brown and is fragrant (do not burn).

4. Slowly add your tomato puree to the rice and cook the mixture on high medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the color deepens to a dark red and any excess water is absorbed. There should be about 1cm of liquid above your rice.

5. Turn the flame down to simmer and steam your rice (with lid) for 20 minutes or until fully cooked.

6. Add chopped cilantro into pot and mix right before service hot.

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

6 bone-in chicken thighs with skin (approx. 5-6 ounces each)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 teaspoons Spice Tree NYC Halal Cart chicken seasoning

1/2 teaspoon of sumac

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 Lemon

4 cloves of garlic

Chopped onions and bell peppers (or any other vegetables)

Chopped cilantro per taste

Direction

1. Pat each thigh dry with paper towels.

2. Place the chicken thighs in a bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, and the seasonings and sumac

3. Line a pan with foil and add a rack. Place chicken (skin side up) on the rack. Add the garlic, and vegetables

4. Bake until chicken for about 35 minutes baking time at a high temperature (about 425F).

5. Sprinkle cilantro on top