Iftars are often synonymous with piles and piles of delicious food. And while that can be a sight for sore eyes after a day of fasting, it can also quickly lead to a lot of wastage.
However, with more people and companies striking up discussions on food waste in recent years, there has been a drive towards more wholesome and environment-friendly ways to break a fast.
Enter the zero-waste iftar, a concept that has been gaining popularity over the past few years. Zaina Kanaan, the co-founder of upcycling cafe Kave, which is serving zero-waste iftars for the second year in a row, describes them as meals with "rationalised portions and limited number of bookings".
“There’s no wastage of food that’s not been touched,” she says.
Chef Ahmad Halawa, who will be preparing one such zero-waste iftar at Kave as part of Alserkal Avenue's #ThisIsNotABuffet programme, adds that it's all about being mindful of our resources. "There are so many people who don't have access to regular food," he says. "We don't want to take what we have for granted."
Thinking of having a zero-waste iftar yourself? Here are some tips to keep in mind.
It’s all about portion-control
“When people have been fasting all day, they think they’re going to eat a lot – but there’s only so much you can have at one sitting. By the time people have their soups, salads and sides, they start getting full, so it’s really important to exercise proper portion sizes,” says Halawa.
Ensuring you don't make more than your guests can eat is a huge part of planning a no-waste iftar, he says.
Once the number of guests has been confirmed, a good rule of thumb is ensuring there’s approximately 200 grams of rice, 150 to 200 grams of protein and 150ml of soup per person.
He also usually makes 15 to 20 per cent extra in case guests ask for a second helping of a dish they like.
Present it in such a manner that the table looks full
“During Ramadan people want to see a table full of food – and a lot of people and restaurants tend to cook too much as a sign of generosity – but there’s a fine line between being generous and being wasteful,” says Halawa.
In such instances, when portion quantity is being controlled to stop wastage, presentation is everything, he says.
You can make the table look fuller by adding centrepieces, napkins and other decorative elements. Another hack is to have individual bowls for sides and dips for every guest.
However, ensure there’s no single-use plastic being used to create this table display. Opt for reusable cutlery and plates wherever possible, or those made from leaves, paper or other biodegradable materials.
Serve courses one after another
Having several courses served one after another is the norm in most restaurants – and there's a real benefit to doing this.
As Kanaan points out, when guests are served one course after another, instead of just putting everything out on a table, they tend to fill up slowly. It allows guests to better ration what they’re eating, stops them from consuming more than their body needs and minimises food wastage overall.
“That’s one of the reasons we never do buffets – it’s harder to reduce wastage when you’re serving food as a buffet,” she says.
Use 'waste' ingredients and leftovers
Minimising wastage begins in the kitchen. For example, Kanaan cites soups as a super-saver that can easily be prepared using ingredients that would otherwise go to waste.
“Bones can be boiled to make stock, and most vegetables can also be boiled and then ground into a tasty soup that’s perfect for iftar.”
Rice is another miracle ingredient that can be used in myriad ways. If there are leftovers, one can boil lentils separately and mix it with the rice to make mujadara, a classic Arabic dish. Leftover rice can also be turned into a pudding or a paella.
Finally, Kanaan recommends experimenting with ma'loubeh, a Palestinian dish that translates to "upside down". "In the old days, people made it with leftover rice, by adding chicken or meat and eggplant. It's an old recipe but so nourishing."
Parcel what’s left to the guests
Feel like there are some dishes that simply cannot be re-used? Simply pack it up for the guests. But, in the spirit of being zero-waste, ensure it’s done with biodegradable, eco-friendly containers.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Norway
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Canada
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%209
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Kill%20
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
SQUADS
Bangladesh (from): Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain, Abu Jayed
Afghanistan (from): Rashid Khan (capt), Ihsanullah Janat, Javid Ahmadi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Afsar Zazai, Shapoor Zadran
Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
The%20Sandman
%3Cp%3ECreators%3A%20Neil%20Gaiman%2C%20David%20Goyer%2C%20Allan%20Heinberg%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Tom%20Sturridge%2C%20Boyd%20Holbrook%2C%20Jenna%20Coleman%20and%20Gwendoline%20Christie%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Golden Shoe top five (as of March 1):
Harry Kane, Tottenham, Premier League, 24 goals, 48 points
Edinson Cavani, PSG, Ligue 1, 24 goals, 48 points
Ciro Immobile, Lazio, Serie A, 23 goals, 46 points
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Premier League, 23 goals, 46 points
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, 22 goals, 44 points
