Fattoush is one of the most important and essential dishes in the holy month of Ramadan.

 

Fattoush Dish. 

 

I would like to share with you the Fattoush salad, which is one of the most important and essential dishes in the holy month of Ramadan. To share with you also the health benefits of Fattoush as it contains many vitamins and minerals that are good for the body after fasting all day. For instance, the Parsley is very cleansing, and loaded with antioxidants, cancer fighting agents and is a wonderful way to support bone health. 

The sad fact is the thought that the Palestinians in the diaspora in Lebanon cannot easily secure food in the month of Ramadan, due to the soaring prices of food and cooking materials. This is because of the conditions the Palestinians are forced to live in, the unemployment crisis, because of the Lebanese laws that do not allow them to work outside the camps and of course the collapse of the Lebanese Lira which has been forgotten about because of covid-19.

The Fattoush dish is the crown of the Ramadan meal, and it is distinguished by the dazzling array of colours and amazing flavour. This delicious and healthy dish, if prepared in the right way, will be the best treat for your body after fasting for a long and exhausting day.

Even though this dish contains some essential vitamins and minerals there are some Palestinians who may not be able to afford to prepare it as a Ramadan meal at all, or perhaps some might only be able to prepare it with only a few of the ingredients. Not to forget to mention that there are many people who will replace healthy olive oil with unhealthy frying oil, because of the high price of olive oil.

The basic ingredients for this dish are cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, spring onions, radishes, mint, lettuce, salt, lemon, and olive oil, and to this either dry bread or toasted bread can be added. There are some optional additions to the Fattoush, such as sumac, pomegranate molasses or sweet pepper.

I do not feel that there are exact quantities that we must use to get the perfect Fattoush salad. Different people will prefer only a little bit of Lemon, others will prefer a lot of it and then there are people who use different tomatoes etc, because tastes obviously vary from person to person.

All we must do is enjoy preparing it and add whatever we want to our Fattoush vegetables. Fattoush is personal and will be something you grow up with and want to pass on to your family.  

If you are interested in making Fattoush, these are the basic ingredients and the method.

Tomato, parsley, lettuce, cucumber, radish, mint, lemon juice, salt, olive oil and flat bread (fried or baked hard).

Chop it up fine or coarse according to preference, usually leaving the tomato and cucumber until last as they can add lots of liquid to the dish. Leave the lemon, olive oil, salt, and bread until the end, just before you serve it. This keeps the bread crunchy (if you fry it) and makes sure the salt does not affect the liquid levels also as it can draw more liquid out of the vegetables. 

It really is that simple. But please, do not forget the Palestinian Refuges this Ramadan.

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