Ramzan 2026: these books on Muslim food are a balm for the body and soul

Explore the rich tapestry of Ramzan food writing, highlighting recipes shaped by memory, ethics, and cultural significance across the Islamic world.

Ramzan announces itself quietly. Not only through fasting or prayer, but through kitchens, both domestic and devotional, where waste is avoided and food is prepared with a heightened sense of purpose.

Across the Islamic world, from Istanbul to Sylhet, Fez to London, Kashmir to Kayalpattinam, Ramzan cooking has always held a careful balance: fasting and feasting, restraint and generosity. Some of the most thoughtful writing on Muslim food reflects this inwardness, offering recipes shaped by memory, ethics, and care.

One of the most moving explorations of this philosophy is Turkish food scholar Nevin Halici’s Sufi Cuisine. Rooted in Konya, the city of Rumi and the Mevlevi order, the book treats cooking as a spiritual act. “For the Sufis, food was sacred, cooking was a form of prayer, and eating was a blessed activity,” Halici explains. The kitchen, she says, held the soul of the Sufi lodge. Initiation into spiritual life often began not with scripture, but by learning to cook and serve others.

Turkish food scholar Nevin Halici | Photo Credit: Wiki Commons

The book is suffused with poetry and restraint highlighting grain stews, yoghurt soups, and the ritual dish ashura, cooked communally during periods of mourning. “Nutrition is important in Sufi cuisine because worship is possible only in wellness,” Halici notes, adding that moderation and sharing are as central as flavour. It is a way of thinking about food that resonates deeply during Ramzan, when restraint itself becomes a form of mindfulness.

Moderation and sharing are as central as flavour during the holy month of Ramzan. | Photo Credit: Getty Images