Four Iftar Ideas – Savoury Croissant Bake, Feta & Honey Cheese Bites, Roasted Curry Eggplant, and Kunafa Sandwich

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
• Make the French toast batter: In a bowl, mix the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, chili flakes, garlic powder, and rosemary and whisk until combined.
  3 eggs, 100 ml full-fat milk, Salt to taste, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp chili flakes, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp rosemary
• Prep the croissants: Create a pocket in each mini croissant by slicing them in the center without cutting them all the way through. If using regular-sized croissants, cut in 2-3 pieces.
  8-10 plain mini croissants
• Keep your baking dish prepared, then dunk each croissant into the egg mixture and soak for 1-2 minutes until properly soaked from each side. Remove and get rid of any excess batter and place the croissant in the pan. Repeat this process with all the croissants until the pan is full.
• Top the croissants with some of the remaining egg batter.
• Now fill the croissant pockets with the cheese slices, the meat (or mushrooms), and the jalapeños. Also fill the remaining empty spaces in the pan with the fillings. The more, the better. You can customize the fillings as per your preference.
  3-4 cheddar cheese slices, Pepperoni or any dry meat of your choice, Jalapeños
• Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden from the top. Serve hot.
  2-3 tbsp shredded mozarella cheese

• Prep the bread: Slice the bagel in half length-wise, then slice each half in 2-3 inch pieces.
  1 baguette
• Make the feta topping: In a bowl, whisk together feta cheese, salt, and chili flakes until they form a creamy paste. If your feta is too crumble, add 2-3 tbsps of milk while whisking.
  100 grams feta cheese, Salt to taste, 1 tsp chili flakes
• Spread a thick layer of the feta cheese on top of each bread slice. Top it with zaatar or everything bagel seasoning.
  2 tsp Zaatar or everything bagel seasoning
• Let the bread pieces heat in the oven for 2-3 minutes on 140 degrees Celsius until just warm. Top with honey before serving.
  2 tsp honey

Eggplant

• Peel the eggplants in strips with a peeler, leaving it with alternative strips. Slice into 1-inch thick slices and place them on a paper towel. Salt the eggplant slices, place another paper towel on top, and let them rest for 30 minutes to allow the moisture to be released.
  2 large eggplants
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
• After 30 minutes, place the eggplant slices in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and mix. Place the eggplant slices on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake for 30-45 minutes until the eggplant is caramelized and soft.
  50 ml olive oil, Salt, Pepper
• Make the curry yoghurt: In a bowl place the Greek yoghurt, curry powder, turmeric powder, lime juice, and salt and mix until combined. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
  200 grams Greek yoghurt, 1 tsp curry powder, 1/4 th tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp lime juice, Salt
• Make the curry onions:In a pan, add oil and sliced onions and cook until the onions have softened and caramelized, for 5-8 minutes. Add the curry powder, salt, and chopped peanuts or almonds, mix, and let it cook on medium heat for another 2-3 minutes.
  1 large onion, 1 tsp curry powder, Salt, to taste, 30 grams chopped peanuts or almonds

Assembly

• In a large plate, place the eggplant slices in a circle, overlapping each slice over the other, and fill the center of the circle with the remaining slices.
• Top the eggplant with the curry yoghurt, curry onions, toasted cumin and coriander seeds, lime zest, and pomegranate, and serve.
  1 tsp lime zest, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, 40 grams pomegranate seeds

• In a bowl, add the Kunafa dough and melted butter and mix until the dough is properly covered with the butter. Add only as much butter as required to soak the dough.
  30 grams Kunafa dough, 20-30 grams unsalted butter
• Spread the remaining melted butter on one side of each bread slice evenly, then stick the kunada dough on the buttered side of each bread slice.
  2 slices of plain white bread, 30 grams unsalted butter
• Turn one slice around and spread a thick layer of the cream, then top with the second slice to form a sandwich.
  50 grams thick cream
• Heat a frying pan, add butter, and place the sandwich in the pan. Cook on both sides until golden-brown and crispy.
  20 grams unsalted butter
• Top the sandwich with sugar syrup and enjoy warm.