Iftar

Iftar is the meal to break the ramadan fast at sundown. My neighbor, Ibrahim, and more specifically his mother-in-law, has been having me over periodically. It starts promptly at the moment the 6:30-ish call to break fast happens. Most people have their plates dished up and ready to go and sit and wait for the speakers from the mosque to tell them it's time to eat.
The traditional items here in Chittagong typically include:

• dates - first eat a date or two, as this is what The Prophet broke his fast with.
• spicy chick peas w/ cilantro and masala spices
• puffed rice (like rice krispies) mixed on top
• battered and fried eggplant
• fried red lentil cakes - they get really crispy and yummy
• samosa - spicy potato usually
• fried mixed vegetable (called pakora and there's many different combinations)
• cucumber & carrot "salad"
• super-sweet fried dough in a twisty shape
• banana or guava (usually just whole)
  
• coconut-banana crepes (called pita--my current favorite!)
  

You can eat all or some of it with your hands. It's all very tasty, if not pretty greasy and heavy.
After eating these items fairly quickly, Muslims then get up quickly to pray. You're supposed to eat and pray before it's dark and the call to break fast is right at sunset, so it needs to be pretty quick.
Last night we had an all-staff and all-teacher/faculty Iftar at school so all the non-students could get to know each other better. I was of course running on California time (7-10 minutes late) and got upstairs when most other people were seated. Everyone segregated into their insular groups (faculty, AA teachers, administrative staff, drivers, etc.) So I sat at a table where I knew one or two other people--they were all Bengalis. One was a former Secretary of Parliament who is now AUW's government liaison, one was the Head of Operations for the University and another was the head of Security. A couple of them were struggling with the knife and fork, so I said they didn't have to be polite for me and then we all ate with our hands. You'd be surprised at how much technique and etiquette there is to eating with your hands! But everyone says it makes the food taste better, and when everyone at the table is doing it, it seems silly to use a fork!
Then they all quickly got up and left the table and I was left sitting alone. The former Secretary came back and explained they all had to go say their prayers. Then, the iftar plates were cleared and a few minutes later they came back and we were served more food (chicken biryani and stewed goat curry--YUM!).
I like going to my neighbor's house for iftar--the food is really good, they have a really cute 8-month old and a fun almost-8-year old. Plus his mother in law thinks feeding her neighbors will help get her into heaven, so it's a win-win for everyone!
I think I will be sad when Ramadan is over and there's no more Iftar to eat.
The other oddity/phenomena about Iftar is that the streets completely clear out and are almost entirely empty for about a half an hour. It's great if you want to walk somewhere and not great if you need to catch a rickshaw.