Bahari: Recipes from an Omani Kitchen and Beyond

Dina Macki · Bahari: Recipes from an Omani Kitchen and Beyond

Qaranqasho is an Omani celebration that takes place on the 14th day of Ramadan, mainly across the north coast. Children dress up in traditional clothing and mothers prepare lots of nibbles and sweet baskets, then open up their doors to all. We call it Omani Halloween, where all the kids go “trick or treating” — but without the tricks! Everyone heads out after prayer time to visit friends, family and neighbours and collect sweets, little gifts and sometimes, if we’re very lucky, money. I got to celebrate one Ramadan as a child in Oman, and I still remember the excitement as we ran through the streets, looking to see how many sweets we could collect. Ramadan, specifically on Qaranqasho, is the only time of year you’ll see khaliat nahal. My Auntie Nasra always made this bread instead of sweets. She’d set out whole trays of it on a table and wait for the children to run up, tear away their part and eat it on the go. Even as adults, we still want this bread at Ramadan; we know what’s hidde