Search
Login
Foodies Only in your inbox
By clicking "Subscribe", you agree to ourPrivacy Policy and to receive marketing emails from Foodies Only
ITC Portal
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
5 min
19/02/2026
Memon and Bohras celebrate community iftar during Ramadan, through the thaal tradition that encourages communal dining from one shared platter. The shared dining experience is a symbolic representation of each person's equality and respect for one another in the community. Through their shared experience at iftar, the people will be eating in order, eating together, and eliminating food wastage. Together, these acts create a sense of ritual that runs deeper than just the meal itself and connects people by way of culture and religious beliefs.
The thaal tradition among the Memon and Dawoodi Bohra communities in western India and beyond is to teach communal living, faith, and heritage during the month of Ramadan 2026. Based on generations of cultural traditions, the thaal method of iftar is based on sharing food served in a large round plate known as a thaal, providing equality among the people, and establishing a strong sense of etiquette and social bonding. Through congregating at sunset during Ramadan to break the fast, not only does the food served in the thaal nourish and hydrate each individual's body, but it also promotes the shared identity of the community and its connection to spirituality.
Both the Bohra and Memon come together for iftar with a communal thaal. The Dawoodi Bohras have specific rules about serving food; they will not serve food until all diners have arrived. This means that everyone is present as a group to eat. Serving food in this way creates a sense of social cohesion and allows for meaningful conversations between diners as they share in their daily fast-breaking.
The customs surrounding the community thaal demonstrate mindfulness and respect. Among the Dawoodi Bohras, everyone washes their hands in water served from a chelamchi lota before eating, covers their heads out of reverence, and eats with their right hand because of tradition. The rituals established by the order of how food is served, starting with a pinch of salt and alternating between sweet (mithaas) and savoury (kharaas) foods, add to the spirit of seeing the meal as a ritual and are consistent with generally accepted traditions for sharing fasting to break fast as a community.
The thaal meal is an elaborate meal served in different stages, rather than as a buffet of food to choose from. What's more, the first course of any thaal meal is typically made up of sweets (because sweets are perceived as good fortune) before progressing to the main savoury component. Typically, sweets/desserts eaten during the thaal meal are served first, followed by savouries such as rice dishes, lentils, curry, etc. As an example of what this looks like: for the first course of a thaal meal, you may see hand-churned ice cream or mithaas-type sweets, followed by kharaan-type items like palidu (a type of lentil dish) and dal chawal-type items. This makes for a complete progression through the meal and is consistent with the customs and traditions that exist to promote the communal dining experience.
Although written records on Memon thaal etiquette are generally not available, recorded documentation on Memon iftar practices and foods exists within the larger Memon community, whose rich food heritage is based on traditional recipes passed down from generations before them. Some of the common ingredients in these foods are influenced by Gujarati (Indian), Sindhi (Pakistani), and Arab cultures, including kebabs, bajray ke kebab, snacks made from millet flour, sweet sabudana fakar/vandal, etc., which are served at iftar meals. These foods can be consumed individually or as part of a communal iftar gathering to uphold the values of hospitality, simplicity, and kinship found in the larger community's iftar traditions.
These community meals include a major emphasis on preventing waste. Part of this is through encouraging the participants to take only what they themselves will eat and ensuring that there is no food leftover when the thaal is cleared. This practice promotes gratitude, moderation, and respect for one’s nourishment, consistent with the spiritual exercise of Ramadan, and creates a sense of collective accountability.
