Snacks for Breaking the Fast
Fritters, sweet things, and light bites to break the fast before the main meal — from what you have, without queueing at the market.
13 recipes
13 recipes sit under Snacks for Breaking the Fast, and every one of them is scored against what is actually in your fridge before it is shown. The quickest is Fried Meatballs in Chili at 12 minutes; the longest, Bread and Milk Pudding, takes 45. 2 of them finish in twenty minutes or less, which is usually what matters on a weeknight.
None of these need an oven, an air fryer, or a microwave — a stove and a pan is enough. 10 are vegetarian. 8 have no chili at all, so they work for children. 2 are properly spicy.
These recipes lean most often on Chicken egg, Spring onion, Banana and Rice flour — if you have one or two of those as well, more of this list becomes cookable tonight rather than after a shopping trip. Add what you have to your fridge and the recipes reorder themselves around it, with anything missing collected into a shopping list.
Vegetable Fritters
The most dignified destination for leftover cabbage, carrot, and sprouts starting to wilt.
⏱ 25 min🍽 4 servingsEasy
Crispy Fried Banana
A thin rice-flour batter, fried twice. The crunch holds until the afternoon.
⏱ 25 min🍽 4 servingsEasy
Mini Savoury Egg Martabak
Uses shop-bought spring roll wrappers. The filling is curry-spiced minced meat.
⏱ 35 min🍽 4 servingsMedium
Crispy Tofu with Chili Sauce
Press the tofu first to drive the water out. Wet tofu never crisps, no matter how much flour you use.
⏱ 25 min🍽 3 servingsEasy
Battered Fried Prawns
Ice water in the batter, and do not mix it smooth. The small lumps are exactly what makes the crust crisp.
⏱ 25 min🍽 3 servingsMedium
Crispy Fried Mushrooms
Do not soak the mushrooms — they absorb water like a sponge, and wet mushrooms never crisp.
⏱ 25 min🍽 3 servingsEasy
Banana in Palm Sugar Coconut Milk
The coconut milk goes in last and must never boil hard. Once it splits, there is no fixing it.
⏱ 30 min🍽 4 servingsEasy
Steamed Banana Cake
No oven, and moister for it. Wrap the steamer lid in a cloth so condensation never drips onto the batter.
⏱ 45 min🍽 6 servingsMedium
Bread and Milk Pudding
The best way to finish bread going stale. Fresh bread actually makes a soggier pudding.
⏱ 45 min🍽 5 servingsEasy
Fried Meatballs in Chili
Score the meatballs crosswise so the sauce gets in. Ten minutes, straight from the freezer.
⏱ 12 min🍽 3 servingsEasy
Cheese-Stuffed Tofu
Slit the tofu rather than halving it. An intact pocket keeps the cheese inside while it fries.
⏱ 25 min🍽 3 servingsEasy
Corn Fritters
Blend part of the corn and leave the rest whole. That is what stops it turning into fried porridge.
⏱ 25 min🍽 4 servingsEasy
Half-Fried Battered Tempeh
Deliberately not fried crisp — mendoan is meant to stay floppy. Frying it crunchy makes it a different dish entirely.
⏱ 20 min🍽 4 servingsEasy