One of the most wonderful things I see on Iftar tables is an abundance of fruit. I respect the person who spends a lot of time chopping up a ton of fruit for their guests, but it can be a lot of work, and sadly it’s usually the platter that has the most leftover at parties.

Let’s change that by making a few changes- first of all, don’t cut everything. You can cut a few things that are harder to eat uncut (i.e bananas, melons, even cucumbers though not a fruit go well on these platters), but leave the rest uncut even leaving some fruits like peaches and apricots whole so that people can take them on the go as they leave out the door for Taraweeh prayers.

I like the platter serving style because it’s pretty and colorful and easy to arrange. I use fresh seasonal fruits, of course, so that depends where you are and in what season you’re making the platter. I like to place a bowl of yogurt in the middle with a drizzle of honey so guests can simply dip the fruit in or spoon out a bit onto their plates. It tastes so good with fruit,  I don’t know why we don’t eat it this way more often.

Here’s what I put on this platter and it was delicious and well-received.

• 1-2 cups whole milk yogurt
• 1-2 tablespoons honey
• Apricots (left whole)
• Blueberries (whole)
• Grapes (left on the vine)
• Honeydew (cut small)
• Kiwi (cut in half)
• Ajwa dates
• Nectarines (left whole)
• Peaches (left whole)
• Pineapple (diced)
• Strawberries (cut in half)

Method:

Place the yogurt in a small bowl and drizzle with yogurt. Place the bowl in the middle of a round serving platter. You’ll arrange all of the fruit around this.

Wash all of the fruit and cut the ones that are hard to eat or that look pretty when arranged cut. I like to leave a few things whole so that guests can take them home if they weren’t feeling like eating them exactly around Iftar time.

• Cover and refrigerate the platter until serving time, but not more than a couple of hours. Bananas begin to brown quickly and other fruits like peaches and nectarines become a bit mushy after being cold.

If you like, you can squeeze some lemon juice on top of the fruits to prevent them from browning.