Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque distributes 30,000 iftar meals a day at 10 worker sites in the capital
Before the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, the grounds of Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque would be full of people from all walks of life enjoying a Ramadan evening.
That has changed in the past few years and the mosque authorities have been labouring to deliver meals to workers’ accommodation across the capital instead.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre has been distributing 30,000 iftar meals every day at 10 worker accommodation sites across Abu Dhabi since Ramadan began.
Meals are prepared at the Erth Abu Dhabi hotel, close to the mosque.
The 9,000 square-metre kitchen at Erth Abu Dhabi is where all the action happens.
Since 2004, it has served more than 15 million iftar meals. The planning for this year’s meal distribution started two months before the holy month began.
“We do the tasting and decide the menu. We agree on how the food should be presented and what kind of spices we could add,” said Aztaj Eddoukani, senior director of culinary operations at Erth Abu Dhabi.
“We talk to our suppliers and make sure they have the right and enough ingredients for the entire month.”
When The National visited this week, the kitchen was preparing marinated roasted chicken, biryani rice, vegetable salona (stew) and salad.
More than 425 staff, including chefs, stewards and drivers, raced against time to deliver the 30,000 meals before sunset.
The preparation starts at 5am. The chefs cook 15,000 kilograms of chicken, 4,000kg of rice, 6,000kg of vegetables and 230kg of spices.
“We have different sections in the kitchen. One is for cutting and preparing vegetables for salad and salona,” Mr Eddoukani said.
“We also have a hot kitchen where we prepare spices and cook rice. We have about 14 ovens where we can put 500 portions of chicken at a time. We usually prepare 850 portions of chicken in an hour.”
Around noon, the meals are put inside warming cabinets at 80°C until they are ready for distribution.
The boxes are then loaded on to 13 lorries that set off in different directions. The staff hand out the meal boxes to workers living in 10 locations, including Mafraq, Hameem and Al Raha Village.
“For locations that are far from us, such as Hameem, we transport the meals in hot cabinets and package them after reaching the workers’ accommodation. This is done so that the meals are hot when served,” Mr Eddoukani said.
“We serve people of all faiths and backgrounds. Non-Muslims can receive the boxes way before iftar time.”
When the call to prayer is heard, workers end their fast at their residences. This year, the Abu Dhabi mosque has resumed welcoming worshippers for taraweeh and tahajjud prayers, after the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority relaxed Covid-19 rules during the holy month.
A dedicated task force works around the clock to ensure the mosque is ready for worshippers.
The chefs cook 15,000 kilograms of chicken, 4,000kg of rice, 6,000kg of vegetables and 230kg of spices