Rooza: A Journey through Islamic Cuisine Inspired by Ramadan and Eid

by Nadiya Hussain

Discover the Culinary Magic of Ramadhan with Nadiya Hussain's Rooza



This exquisite cookbook is a heartfelt tribute to the holy month, inviting you to celebrate and explore the rich tapestry of Muslim cuisine.

--

Ramadhan Kareem from Nadiya's kitchen to yours.

During the sacred month of Ramadhan, the long hours of fasting endow every meal with profound significance.

As families gather to break their fast, each meal transforms into a cherished event, a moment to savour beloved dishes, honour traditional and heritage recipes, or perhaps even venture into trying something new.

Rooza is Nadiya Hussain's heartfelt culinary tribute to Ramadhan. This book invites you on a joyous and explorative journey through Muslim cuisine. It illuminates the rich rituals, traditions, and the incredible diversity of dishes from across the Islamic world.

Discover recipes that evoke the warmth of familiarity and others that introduce delightful new flavours.

With main meal and dessert inspiration for each of the 30 days, plus a selection of glorious feasting recipes for Eid, this is a beautiful and timeless book to treasure, give as a gift and return to year after year.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

Published February 4, 2025

About the author

Nadiya Hussain is a British baker, columnist, author and television presenter. The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters is her debut novel.

Hussain was born to a British Bangladeshi family in Luton, where she grew up. She developed her interest in cooking while at school and largely self-educated herself in cooking by reading recipe books and watching instructional videos on YouTube. She married and moved to Leeds, where she began studying for an Open University degree. In 2015 she appeared on the BBC's The Great British Bake Off and won the contest. She was subsequently invited to produce a cake for the 90th birthday celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II and to present her own BBC documentary, The Chronicles of Nadiya.

Hussain is a columnist for The Times Magazine and Essentials magazine, has signed publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Hodder Children's Books, and Harlequin. She is also a regular reporter for The One Show and a guest panellist on Loose Women. Hussain was named by Debrett's as one of the 500 most influential people in the UK in 2016. Hussain was on BBC News' 100 Women list in 2016.

Reviews

[Charles Eldridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this could have been so much more. It is a collection of recipes - two to three from various countries/regions with Islamic populations - but the “tie-in” from the name and scant introduction pages is supposed to be celebrating Ramadan and Eid. The attempted framing didn’t resonate. The author doesn’t mention why most dishes would be for Ramadan. She barely connects the dishes in any way. Though there looks to be more than a few enticing recipes, the style/ingredients/flavors are so all-over-the-map that I would not readily think of this book at the forefront of my mind. The pictures are gorgeous and the recipe layout is manageable. But if the reader was not told that perhaps these recipes have to do with family meals at Ramadan, the books would seem to be a random collection of non-connected recipes.


I would recommend “Feast: Food from the Islamic World” by Anissa Helou over this book as the reader will be able to learn more and connect the religious influence/spice trail/unique cultures in a more informative and ease-of-use way.

[Felisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much about cultural dishes and cooking in this book. I even grabbed a few recipes that I want to try. Nadiya is a joy, and I love that she shares her cooking and herself more in this cookbook.

[Sophie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of Nadiya Hussain and was genuinely excited to pick up Rooza. The concept is wonderful: a journey through dishes enjoyed around the world during Ramadan, told through stories, culture, and food. It’s warm, accessible, and full of recipes that genuinely inspired me.

That said, I found myself wishing the book had been organised a little more clearly - maybe by region of the world? Many sections group two or three dishes together within a page or two, and as a reader it sometimes took a bit of effort to figure out where one recipe ended and the next began, especially if you only wanted to cook one part of the meal rather than the whole set. The ingredient lists were easy to follow, but the transitions between recipes felt more like reading one long block of text.

As someone from Singapore, I also wasn’t fully convinced by a couple of the Singapore/Malaysia entries. For instance, rendang is a deeply complex dish that’s often cooked for many hours, and the simplified version here felt like it missed some of the cultural context and tradition behind it. Another (different) dish labelled “Singaporean” leaned more Malay in heritage/style, which felt slightly misplaced.

Overall, though, Rooza is still a lovely collection - heartfelt, creative, and full of dishes I’m keen to make. I just wish the structure had made it a little easier to navigate, especially for home cooks looking to try individual recipes.

[Kirin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 191 page, highly illustrated cookbook by a well-known chef and author sets out to be a journey around the world with recipes of beloved foods associated with Ramadhan and Eid.  The introduction shares some of the author's personal thoughts on the time of the year, what it means to her and her family, and while I cringe when she says, "not eaten from sunrise," seeing as fasting starts at dawn, the premise of what is to come allows the reader to learn a bit and be inspired too. I do wish that there was more about the food and it's connection to Ramadan or the culture, but it really is more about the recipes, and the framing, not the exploration of Ramdhan or Eid, her relationship to the dishes chosen, how the recipes came about, and why they are included.

The book is not organized by appetizers, main course, and dessert, or even by ingredients: vegetables, fish, poultry, etc., it is organized arbitrarily by country, with each of the featured cuisines getting two recipes spread over a few pages with gorgeous accompanying pictures, until the Eid section where countries of origin are not attributed with the food, desserts, and snacks.


Whether you want to cook a dish from a certain country, thumb through it and be inspired by a picture, or use the index to look up a specific food or ingredient, I enjoyed reading the book cover to cover and finding dishes I soon hope to try.

[Amy Alderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tried 2 recipes so far and both delicious. Look forward to trying more. Lovely photography - all shot as though in the evening or by candle light (as befitting a book inspired by food eaten during Ramadan). My only minor complaint is that there is surprisingly little information provided about either the Islamic faith, Ramadan or why these particular recipes we included (other than they were inspired by countries that have people who observe Ramadan). I'd hoped to learn a bit more. Each recipe could have been the opportunity to talk about the different countries, cultures and populations that celebrate Ramadan. In short it could have been so much more than an attractive cookbook.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating! A definite “read the whole thing” kind of cookbook. I didn’t have a chance to actually try any recipes before the library wanted it back.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book is beautiful and varied, there are about 5 recipes I would make.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner from Nadiya Hussain! I loved the inspiration and stories behind this gorgeous cookbook/baking book.