chandigarh the muchawaited islamic month of ramzan began in the city with a sumptuous morning meal called sehri dates and nashasta also called turri were two common cuisines served in almost every city house during ramzan nashasta is made up of milk and all kinds of dry fruits and is said to provide energy to spend the entire day without food and water one has to stay without food and water for the entire day and thus sehri is taken before dawn this meal includes nashasta puri suji halwa eggs fruits sweets and dates nashasta and dates are traditional food items as they are said to keep you energized the entire day said farooq khan a resident of sector 57 chandigarh as the times have changed to become lenient people also take proper food in sehri there is no compulsion that only particular food items are to be eaten as these days people are living a fast life with no time for preparing traditional cuisines so simple food also works it is just that one should eat it before the sehri time mentioned in the calendar issued by jama masjid said zarina khan a panchkulabased resident during sehri one should drink as much water before the fast begins to avoid dehydration during the daytime and one should avoid acidic foods like tea coffee curd etc after fasting all day long comes the feasting time called iftar the iftar meal for the first day of ramzan too is full of mouthwatering dishes including different kinds of pakoras samosas fruits sweets sandwiches fruit juice fruit chaat dahi bhalley and bread filled with sugar and khoya the preparations for iftar begin hours in advance at homes iftar is the meal after sunset and is taken to break the fast most often it is broken with dates or water but some people also take kheer or something sweet people also take fruit chaat or fried dishes like samosas along with juice or roohafza at iftar said mohammad aslam a resident of mani majra housing complex