On reimagining Bengali nostalgia with iftar at Roti Mami's
From Sylhet to East London to now Berlin
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No matter where we find ourselves, there is barakah in coming together, sharing stories and connecting through food. That happens when I gather people around the table, whether in my personal life or for Roti Mami.
I grew up in a British Bangladeshi household in East London, where food was everything. It was how we showed love, welcomed guests and held onto home even when we felt out of place.
I remember my Nanu making huge batches of food and sending me, just a growing seven-year-old out to deliver it to all the neighbours. I didn’t fully understand why she asked me to do this then but I knew it felt important.
Sharing food was just a way of life. I remember how people would show up unannounced, yet somehow my family would always be prepared with snacks and tea at hand. And you weren’t allowed to leave without having a bite.
Growing up, Ramadan was no different. As a child, it was always such a beautiful and spiritual time and when I moved away from home almost ten years ago, it became even more essential to continue those traditions wherever I was.
I lived in Australia for a while, where I often felt homesick but I was lucky to have incredible friends. Recreating those iftars, especially for friends experiencing their first iftar was nothing short of notable. It felt like I was passing on centuries of traditions.
And now, I live in Berlin, that same tradition continues.
I started Roti Mami as an extension of that feeling—to share my culture and food while carving out my sense of community here. It began as small dinners in my flat and has grown into something much bigger.
It has become a space where people — whether Bengali, South Asian, Muslim or simply people who love good food — can come together and experience something deeply nostalgic yet entirely new.
This Ramadan, I hosted Roti Mami’s first iftar, and it was incredibly special to see so many beautiful people gathered around a communal table, breaking fast together.
It was heartwarming to hear Muslims explaining Ramadan to non-Muslim guests while I was busy in the kitchen. Just hearing laughter and conversation and that to me, feels like home.
Ramadan is a time for reflection, generosity and slowing down in order to remember what truly matters. Personally for me, that always comes back to the people, the food and remembering to be generous with both.
For the iftar, I cooked up a little storm: dates with pistachio cream and toasted coconut, grapefruit salad, guro mangsho and daal with lots of lime. As my family are from Sylhet we tend to have lots of citrus in our food and that influence is big in my cooking.
I also made butternut squash bhorta with fried aubergine in Bengali spices and to finish, Mami’s tiramisu, layered with Rusk biscuits and infused with the flavours of ras malai.
Watching everyone eating and chatting away made me realise the traditions from Bangladesh to East London and now Berlin, have followed me wherever I’ve gone.
This is why it’s important to carve out your sense of community wherever you are. I’ve spent the past ten years living in different countries and some iftars were a little lonely and now that I’m a little older, I feel a responsibility to nurture that community and hold space. We can’t depend solely on our mothers and aunties to pass on those traditions.
I want to make sure people have a sense of home, especially during this time, particularly those who are new to Berlin or who don’t have many Muslim friends or family to share this experience with. It makes me happy to be able to provide that for people.
I absolutely loved that a friend led a small prayer. That people were eating with their hands. Some were stepping aside to pray, some swapping stories and others were laughing and making new friends. That’s literally what it’s all about.
This is what Ramadan, food, and community mean to me: creating spaces where people feel at home, wherever that might be.
Rez Rahman is a chef and food stylist from East London, with Bangladeshi roots. With over a decade of experience in the culinary and hospitality industries, she has worked on cooking shows in the UK, managed her own hostel in Vietnam, and served her time as a private chef and recipe developer in Australia.
Today, Rez runs Roti Mami, a Bengali pop-up born from her passion for sharing her heritage and connecting people through food. Alongside her culinary endeavours, she documents her food and travel experiences on her Substack Reservations. Rez tells captivating stories that explore cultural insights, personal adventures, and hidden culinary gems from lesser-known destinations around the world.
Hola! I'm Tahmina Begum 👋🏾 I'm a writer and creator of The Aram newsletter
Header created by Fad_Studios Image credits: Rez Rahman
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Bengali food>>>>>>>