Celebrating Ramadan and Food Traditions at Cambridge’s MINARA
Since opening earlier this year, Minara has become a community hub in Cambridge. Deriving its name from the word for lighthouse in Arabic, Minara is a café, community space and cultural salon, hosting concerts, educational programming, workshops and more. During the month of Ramadan, occurring in March 2026, Minara was open every night from 9pm to midnight, hosting many different programs, including Iftars, allowing community members to rent the space, host meals and break fast together after sundown.
A few weeks ago, I sat down with one of the founders, Jana Amin, to learn more about the holy month and the food traditions that surround it. In our conversation, Jana explained that Ramadan encourages participants to think about those who don't always have food readily available, saying that “the absence Ramadan forces on you creates an opportunity for a new type of presence.” She described this presence as a way to connect deeper with your faith, community—and yourself. She also explained that Ramadan is “deeply rooted in the spirit of generosity,” with shared meals after sundown, called Iftar, as a central tenet.
We discussed the menu for the Iftar Jana was planning to host, which included tabbouleh, Egyptian Koshari (for which we recently featured a recipe in our Winter issue), Moroccan lamb tagine, spiced malai chicken and a chocolate banana tahini cake, among many other delicacies. This Iftar was specifically for women, and over 50 women gathered to break their fast and share in tradition, food and connection. Images from the evening, including the stunning menu, can be found below, and one of the guests wrote a beautiful Substack where she expanded on her experience, linked here.
Over tea and chocolate-date truffles, Jana shared more with me about her vision for the space, and the different ways the community has engaged with it. She highlighted that Ramadan is an important time for learning and reflection, and hoped Minara would facilitate critical thinking and discussion amongst community members, be it during a workshop or over a delicious cup of chai.
One of the recent workshops Jana hosted was called From Kunafeh to Korma: Archiving Food, where she encouraged attendees to explore the ways in which political, social and economic factors might impact the way we engage with food. She asked guests to think specifically about recipes that have been passed down through their own families, and then challenged them to consider what historical and political narratives might have impacted those recipes and how they were shared over time. Curiosities like these drove the programming at Minara, offering guests the opportunity to share, expand and learn from one another in community.
Though Minara is set to close this run of the pop-up at the end of March 2026, they hope to open a more permanent brick and mortar space in the near future. Follow them on Instagram for updates—we can't wait to see what they do next!
This story appeared as an online exclusive on March 31st, 2026.
