Lussies. There just isn't a satisfying English equivalent for the Afrikaans word.
“Craving” comes close, but it doesn’t encapsulate that same unmistakably South African warmth and familiarity. It’s a noun that pertains to both the desire one has for certain foods, while also serving as a collective noun for said foods. And in the context of the holy month of Ramadan, it’s the lussies (pronounced “luh-sees”) that followers of the Islamic faith look forward to eating when it’s time to break the daily fast. And, after a minimum of 29 days of nil per mouth, from sunrise to sunset, it’s also lussies that largely determine what families will be cooking for their Eid al-Fitr celebration.
For freelance photographer Sadiqah Assur-Ismail, who grew up in the Cape Town suburb of Belthorn, the 15th day of the holy month of Ramadan was known in her family as “op die berg” (on the mountain). This signified the halfway point in a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset, implying they had made it this far and it would be downhill the rest of the way. On those nights, the family would break the fast with cups of warm, sweet boeber, made by Sadiqah’s mom, Ayesha. “Some people like to keep boeber for Eid, but our family was, like, no: it’s the 15th, we’ve made it halfway, we deserve a reward,” says Sadiqah.
Besides, on the day of Eid, there were other non-negotiables on the menu. The sausage rolls Ayesha made for Sadiqah’s late father, Yusuf, to eat before he headed to mosque before Eid salah in the morning, and the soutvleis (salted beef
