Maryam Jillani remembers the fervor around Eid al-Fitr celebrations ushered in by the end of Ramadan (also known as Ramzan), the month of fasting and spiritual contemplation for Muslims. Endless meals included biryanis and kofta, lamb in its various iterations, milky-syrupy desserts, all laid out on embroidered tablecloths, among the good china and silverware, in drawing rooms across the Muslim world.

Jillani, the founder of the Pakistan Eats blog, said trying to re-create the bigness of Eid and its feasts was “exhausting.” After years of feeling similarly fatigued, and a couple of years of not hosting at all, I now throw more relaxed Eid parties.

I used to feel that guests had to know the best of me: aloo gosht made with goat sourced from the best halal butcher, eight-hour haleem cooked with homemade stock that had taken even longer. One year, when milk for kheer was slowly reducing over the stovetop, it boiled over just as the blender I was using to make nimbu pani erupted. My husband, in pajamas readying for bed, asked, “Who is this for?”

“I’m having fun, OK!” I yelled back. But it got me thinking.

I was reminded of the smaller, easier parties I hosted as the pandemic lockdown loosened, and how my friends and I approached these meals with a renewed, almost sacred sense of joy. Meeting and sharing a meal was enough of a reason to celebrate, no matter the scale.

Hosting Eid is a way to connect with community, and Jillani has been reexamining what that means for her. “My 20s were all about the elaborate daawat. Now, in my 30s, I do what’s convenient and mark the occasion in ways that work for me: one main dish fit for a special occasion, something sweet, friends — all the elements are there.”

Circumstances often dictate the preparations. “People don’t always have the luxury of taking time off,” said Fariha Khan, co-director of the Asian American Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania. Cooks, traditionally women, no longer have time to prepare everything from scratch — especially if they’re working outside the home — and now supplement a holiday meal with a few items from the local Desi restaurant.

“For our mothers’ or nanis’ generations, it would be unheard of to order anything from outside,” Khan said. But doing so means more time to celebrate. This Eid can be a chance to let go of things that no longer serve, and to reflect and be joyful by preparing for the holiday with ease.

That’s the plan here, a simple menu using shortcuts like frozen vegetables and mangoes. And the special things on the table, like kofta and samosas, can be made ahead and simply pulled from the freezer to heat. In the end, the dishes here make a festive meal, and you can even outsource dessert. It’s an Eid celebration without the fuss and all of the intent: to simply gather.