In pictures: celebrating Ramadan in India’s largest mosque

Families sit around large sheets of cloth spread out on the flagstones, so that the iftar meal seems almost like a picnic. Harish Tyagi/EPA

For the average foodie seeking out excellent Ramadan food, however, the place to be is not the Jama Masjid but Matia Mahal, a narrow and crowded alley that leads off the mosque’s perimeter. Harish Tyagi/EPA

Walking down the alley, you can fill up just by grazing on snacks that shops and restaurants sell. Harish Tyagi/EPA

There are flat metal trays piled high with samosas, the triangles of pastry filled with meat or potatoes; saucers of sliced fruit, sprinkled with salt and pepper; pieces of deep fried chicken, still sizzling as scooped out of the oil and ladled onto plates. Harish Tyagi/EPA

For dessert, sweet shops stock small hillocks of khajla, a crisp pancake made of fried, coiled strands of vermicelli. Harish Tyagi/EPA

An Indian Muslim boy waiting to begin his Iftar meal at Jama Masjid, Old Delhi, on the first Friday of Ramadan, July 4, 2014. Harish Tyagi/EPA

Dozens of temporary food vendors set up shop along the length of the alley during Ramadan. Harish Tyagi/EPA

An Indian Muslim devotee reads from the Quran in the courtyard of the Jama Masjid during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on July 6, 2014. Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo

As night falls, the picnickers at the Jama Masjid fold up their tablecloths and the main thoroughfares of Old Delhi begin to fall silent. Harish Tyagi/EPA

The Jama Masjid – India’s largest mosque – springs to life at sunset during Ramadan as hundreds gather to have the iftar meal together.