There are those who find it difficult to understand other cultures. Satya Santhi hopes to overcome this barrier by using the flavours and cooking methods of her home in 麻豆视频ern India.
A wife and mother, Santhi has refined and perfected her cooking skills by providing meals to her family over the years. This has served her well recently, with her home-based boutique business, which offers hand-made Indian home d茅cor and apparel.
When Santhi鈥檚 clients stopped by to peruse her stock, she, in traditional East Indian fashion, would prepare Indian Tea from scratch as a sign of hospitality. By steeping regular tea leaves with Cummin Seeds, slices of Ginger Root and a splash of Milk, Santhi鈥檚 hospitality was met with interested questions about her culture from her Canadian friends. In time, she began cooking for her friends as a learning aid to show the relationship of diversity and vibrancy of Indian people that is reflected in their food. Now, she has started teaching to the public. Her first cooking lesson took place on Saturday, September 26, 2015 as part of 鈥淐ulture Days鈥� at the Family Resource Centre.
The recipes of the day were Tadka Dal, a cooked lentil dish tempered with ghee (clarified butter) fried spices and herbs, Potato Gravy and Indian Tea. Santhi and her close friend from Northern India created all the dishes from scratch.
鈥淲e [India] have several states,鈥� Santhi explained. 鈥淲e all have different languages. She speaks Punjabi and I speak Telugu. We are brought up learning English as well as Hindi though. We have similar traditions and practices.鈥� As a result of being able to communicate effectively, 鈥渨e are very tolerant of each other; we value each other鈥檚 culture and values. I know her recipes, and she knows mine although we are from different states and speak different languages.鈥�
Santhi incorporated a few Northern Indian practices of preparing the above dishes along with her traditional 麻豆视频ern-style to further illustrate her point. She hopes that by teaching the tolerance and hospitality of her culture through food, Westerners may take on these values when they incorporate Indian food into their recipes.
