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Lab- 5

Visit to Chinatown:

we enjoyed a lot at this place. Although I went there for the first time. Even, I get to know a lot about this market’s stuff and its history. 

This arch is gifted to Montreal city from Bejing city. It is very huge and beautiful.

In Chinatown, most of the restaurants have this kind of glass window to showcase their specialty so that customers can directly attract by their first glam. They have this kind of barbeque meat hanging upside down which looks very delicious and interesting. In another restaurant, they have live rolling noodles from which they can notice by its front window. 

This is the selfie of me and my classmates having fun at -10 degrees in Chinatown.

Visit to Old Montreal:

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About me

Hello all,

My name is Vaishnavi Jabaalbhai Patel. I am 22 years old. I am from Gujarat, India, which is a southern part of India. The surat city where I brought up is well known for its food, fabrics, and diamonds. Surat city is known as “city of bridges”, and “diamond city”. I am an interior designer by profession. Cooking, glass painting, singing are my main interests. I love to travel from one place to another. Although I did not travel to many countries. Now I have started doing it.

Talking about my family, there is my mom, my dad, my younger brother, and my grandfather. As I am engaged my in-law family is also like this. My mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my brother-in-law, and my fiance.

I did my degree in interior designing for three years and after that, I completed my internship in India. Then, I came to Canada around one year ago to do my business management course.

When it is a matter of food, I am very much curious about its taste. I am very choosy about flavours. But I love to try different culture’s food. Food brings culture into it. It helps you to know one’s culture clearly.

I have learned cooking when I was 14 years old. My mom met with an accident and she could not able to make anything. For some time, we adjust to order from outside. But then I learned Indian cuisine.

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Movie critique

Vatel

“This movie is a prime example of French cuisine. The main idea of this movie is the difference between first-class families and lower-class families. It was a time when prestige and political clout through the dinner table were often displayed, and great chefs were "prizes" to be found and bribed into action. Vatel was not himself a chef, but the Prince of Condé at Chantilly's "lord of the kitchen" and was meant to be a brilliant maker of new dishes. 

From this movie, I learned so many tricks to make a better presentation of food. I thought the presentation of food is not important in our life. But this movie changed my thinking.” 

This picture clearly shows how the presentation can make a difference between the raw food and presentation one. 

This flower of the basket is made out of melted sugar. It is unbelievable and excellent in look. This is the best thing that refers to the presentation of the food which I liked from the movie. 

Citation:

Vatel (film). (2019, November 19). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatel_(film).

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My neighbourhood

Ville- Marie:

“Ville-Marie is the name of a community in central Montreal, Quebec. The borough was named after Fort Ville-Marie, the French settlement that would later become Montreal (now Old Montreal, which was situated within the new borough). The borough includes all downtown Montreal, including the Quartier des spectacles; Old Montreal and the Old Port; the Centre-Sud area; most of the Mount Royal Park, as well as Saint Helen's Island and Notre-Dame Island.”

Attractions: 

“Ville-Marie is home to many of Montreal's most popular attractions. The bulk of its office towers are situated here, including 1000 de La Gauchetière, 1250 René-Lévesque, the Tour de la Bourse, Place Ville-Marie, the Sun Life Tower, the Radio-Canada House and many others.

Three of the four universities in Montreal — McGill, Concordia, and UQAM — are located in Ville-Marie, along with three of its four basilicas — Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, Notre-Dame Basilica, and St. Patrick's Basilica. Grande Bibliothèque du Québec, Place des Arts, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Quartier des spectacles, Montreal Science Centre, Pointe-à Callière Museum, Musée Grévin Montreal, and numerous other important venues.

Sports facilities include the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens; the Percival Molson Stadium, home of the Montreal Alouettes; and the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit on Notre-Dame Island, host of the Grand Prix of Canada.”

My neighbour:

Exact next to my house one old man is living. He is from Quebec. His name is Leo Paul. He is very nice and cool although he is around 65. I call him “Dadu” which means “grandfather” in the Hindi language. He always greets me whenever I came home, or passing by my home. He usually gives me and my fiance Ice candies because he loves ice creams and ice candies. Whenever I make something less spicy I always give some food to him. He likes my food. Even, he loves it when I call him “Dadu”. 

He is very funny and helpful. He always helps whenever I needed.

Citation:

Ville-Marie, Montreal. (2019, October 14). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ville-Marie,_Montreal.

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Lab- 4

Sage

“Sage is a mint family herb with a sweet but savoury flavour. It is native to the Mediterranean region, botanically known as Salvia officinalis. The botanical name of Sage comes from the Latin word "salvere," meaning "to be rescued." The most common use of sage these days, once valued for its medicinal value, is in the stuffing for the Thanksgiving turkey.”

History of sage:

“Sage's medical and culinary uses have a very long and rich history. The French once grew plenty of sage crops that they used as a tea. The Chinese were enamoured of French sage tea, exchanging for every one pound of sage tea four pounds of Chinese tea.

In 812 AD, sage was one of the plants considered so valuable that Charlemagne ordered it to be cultivated on German Imperial farms, probably due to its lucrative trade and medicinal popularity.

In ancient Rome, sage was thought to have considerable healing properties, especially useful in the digestion of the omnipresent fatty meats of the time, and was considered part of the official Roman pharmacopeia. The herb was used for treating ulcers, helping to stop wound bleeding, and soothing a sore throat. The Chinese used sage to treat colds, joint pain, typhoid fever, and hepatic and kidney problems.”

Dried sage

Nutritional value:

“A sage tablespoon has 43% of the recommended daily vitamin K serving and is also an excellent source of fibre, vitamin A, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese. This contains much higher doses than recommended daily B vitamin requirements such as folic acid, thiamine, pyridoxine, and riboflavin, as well as adequate quantities of vitamin C, vitamin E, thiamine, and copper.

Statistically, one teaspoon (0.7 grams) of ground sage contains (2Trusted Source):

Calories: 2

Protein: 0.1 grams

Carbs: 0.4 grams

Fat: 0.1 grams

Vitamin K: 10% of the reference daily intake (RDI)

Iron: 1.1% of the RDI

Vitamin B6: 1.1% of the RDI

Calcium: 1% of the RDI

Manganese: 1% of the RDI

Cooking use:

The special flavour also makes sage a perfect herb for adding to the dishes. Combined with brown butter, the sage makes a simple sauce into something really special, a beautiful spoon over chicken and vegetables, and a tasty pasta-like butternut squash ravioli.

A traditional French scallops dish in a cream sauce uses sage to give the shellfish's sweetness a dry, complex flavour. You can also include sage for chicken in a lemon marinade or grilled steak in a compound butter. The herb also marries happily in an easy-to-make yeast bread with the flavour of orange.”

Rubbed sage

External use:

“Additionally, for your hair, body, and nails, sage can be used externally. It is said to be used as a rinse to enhance hair texture and tone as well as leave a nice shine. Water-steeped sage can also be used as an oily skin-controlled facial toner. Tea tree oil, basil oil, sage oil and arrowroot have been found to help ventilate and treat toenail fungal infection.”

Citation:

Filippone, P. T. (2019, January 24). Learn All About Sage, From the History to How to Use the Herb. Retrieved from https://www.thespruceeats.com/history-of-sage-1807657.

Moncel, B. (2019, June 30). Sage Adds Earthy Flavor to Bounty of Dishes. Retrieved from https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-sage-1328645.

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Lab-3

Iranian cuisine

“History: Iranian cuisine contains Iran's cooking styles. The word Persian cuisine is also used as Iran is also known as Persia, although the ethnic Persians are just one of the indigenous ethnic groups that contributed to the culinary culture of Iran.

Typical Iranian main dishes are meat, vegetables, and nuts variations of rice. In addition to fruits such as plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots and raisins, herbs are often used. Characteristic Iranian flavours such as saffron, dried lime and other sour flavouring sources, cinnamon, turmeric and parsley are mixed and used in different dishes.

Agriculture: Approximately one-third of the total surface area of Iran is ideal for agriculture, but most of it is not under cultivation due to poor soil and lack of adequate water distribution in many areas. Only 12% of the total land area is being cultivated but less than one-third of the cultivated area is being irrigated; the remainder is committed to dryland farming. Around 92 percent of agricultural products depend on water. The most fertile soils are found in the western and northwestern parts of the country. Approximately 96% of Iran's food security index.”

“Crops:

1.wheat: Iran exported nearly 600,000 tonnes of wheat in 2007. In 2009, approximately 6 million tonnes of wheat will be imported from 15 countries due to the drought in 2008, making Iran the world's largest importer of wheat.

2. Rice: Iran has 3,800 units of rice milling (2009).[23 ] Iran's average rice consumption per capita is 45.5 kg, making Iranians the 13th largest consumer of rice.

3. Sugar: Iran had a total deficit of 400,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes of sugar in 2008. Over the past few years, sugar producers have suffered from large imports of cheap sugar, resulting in a 50 percent fall in the production capacity of the sugar industry in 2008.

4. Pistachio: Iran is the largest producer and exporter of pistachios in the world, followed by the United States and Turkey

5. Saffron:  Iran is the largest producer of saffron with 93.7% of the world's total production

6. Tea: Tea production rose to 190,000 tons in 2007 from 130,000 tons in 2004. 75,000 tons of tea is smuggled into Iran each year

7. Fruits:  Iran exported more than 35,000 tons of citrus fruits valued at $20.8 million to 36 countries in 2008.[35] Iran is among the largest producers of berries and stone fruits in the world, especially pomegranates, dates, figs and cherries

8. Horticulture:  Close to 19 million tons of horticultural crops will be produced by the end of the Fourth Plan”

La Maison De Kebab Restaurant

Address: 820 Rue Atwater

Cuisine: Iranian/ Persian

The restaurant was giving us homely vibes. It has some Iranian artifacts like Persian hanging rugs, tile painting, table clothes.

The more interesting thing is the table cloth pattern represents Indian cultural patterns too. the shapes, patterns are more familiar with me as I am from India, I know its patterns very well. the major difference is that we use this type of pattern as our bed sheets.

My dish: Shirazi Salad

“Shirazi salad is a popular traditional Iranian salad originating in Southern Iran and named after Shiraz. It is also known as Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad. The main ingredients are cucumber, tomato, onion, olive oil, and lemon juice, although sometimes lime juice or verjuice is used in the preparation.

In Iran, it is eaten on its own as a side dish in the summer, along with meat-based foods such as kebab or steak, and as a side dish before and after meals throughout the year. Shirazi salad is sometimes used to complement rice. Cookbook author Jila Dana-Haeri describes it during the summer as a refreshing dish.”

“Shirazi salad has been described as being similar to Iran's national salad and is a common meal accompaniment. It can also be used to reduce the spiciness of stews in a manner similar to that of a condiment. It typically has a crisp and juicy texture and is similar to pico de gallo and Israeli salad.”

Its main ingredients are onions, tomatoes, cucumber, dried mint, and coriander.

It is very easy and quick to make.

we just need to chop tomatoes, onions and cucumber into very finely. And then some lemon juice, dried mint, and coriander leaf to garnish this salad.

I would rank this dish 8 out of 10.

Other dishes:

Ash- reshteh Soup:

“Ash reshteh is a type of āsh (Iranian thick soup) with reshteh (thin noodles), a kashk product that is commonly produced in Iran and Azerbaijan. In Iranian cooking, there are more than 50 types of thick soup, which is one of the most common.”

“Reshteh, kashk, herbs such as parsley, spinach, dill, spring onion ends and sometimes cilantro, chickpeas, black eye beans, lentils, onions, rice, dried mint, garlic, butter, salt and pepper are the ingredients used. This is a vegetarian soup, but it can be easily made vegan by omitting the kashk; meat can be added alternatives

Modern Ash reshteh is eaten during special events in Iran, such as Nowruz, Sizdah be-dar or wintertime. For the new year, the noodles are meant to symbolize good fortune.”

Doogh:

“Doogh is a cold, salty yogurt-based drink mixed with salt. It is popular in Iran, Turkey, the Balkans, Iraq, Jordan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, and Germany. Beyond the Middle East region, yogurt drinks are popular.”

“Doogh is served chilled and often, especially during summer, as an accompaniment to grilled meat or rice. It is created by combining yogurt with chilled or iced water and is sometimes carbonated and mint-seasoned. Doogh was described in various ways as "diluted yogurt" and "the most refreshing drink made by mixing iced water with yogurt"”

Citation:

Iranian cuisine. (2019, December 6). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_cuisine.

Doogh. (2019, December 6). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doogh.

Shirazi salad. (2019, December 7). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirazi_salad. 

Ash reshteh. (2019, October 3). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_reshteh.

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Lab- 2

Object: Indian bell 

“The handle of this bell is a finely crafted image of Hanuman, the famous monkey general who led the army in Hindu mythology that helped Rama rescue Ravana's mother, Sita. Its additional figures and floral patterns, the bell's body is richly graved. Priests use various sizes of ghanti to worship and respect a deity. This worship may take place in a temple or at home before the shrine of the household. Bells play a very important role in Hindu society. They are almost always used in ceremonies from temples to altars at home. Bells are in reality an integral part of the Christian tradition as well. In old churches, Bell towers can be found; even today, during the day, some churches ring the bell before masses. In addition, bells are used during masses as well. 

There is some reason behind why we ring the bell while doing prayer:

1. Traditionally, before beginning worship, the bell was supposed to be rung, with the intention that the divine enter you and all the forces of the demon within your soul, and so do those outside it. 

2. It is manufactured with several metals and alloys, and these metals ' quantities are mixed with accurate scientific calculations. As a consequence, total harmony between the brain's left and right lobes is created when you ring the bell, taking you to a state of utter calm.

3. The echo touches the body's seven chakras and takes one minute to calm the body completely.

4. The ultimate calm aura created by the sound enables the concentration of power in the brain to increase tremendously and become strong.

5. The created environment puts you in a state of trance that takes you to a different level of calm and worship.

6. It prepares you for the prayer that you are about to begin, wakes you up and puts you in a state of awareness of prayer, so you can get lost for a moment in the mantras and absorb maximum spiritual gain.”

Food critique:

Apple crumble pie

“Apple crisp is a dessert made from a blend of oats and brown sugar topping. An apple crumble is a dessert covered with a crisp streusel crust of baked chopped apples. The term' crumble' refers to both desserts in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, but the two are distinguished in the United States and Canada.”

This dish is especially from Quebec. 

I have tested it and I found apples, brown sugar, maple syrup, butter as a main ingredient. Its taste was the soul of the dish. 

This dish is for traditional families in Quebec. They always make this dish in the fall season. some families make it too sweet, while some of them like it as sour. 

First, I tried to crumble which is the first layer of the dish, it was delicious. for me, it was the soul of the dish. then, there are apples soaked in maple syrup. it was very smooth and perfect. Apples were sweet and crispy. However, the balance between sweet apples and brown sugar crumble was very nice and it tastes good.  

As I am not a person who likes an apple so I enjoyed a crumble more. In last, I was the person who ate all the upper crumble. 

Not only me, all of the class members liked this dish, even we all ate the whole dish. 

This is very easy and quick to make.

My dish: Chana dal 

Ingredients: 

2 medium-sized tomatoes - chopped

½ cup finely chopped onions

1-inch ginger - finely chopped

4 to 5 garlic - finely chopped 

1 green chilli - chopped 

¾ teaspoon cumin seed

½ teaspoon red chilli powder 

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder 

1 teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon garam masala powder

a pinch of asafoetida 

2 tablespoon oil or ghee

salt as required

a few coriander leaves for mixing towards the end or garnishing

¾ cup chana dal (Bengal gram)

2.5 to 3 cups of water

Recipe: 

1. “pick and rinse the chana dal well in running water. 

2. soak the dal in enough water for an hour.

3. drain the lentils and add them to the pressure cooker along with turmeric powder. add 2.5 to 3 cups water and stir well.

4. on a high flame, pressure cooks the lentils for 7 to 8 whistles or more, till the dal is softened and well cooked. 

5. keep the cooked chana dal aside

6. in another pan, heat oil or ghee.add the cumin first and fry for a few seconds till they splutter.then add the garlic and fry till they become light brown.

 7. now add the onions and fry till they get golden.

8. now add the tomatoes, ginger and green chilli. 

9. stir and add all the dry spice powders - turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, asafoetida, dry mango powder and coriander powder. 

10. saute till the tomatoes get cooked and the oil starts to leave the side of the mixture.

11. add the kasoori methi and stir.pour the cooked chana dal along with its stock to the sauteed masala mixture or vice versa. season with salt.

12. stir and simmer the dal for 6-8 minutes till you get medium consistency of the dal. the chana dal is neither thick nor thin.garnish chana dal with chopped coriander leaves.

13. serve the chana dal hot with some basmati rice or rotis or bread.”

Citation:

Desk, I. T. W. (2016, December 7). Why do we ring bells before praying? Retrieved from https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/bells-temples-praying-churches-356168-2016-12-07.

Amit, D. (2019, December 6). Chana Dal. Retrieved from https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/chana-dal-recipe-chana-dal/.

Apple crisp. (2019, December 1). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_crisp.

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Lab- 1

I and my partner Sumedha are supposed to go to the store named Marche Istanbul. which is located near Sainte Laurent Ouest. this store is very nice and huge has all the item which Istanbul citizens need. we decided to have 5 things to research on. After so much confusion we decided to pick one item called  Gaziogluclera.

Its main ingredients are cornstarch, flour, water, and gluten. It is a waffle kind of thing which is specially made in Istanbul. It is served with maple syrup, chocolate syrup, honey, cinnamon powder, cherries and many ingredients. it costs around 9-10$ per packet. it has 4 waffles inside. It has a sour taste. 

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Other products

Here is a selfie with my partner outside of the store. 

1. Dessert 

This is a Turkish dessert. 

“This Turkish honey appetizer in Turkey, more locally known as ballı çerez (honey appetizer), is a festive-looking container filled with numerous appetizing, energizing, and nutritious goodies including nuts (in many varieties) and honey syrup. ... Now that's what makes this appetizer very appetizing.

This festive jar of ballı çerez may look more like a decorative jar of nuts at first glance but with a closer look, one can quickly see that all the ingredients are carefully stuck together with the stickiness of honey and glucose syrup. 

Healthy benefits from honey and other ingredients such as walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, peanuts, seedless raisins, cinnamon, coconut, apricot kernels, grass muffins, grape syrup, etc. You know you're going to get a very wide range of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids with flower honey alone. Honey also has antioxidant and anti-microbial properties that are effective in treating ulcers of the mouth and periodontal diseases as well as irritability, weakness, anorexia, insomnia, loss of appetite and even constipation.”

2. Meat 

Halal Sucuk

“Other languages in the area adopted the Turkish term sucuk essentially unmodified. This is very costly than other things. It is for 22$ per kg. 

Sucuk is made of ground meat, usually beef or lamb, but in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan horse meat is often used. Before it is ground, black pepper, Aleppo pepper, whole garlic cloves, red pepper powder and cumin are added to the meat. The ground meat can rest for about 24 hours before stuffing the sausage casing with the spiced meat mixture.”

3. Beverage 

“This drink is known as Turkish drinks. It is known a Shalgam in turkey. Shalgam or Shalgam Suyu Shalgam is a popular and traditional drink from the southern towns of Adana, Hatay, Tarsus, Mersin, Kahramanmaras, Shalgam and Cukurova. Salgam is produced by fermentation with lactic acid. The name şalgam is Persian in origin; şalgam is written in Persian and means "turnip."

Pierre Belon, the French explorer, naturalist and writer, described the nature of the drink and its production process as early as the 15th century. Either it is called turnip juice, turnip water, shalgam juice, or shalgam water. Studies have also shown that the purple carrot juice used in salgam lowers the effects of high carbohydrate diets.”

4. Soup

“This is a soup packet from the store. we researched this and it comes out that this soup has more Istanbul flavours in it. It is very cheap around 4$. It is perfect for dinner time. It is sufficient for two people. 

 Trahanas or tarhana is a dried food ingredient based on a fermented blend of grain and yogurt or fermented milk found in Southeast Europe and Middle East cuisines. Dry tarhana has a coarse, uneven crumbs texture and is usually made of water, stock, or milk in a thick soup. Because the milk proteins are both acidic and low in moisture, they last for a long time.

The Armenian tarhana consists of matzoon and mixed eggs with equal quantities of wheat flour and starch. Small pieces of dough are prepared and dried and then stored in glass containers, mostly used in soups and dissolved in hot liquids.[1] The Greek trahanas contain only cracked wheat or a couscous-like paste and fermented milk. The Turkish tarhana is cut, yogurt, and dried grain.”

Here is a selfie with my partner inside of the store. 

Citation:

Ballı Çerez - Turkish honey appetizer in a jar. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://turkishfoodadventure.blogspot.com/2012/12/ball-cerez-turkish-honey-appetizer-in.html.

Sujuk. (2019, November 22). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sujuk.

Tarhana. (2019, October 29). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarhana. 

Şalgam. (2019, October 29). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Şalgam.