tales from the table

Edited by Josslyn McAuley and Andy Reeves

Talesfrom the

TableA collection of food based memoriesand stories from around the world

Talesfrom the

TableA collection of food based memoriesand stories from around the world

Edited by Josslyn McAuley and Andy Reeves

© All rights Reserved

Credits:Design and layout - Keith Turner - www.mooli.comIllustrations - Sam McAuley - [email protected]

Introduction

Welcome to ‘Tales from the Table’. This book is made up of a collection of tales, poems andmemories from local parents and children. Collected over the summer of 2015, the stories inthe book celebrate the colourful tapestry of ordinary family life with all its ups and downs,and the memories that we can all share with our families and friends with a smile or a tear.The families and stories feature many different parts and foods of the world, reflecting thefantastic diversity of life in Leicester today. Whoever you are, whatever your journey, read,enjoy, maybe try out a recipe... most importantly though, we hope you’ll be inspired to shareyour story with your children, husband, grandchild, friend…

This book is the creation of families who attend St Matthews, Highfields, Mayfield and NorthEvington Children, Young People and Family Centres; St Matthews Library; and the ContactProject.

It was put together as a joint project between The Children, Young People and Family Centres(CYPFC) and the Spark Arts for Children.

Josslyn McAuley

Children’s Centre TeacherHighfields Children, Young People and Family CentreSt Matthews Children, Young People and Family Centre

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Andy Reeves

The Spark Artist in ResidenceSt Matthews Library

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Contents

Celebrations 7 - 16

Trickier Days 17 - 20

Families /Memories 21 - 39

7

drowning himself in the Milou River. The Chinesepeople felt this loss deeply, as he was a muchbeloved poet. Local folk searched

for him in the river, at the same time dropping food of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or

reed leaves into the river in order to keep the fishes from attacking Qu Yuan’s body.

Since that time, it has been customary on this day toenjoy Zong Zi as a memorial to the patriotic poet.

Domnie Zheng.

Zong Zi for Qu Yuan

Many traditional Chinese foods are intended tohonour either the gods or divine persons in history.Zong Zi, a glutinous rice food wrapped in bamboo orreed leaves, is no exception. It’s meant to honour QuYuan, the pioneer poet of ancient China.

Qu Yuan was a famous poet who was also concernedabout the fate of his country. Unfortunately, hisstature aroused the jealousy of the king, who banishedhim to a remote area. The poet despaired of thegovernment and its policies. When the state’s capitalwas captured by enemies he committed suicide by

8

How to Make Easter Cake

4 eggs, large, milk, vanilla (keeps the food tastingnice), flour, sugar. Then mix it more. Then pour itinto where it belongs. Then put into the oven. Wait.Then the cake is ready. Then decorate it, a rabbithole inside and write “Happy Easter” with the icing.Sprinkle different coloured sprinkles on the icing.Then eat it!

Farida, 5

Eid Biscuits

My memory goes back to when I was 6 years old,and we used to visit my grandparent’s home the daybefore Eid. My grandmother would say ‘we canmake biscuits later’. I remember bothering myGrandmother by asking her- ‘when we are going tomake the biscuits?’ I would keep asking thatquestion all day until we started making the biscuits.

My son who is 5 reminds me of myself, because hedoes the same when I say we are going to makebiscuits today. ‘When are we going to make thebiscuits?’

North Evington CYPFC

9

That’s Who I Am

Remember the nameSoniaCos that’s who I am

It’s all about chocolateAnd sweet things like jam

I even like carrotsBut not broccoli

My Mummyis special and takes care of me

She makes me the food I like inMy tummy!

Sonia Aydros, 9

Guggrah for Diwali

When I was a child, every Diwali my mum wouldmake a special sweet called Guggrah. Guggrah ispastry with a sweet filling of dried fruits, raw sugarand spices such as cinnamon or saffron. My favouritefilling was grated coconut and sugar. When I wassmall, I would sit and watch my mum as she made it,my mouth watering in anticipation of eating!


Playdough Poem

My Mummy makes Yummy yummy Cakes!

(Child playing with Playdough)

10

Oliebollen from Holland

My story is about oliebollen. Oliebollen is a Dutchdelicacy eaten at new years. Oliebollen has differentvarieties depending on the region you are from. Thebasic recipe is a batter with currants and little piecesof apple:

1 tsp sugar2 small packets of (instant) dry yeast4 cups flour (400 g)1/4 cup sugar (50 g)2 eggs2 cups milk (475 ml)1 tsp salt8 cups vegetable/sunflower oil (2 litres) –

for fryingPowdered sugarGround cinnamon (optional)Currants, raisins and Apple

Stir yeast into warm milk and let it dissolve. Sift the flourand salt into a large bowl. Stir the yeast mixture and egginto the flour and mix into a smooth batter. Stir in thecurrants, raisins and apple, and cinnamon if you like.Cover the bowl, and leave the batter in a warm place torise until double in size. This will take about 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer, or heavy deep pan to 375degrees F (190 degrees C). Use two spoons to shapescoops of dough into balls, and drop them carefully intothe hot oil.

Fry the balls until golden brown- about 8 minutes. Thedoughnuts should be soft and not greasy. Drain finisheddoughnuts on paper towels and dust with confectioners'sugar. Serve them piled on a dish with more confectioners'sugar dusted over them. Eat them hot!

St Matthews CYPFC

11

A Soup for Christmas Day

This is about a special soup we share among ourfamilies. It is from Portuguese cuisine. This is usuallymade during Christmas day. It contains a variety ofvegetables and meat.

Turmericwhole, finely chopped gingerwhole, finely chopped garlicwhole peppercornscinnamonclovescauliflowercabbagegreen peascarrotscoriander leaveschicken pieceslamb pieces

Method:

In a small cloth, crush cinnamon, pepper and clovesand tie it in the form of a pouch.

Add chicken and lamb pieces in a big pan with somewater until it is a bit tender.

Add the vegetables and the pouch (containing thecrushed spices), and chopped ginger and turmeric.The soup is done once the meat and vegetables arecooked.

Garnish it with coriander leaves - and enjoy!�

Michelle Noronha

12

Bacalhau a Bras

This Portuguese dish is traditionally eaten atChristmas.

Ingredients:

Salt cod, 400gPotato, 500g1 large Onion1 head of Garlic6 eggsPepper to tasteParsley, oil, salt, black olives - to taste

Soak the salt cod. Then remove the skin and bones,and flake it apart.

Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into matchsticks andthe onion into fine rings. Fry the potatoes in a panand set them to one side, to dry on kitchen paper. At the same time, in a deep pan sweat the onions,and garlic until golden, then add the pieces of codand cook for a few minutes til the oil is soaked up.At this stage, add the potatoes and stir while addingthe lightly beaten eggs with salt and pepper.Stir for a few minutes, turning off the heat beforethe eggs solidify- you’re not making an omelette.The Bacalhau a bras has to be served hot, withparsley and black olives.

Parveen Akther

13

Eid Cake Hunt

Nadia’s mum used to make cakes for Eid that wereso delicious the children would want to eat them assoon as they were cooked. Nadia’s mum would haveto find places around the house to hide the cakes,on top of the wardrobe or other places out of thereach of small children. Nadia’s brother would goaround the house, sniffing out the cakes until he hadfound them. The cakes were so delicious that if hefound them he would eat them even though heknew he would be in big trouble!

Nadia

Ramadan Breakfast

During Ramadan in Bangladesh, Jhunnat would boilmilk for breakfast until it was thick. Add white rice,fresh mango pulp and sometimes a banana.Squeeze it into balls with your hands, and eat beforefasting for the day, it will fill you up and soothe yourtummy while you fast. Jhunnat and some of hergrown up children still make this breakfast duringRamadan.

Jhunnat

14

A Mouthful of Heaven

It was the morning of Eid day. I must have been fouryears old, and this was my first memory ofcelebrating the Islamic festival of Eid. I couldn’t tellthe time, but by the sight of early dawn, I knew itwas pretty early. I could smell the delicious smell ofmeat cooking in the house, the chaos of Dad gettingready for Eid prayers, and the sound of the pots andpans clinking in the kitchen. Feeling excited, Ijumped on my brother’s bed.”Wake up, it’s Eid!”and we both ran downstairs. “Mum can I havecornflakes?” I asked - my stomach was rumbling,yesterday’s dal didn’t go down a treat. Mum sat usboth down and explained how for many years theyhad been having the traditional Eid breakfast, andthat we would be eating that as soon as Dad camehome from prayers. The door opened as my dadwalked in with a big smile on his face.

For the next few moments everyone was hugging andkissing and greeting each other with ‘Eid Mubarak!’.Finally it was time for breakfast! I couldn’t wait to trythe steam-oven baked meat, it smelled delicious, andthe meat looked brown and tender. I took a mouthfuland felt like I was in Heaven, it was the most deliciousfood I’d ever eaten.

I recall having that dish every year on Eid day sincethat day, except for one year my Mum went onpilgrimage and I stayed at my Uncle’s. I didn’t wakeup to the smell of meat cooking, or the sound of thepressure cooker going off, or the hustle and bustle ofmy Dad and brother getting ready. I didn’t feel the joyof Eid that day, and though my Uncle tried his best tomake me feel at home, it wasn’t the same.

15

24 years later we still carry on the tradition of Eidbreakfast, except now we have extra additions to thefamily. My Mum has four grandchildren, now I wakeup to my kids jumping on me on Eid day and wailingand pleading to go downstairs. One thing thathasn’t changed, is the aroma of my Mum cookingthe meat downstairs…

Recipe:

I kg boneless lamb, mutton or beef1 tbs salt1.5 tbs ginger and garlic paste3-4 green chillies1 tbs oil1 tbs yoghurt2 tbs cumin and coriander powder1 tsp turmeric1 tsp chilli powder/paprikaJuice of a lemon (optional)Marinate all the ingredients together

and leave overnightSteam in a pressure cooker or roast in oven.

Waseela Khalifa

16

Moon Cake: Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

In mid autumn, around September, Chinese peoplecelebrate the full moon. We will eat moon cake as adesert after the family gather for dinner. We alsobake moon cake as a present for friends and family.

Domnie Zheng

Lots of Soup and Random Stuff

My family is from Iraq.Eating together is our family tradition.We don’t speak English in the house.We sit on the floor to eat -

Rice everyday...And lots of soup and random stuff,Jelly, Turkish delights.We like noodles too;But my favourite food is...

Burger and chips!

Shun Ali, 10

17

1 a.m. Spaghetti

I am from Somalia, although I have Dutch nationality now. It was 1991. I came as an asylumseeker to Holland. First I went to a Police station in Amsterdam. They gave us a ticket and allthe papers and they asked us to go to this little, little place, and there were so many asylumseekers there. It was a long journey. I took a train, I waited for a bus, and then I came to theasylum centre. It was night, very dark- the place was beautiful in the daylight, but... the nightwas so dark. Everywhere there were bushes and trees. So my friend and me came to thereception. They told us to go to one of the bungalows. There was a Somali man there. He toldus “Oh, it’s not safe for you to sleep in that bungalow. You can come with me, and sleep in thebungalow that we are living in.” We went with him, we were so tired, so hungry, so thirsty, youcan imagine. We had not eaten for two days. We slept, he showed us the beds and we slept.1am in the morning he woke us, he said “Come eat, I was cooking for you!” He had started tocook for us, but we were so tired, and we slept. We woke up and he gave us spaghetti, withtuna. I never tasted spaghetti so delicious, so well cooked, before or after! Every time I seespaghetti I remember that night, how I was so tired, so hungry. Spaghetti with tuna!

Maryan Anshur

18

Practice Makes Perfect

Before getting married I was very lazy, I never wentto the kitchen to help my mum make the food. AfterI got married and I came to England, my husbandbought lots of food and asked me to cook. So I hadlots of difficulty, but I never said to my husband thatI don’t know how to cook! I always tried my best,day after day, to cook. I looked for different styles offood on the internet and now I am nearly a chef! Myhusband’s family and friends love my food!

St Matthews CYPFC

Don’t Feed the Cat

On a visit home to Morroco, when Nadia’s daughterIness was small, the family went to eat at arestaurant near the beach. As they ate, a scrawnyblack and white cat begged around the tables forfood. Iness was afraid of the cat and kept trying torun away from it, and her dinner! Nadia had theidea of throwing tiny bits of food onto the beach,away from the table, so that the cat would moveaway from them to eat. This worked, except that thecat then kept coming back to beg for more! Inessstill doesn’t like cats, or eating near the beach!

Nadia

19

Spam Behind the Wardrobe

When I was a small child of about three, after Worldwar Two, there was a lot of food rationing. Meatwas rationed with coupons from a little book foreach family. My dad would sometimes bring home awild rabbit or a pheasant that had been hit by a carand mum would cook it for dinner. We didn’t havebananas or much fresh fruit, children didn’t knowwhat a banana looked like! Children would get anorange in their Christmas sock because they were sodifficult to get and so expensive.

I remember going with my mum toa house round the corner. Mumwould go into a room with the ladyand I had to stay in the hall. My

mum always said “Don’t tell anyone where we’ve beenor what we did.” I can’t remember how I made theconnection between these mysterious visits and butter,as well as the tins of fruit and spam which were kept inthe recess behind the big wardrobe...

When family visited or it was a birthday, mum or dadwould move the wardrobe slightly and I would crawlin and get the tins out.

When I had my own three children, they would argueabout how many peas they each had on their plate, orhow big their slice of cake was. I used to think theydidn’t know what it was like just after the war!

Kate

20

When She Eats, I Feel Like I Have Eaten...

So where to start? Three years of feeding my daughter has been a big, actually a massive challenge. Shewas great at drinking milk, as soon as we started weaning her and introducing food the games began.

My daughter was, and still is, a very fussy eater. Swallowing soft foods that she didn’t have to chew waseasy for about six months. Solids? Oh my! An absolute nightmare! We went through spitting, throwing,gagging, vomiting and all sorts.

Three years down the line and eating is still a huge challenge. When Zahra eats, I feel satisfied, I feel likeI have eaten, and when she doesn’t eat, I want to cry.

Today she decided to have a few spoons of rice then spit it out of her mouth into her hand and threw itall over me and the carpet. I asked her “why?” No answer. I asked her to say sorry. No answer. I askedher to tidy it up. No answer. Eventually, after saying “No Stay and Play” and half an hour going by,Zahra apologised, tidied up and started being helpful. Oh my, what a day it’s been!

Halima Bhula

21

This is Why my Grandad Won’t Touch Curry!

He was in China, in the 50’s, in the army. He becamewounded when he was out there, and he had to goto hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, he wasadmitted into a ward, and was overwhelmed by thissmell of food being prepared for tea… he askedwhat it was, and as soon as he found out what itwas - curry - it put him off, and he never tried it,then or since. Even the smell of it- he associates withthe hospital, and being wounded, and he’s still nottouched curry, even now!

Rachael Hillsdon-Hughes

Brothers, Eh?

Once my brother put a banana skin on thefloor to see if he could slip on it, he did!


22

Curry by the Sea

My favourite dish is my Mum’s chicken curry. Iremember eating this dish as a child in Africa, nearthe sea. It was a great time in my life. I think of iteven now when I eat the dish. But funnily enough,I’ve never said this to my Mum...

Umesh Patel

Fishcakes and Strawberries

When we were children we used to go to ourGrandma’s and have fish cakes. My Mum andGrandma would make lots and we would fill ourbellies. We only had fish cakes when we went to ourGrandma’s, it felt nice and homely.

Also, Grandma had a strawberry patch and when Ihave strawberries it reminds me of Grandma. It’ssomething I have thought of doing with my ownchildren.

Highfields CYPFC

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A Crunchy Lunch

CrunchyHealthyOnce a year treat

Salsa - Green, Yellow, RedSpicy and sweet

CheeseNiceMum make them Please -

TACOS!

Mair Liggins, 12

Pancakes from Pakistan

When it rains I always think of home: Pakistan. Wewould all get together, friends and family, and cookpancakes. We would all help to make them. Thiswould be a treat, and everyone would be excited. Aseveryone helped they would get more excited. Thepancake would fill the pan and only mum would beable to turn it over.

It rained all day yesterday and my sister sent mephotos from Pakistan. Guess what? They werecooking pancakes!

Highfields CYPFC

24

First Chappatis

A memory of when I was younger, I would watchmy mum cooking when I was around 7 or 8. I wasreally hungry so decided to make sweet chappati.My mum wasn’t around so from my memory ofwatching my mum I made them and we stillremember and talk about it.

Highfields CYPFC

Mummy Cooks, I Eat

I like eating biryani but I don’t make it.

Once, I made a really small roti thatmummy cooked - and then I ate it!

Zainab, 6

25

Friday Fish and Chips for Fatima

My favourite food is fish and chips because mymum makes it every Friday and it’s very tasty. Wealso eat it as a family.

Fatima Mohamed, 10

Tamarind Stone Game

When Salha was a child in Tanzania, she and herfriends used to pick and eat tamarind fruits. Theywould keep the stones and play games, flicking thestones at each other to win them. Start with twelvestones in a circle, flick one at another and if you hitthe other stone you win both stones!

Salha

26

Mandazi-African Doughnuts

An old childhood memory of mine was preparingand making a sweet snack with my mother. This wasan African type of doughnut known as Mandazi. Iremember making the dough by mixing a range ofingredients together and when I was very young (3or 4 perhaps) my mum would give me some of thedough to play with. This reminds me of theplaydough we see in many nurseries today!Mandazi is traditionally served with Chai (tea) and isenjoyed by many in my family. The recipe has beenhanded down to me and now, as a mother, I like torelive those moments playing with the dough andmaking shapes with my now one year old daughter.

Recipe:

1 egg, beaten1/2 cup sugar1/2 cup milk2 tbsp. butter, melted2 cups white flour2 tsp. baking powder

Bring all ingredients to room temperature beforemixing them together. Mix all the ingredientstogether, adding more flour if necessary. The doughshould be soft, but not sticky. Roll the dough on alightly floured board until it is about 1/4 inch think.Cut into triangles and fry in hot oil. Fry until bothsides are golden brown. Remove Mandazi from oiland drain on paper towels or newspaper. Mandaziare best served warm.

Nazma Khan

27

Beans Means Together

Muniben grew up in a small village in India wherefamilies from the village grew beans in thesurrounding fields. After school, the children wouldgo and pick beans from the fields and take themhome to cook. All of the families would cometogether to eat in the evening, having cooked thebeans that they had picked together earlier.

Muniben

Fruit - or Vegetables!

My favourite food is vegetable pie... because it’s got so many apples.

Safia, 5

28

Peggy-Ann’s Coleslaw

My late Mother-in-law used to always make herhomemade coleslaw for birthday parties, weddings,and any family get-togethers. Parties were not thesame without her homemade coleslaw!

1 large white onion, choppedhalf thin sliced white cabbage3 cloves of fresh garlic, grated4 fresh carrots, gratedsalt and peppermayo and chopped spring onion

Elizabeth Hunter

Easy to Make, Yummy to Eat!

Back in India, whenever we went for a picnic withfriends and family, we would take raw food with usto cook at the picnic spot. We would make our owncooker with stones and light a fire with sticks. Weusually cooked simple food like black lentils or rice.The smell of the fire and the daal cooking stillamazes me. We would make pakora (fritters) forstarters which tasted amazing on paper plates withtamarind chutney; easy to make, yummy to eat!Then for desert we normally cooked kheer which ismade of rice and milk, sugar and nuts. My mouth iswatering just thinking about those days!

Simrat Lehal

29

A Tagine and a Taste of Home

When Nadia first came to England eight years ago, her mumbrought her a small tagine to bring with her. Nadia cookswith this tagine as often as possible, at least once a week.Other tagines have come and gone since she has lived inthe UK, but her mum’s tagine has lasted where othershave failed. One side of the tagine became cracked, andNadia was worried that it might break the next time sheused it, but it is still going strong without even a small leak.When Nadia cooks with the tagine, it literally gives her a tasteof home, a taste of the souk (market) and its spices, sold inhuge high piles which smell delicious as you walk past.

It keeps her going until her next visit toMorocco where she can fill up on sun andfood.

Nadia

30

Travel by the Taste of Talapia

My favourite fish from Malawi, where I’m from,is Chambo. I never found it here- but thensomeone told me it was the same fish as Talapia!

The taste reminds me of home. A plane ticket toMalawi costs nearly a thousand pounds, but theTalapia at least is cheaper...

Fatima Nakhuda

Dolma from Kurdistan

In Hawler, a region of Kurdistan, we have a dishwhich is special to our family and to the region,Dolma. Dolma is made of rice, meat or chicken,and vegetables.

Onionsauberginecourgettechicken/meatcabbage (white or red)fresh grape leavesricetomato pastesaltspicesfresh and dried herbsfreshly grated garlicoil

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Cut the onions, eggplants, and squash into largechunks or in half, and hollow them out. Cut meatinto smallish chunks. Remove the stem/core from thecabbage(s). Wash all the leafy greens (grape leave,cabbage, etc.)

The filling consists of uncooked rice, choppedonions, herbs, spices, tomato paste, cubes of meatand fat, salt and hot oil. Wash the rice. Add herbs,spices, and tomato paste. Heat the oil, and pour itinto the rice mixture. Add more tomato paste, totaste. Fill the vegetables with the filling, the cabbageand grape leaves are rolled and tucked, to make littlepocket-shaped packets.

After everything is stuffed, the top of the pot iscovered with more grape leaves and salt. Then theyadd some boiling water and cook it over a lowflame.

Place a weighted plate on top of the stuffedvegetables to keep them all compact while cooking.Cook from about a half hour to over an hourdepending on the size of the pot.

When the Dolma is finished, it is served on a big tray.


32

South African Sweet Corn Squares

My friend from South Africa taught me this. Now Imake it for friends and family. It’s quick and delicious!

3 medium eggs1 cup fresh milkhalf cup corn flourhalf cup plain flour3 tbsp ghee2 tea spoons baking powder1 tin drained sweetcorn1 tea spoon saltCrushed green chilliFresh coriander

Preheat oven to 180 degrees c. Beat the eggs well,then add all the other ingredients. Mix together well,then put in the tray to bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cutinto small squares and serve.

Kulsoom Mussa

Milking the Buffalo

I remember when I was young my Dad’s job was to milk the buffaloes. Us children would line up forthe milk and make whey which we enjoyed makingand eating. My Mum made tomato sabji which wasamazing. Mum would steam tomatoes and drythem with garlic, gram flour and garlic chutney. Wewould put tadka on it and eat it with barley flourchappati.

Bhanu

33

A Crumble with Eva...

When we go to Eva’s Great Grandad’s house duringthe summer and autumn months, we go into thegarden and pick peas, green beans, tomatoes andlots of other veg. We also pick apples from his treefor a crumble.

During the summer holidays, me and Eva wentblackberry picking. She helped me pick the berries,wash them and put them in a blackberry and applecrumble. Eva loves making crumble in her own bowlwhen I make crumble. She mixes flour, butter andsugar all together for the topping.

Rachel Hillsdon-Hughes

...and a Chappati with Krishna

Krishna loves to get involved with me while makingthe chappatis. She uses her small rolling pin andflour to make dough. She also uses her playdoughcutters to make different shapes of chappatis. Thenwe have fun cooking the chappatis and eating themtogether.

Mital Gangani

34

Grandma’s Magic

My family came from Jamaica in the 50’s and 60’s…the thing I most remember is my Grandma’s cake.She’d mix it on the floor… get this big plastic bowland she’d put it on the floor, and she’d just throw allthese different types of ingredients in, and it justlooked ‘yeeuucchh!’, it just looked absolutely awful,it would be grey. But when she put it in the oven - itwould come out and it would taste absolutelyfantastic. You just couldn’t figure out how shemanaged to put all these different ingredientstogether and come out with this cake!

Claudette Robinson

Couscous from Libya

My friend and I were both born in Libya, and ourtraditional dish is Couscous. So when we meet eachother, we share memories about couscous! We meettogether and we make a big dish of couscous. In mycountry we do it on Friday, because it’s a special day,Jumar, when all the men pray. After the Jumar, allthe men come back – almost all people in Libya dothis on Friday- we do it in one dish, in one place andwe eat together, around a big dish of couscous, onefor the men and one for the women. It’s easy to find couscous here- then it’s meat, sauce,onion, a little spices. It’s a red dish with a lot ofsauce. We try to do the same things here, so ourchildren know the traditional things about Libya.

Ghada Elezabi

35

Anjera from Somalia

This dish is very popular in Ethiopia and Sudan as wellas Somalia.

Make a batter- take self-raising flour, a handful ofground maize, a pinch of yeast, mix with warm waterand leave to steep overnight. Pan fry, with a lid- don’tflip! When the surface of the Anjera begins to bubble,it’s ready. Take it out of the pan and make another!

You can have Anjera with ghee, sugar and black teafor breakfast- or with meat and sauce for lunch.Sometimes people make a massive one, and putdifferent toppings on it. Everyone sits round and eatsfrom the bit they like!

In Somalia only the women cook- but here, everyone cooks!

Salado

Ugali from Kenya

I was born in Kenya. I was brought up on Cassavaand Talapia fish. Everyone in East Africa eatsTalapia. My favourite is Ugali- polenta. Dip it intospinach and eat. I eat this every Saturday. Hereyou can get any food you want!

Nazir Khalifa

36

Dad’s Chappatis

This story comes from my childhood and remindsme of the special moments I have spent with myDad playing, arguing, having fun...

The most colourful memory I have is learning tocook, especially making chappatis with my Dad. If I think about it now I do miss him; it reminds meof the way he taught me. I couldn’t ever get it right;every time something went wrong, either the doughor getting the shape of the chappati perfectly round.I finally got to the stage where I was quite fed upand was about to give up. He taught me in a waythat I still remember and now these soft, sweetmemories I am passing on to my daughter.His way of teaching me making chappatis wasunforgettable right from making the dough torolling it and roasting it.

Recipe

2-3 tsp of cooking oilSalt if needed according to taste2-3 cups of wheat flourRolling pin, roasting pan, chapatti rolling baseButter

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Dad taught me by mixing half the amount of oil tothe flour. I used to hate mixing it with my hands andgetting messy so he gave me the option of using aspoon which was his first step in getting meinterested in doing it. Then, the kneading - he saidimagine you are making a clay pot! Then came theshape, I can still remember this bit which I thoughtwas the hardest. I said ‘Dad, there is no way I canget it round’ but he reassured me I definitely would.He asked me to get rolling, and walked off. He cameback with a steel round plate. He put it on my funny,awkwardly shaped chappati and then it was round!That put the greatest smile on my face and I can stillremember running around with a round chappati

and showing it to everyone! Then, he brought mea special dish he said there you go dear, this is foryou to get your last fear out of getting burnt, andfrom that day it made me get so interested incooking and exploring different varieties, and Iloved and enjoyed every part of cooking.

Now at this moment my little daughter is 3 ½ and loves making chappatis with me, and I teachher exactly how my Dad taught me and I love that,bringing special memories to the present so thatmy daughter can have great memories toremember too.

Mittal Gangani

38

Dad’s Pot Dishes

My Dad would cook in a big, heavy pot. Iremember he made scotch broth- that waslentils, pulses those kinds of things, and hamhock- all made in this big pot, because therewas a lot of children to feed. The other recipe Iremember him doing was a kind of stew -minced beef, sausages, onions, potatoes,carrots, stock cube, salt and pepper. All in abig heavy pot. We’d eat it for three days til itwas gone - and it tasted a bit better every day!

Elizabeth Hunter

It’s True You Know...

My mum said if I eat too much passion fruitI will turn into one!


39

My Big Belly

I love food, i t’s as lovely as can be,From tarts to fruits, then spaghetti.

Different types from different countries,Mostly made from fruit from the trees.

Sushi, PizzaChips for my feast-a!

Victoria Sponge and strawberry jelly,doughnuts and salty peanutsAll in my belly.

Ohh, I feel sick!What about this little drink?Drinks? Oh no!

Apple with a pineAll seems very fine

Strawberry and blueberryGives me goosebumpsberry!

Oh, and there’s tropical round the bend...I think it’s time for THE END!

Soumeya Elmi, 11

16

1

12

72

15

9

5

68

10

414

313

40

Leicester

11

Tales from the Tablefrom around the world

1. Portugal

2. Syria

3. Libya

4. China

5. Africa

6. Pakistan

7. Kurdistan

8. India

9. Tanzania

10. Bangladesh

11. Jamaica

12. Holland

13. Iraq

14. Morocco

15. Somalia

16. UK

Have you ever tried Ollie Bollen, Anjera, or Ugali?

Did your Dad make Chappati?

Have you eaten chicken curry by the sea?

What about Moon Cake or Zong Zi?

Ever made Guggrah for Diwali,

Or tasted 1a.m. spaghetti..?

Tales from the Table

tales from the table

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