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January
27, 2020
PERSIAN
COOKING DEVOTIONAL IN NAVAN
“As
the teachings of Baha’u’lláh are combined with universal peace, they
are like a table provided with every kind of fresh and delicious food.”
- Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 304
On
18 January 2020, a Persian cooking lesson/devotional was hosted in
Navan by Sylvie Nantais with Mahvash Changizi as instructor. On a day
which featured Ottawa's first major winter storm of the year, thirteen
hardy souls, including six friends from the surrounding area,
participated in the event. The gathering began with introductions all
around, then everyone received a set of printed recipes to use and
keep. Because of the impending storm, everyone gathered in the kitchen
without delay where the recipes were defined and elaborated in order of
the actual meal. The explanations were interspersed with historical and
cultural notes, greatly enhancing the preparations.
Mahvash
Changizi, an experienced instructor and recently retired special
education teacher, generously provided all the ingredients for a full
course Persian dinner. The menu listed dishes which many of the friends
had never tasted, including parsley salad (jafari),
steamed rice with
saffron (chelo), yogurt with cucumber (khyar)
with the main course
being chicken with prunes, apricots in pomegranate sauce garnished with
apples (koresht morgh). Shrini panjeree (fried
rosettes), a tasty
melt-in-the-mouth dessert, completed the meal, and everyone, men and
women alike, tried their hands at making these … and eating them of
course!
The event was hands-on, with everyone taking part in preparing the
different dishes. The meal was then served at an expanded and festive
table where everyone sat and enjoyed the wonderful dishes. On the
reverse side of the menus on each plate, there was a selection of
prayers and writings from a variety of sources, and at the end of the
meal these were read and briefly discussed. The ambiance was warm and
friendly. Everyone was touched by the kindness of the hostess and
instructor and as the storm arrived and friends began to leave to go
home, they were filled with not only the warmth of the event and the
wonderful food, but by the spirit in the group.
Sylvie received the following feedback: Kathleen, one of the
participants said: "I would like to express my profound
thanks for
inviting me to the cooking demonstration yesterday. All aspects of it
were truly enjoyable and memorable, from the food to the music to the
company and the chance to learn so many new things." Margo,
another
friend, posted photos on Facebook and stated: "Learnt to cook
some
incredible Persian recipes today. Grateful for my friends &
their generosity”. She added her lovely excerpt from Laurie
Colwin that
she shared during the readings: “The table is a meeting
place, a
gathering ground, the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity,
safety, and satisfaction. A person cooking is a person giving: Even the
simplest food is a gift." And finally, Hélène thought it was
all
delicious and educational.
“The
language of kindness is the lodestone of hearts and the food of the
soul; it stands in the relation of ideas to words and is as a horizon
for the shining of the Sun of Wisdom and Knowledge."
-‘Abdu'l-Bahá, A Traveller's Narrative, p. 43
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