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Tuesday 16 Jun 2015 - 13:41 Makkah mean time-29-8-1436
(Image from internet)
Toronto, (IINA) - For many Muslims in Canada who will be welcoming the month of Ramadan most probably on Thursday, fasting and self-reflection during the holy month is of primary importance, The Windsor Star reported.
Salima Jivraj, founder of North America’s largest halal food festival, noted that food also plays a vital role.
Fasting takes place during daylight, which can be upwards of 16 hours when Ramadan falls over summer months, as it does this year. But when the fast is broken at sunset, meals are festive and often shared with friends and family.
It’s this diversity in Canada’s Muslim and halal food culture that makes it so special. “I’m from South Asian descent and of course you have Middle Eastern Muslims, South Asian Muslims, but I really learned a lot about the community,” Salima Jivraj says in an interview. “There’s such a big Malaysian population here. The Somalian community is another massive community. Then there are Bosnian, Syrian, and Chinese Muslims; there is so much diversity.”
From his side, Chef Russell Auckbaraullee, a vendor at the 2015 festival in May and owner of Penthouse Catering, says that for him, the rapid growth of Canada’s halal food scene is inspiring.
Pastry chef and instructor Fereshteh Keshavarz, who judged the festival’s pastry competition, also looks forward to sweets when breaking the fast.
Chef Haifa Zeitoun (formerly of Levant Restaurant), tells that fattoush is at the centre of her family’s Ramadan table. “I’m Jordanian and Palestinian; as a Mediterranean, the most important dish for us is fattoush,” she says of the Levantine bread salad. “We start with soup and fattoush, and after that we eat anything from kibbeh to samosas. We add sumac to the fattoush. It’s a little bit sour and everyone tries the fattoush with the sumac on top with fried pita bread. It’s amazing.”
SN/IINِ
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