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Diverse communities in Palmerston North come together to enjoy cuisine from all over the world.
A passion for cooking and desire to showcase the diversity of food has lead to special cooking demonstrations at a city’s multicultural hub.
The Multicultural Council of Manawatū is holding cooking demonstrations with different world cuisines – Filipino, Indian, Indonesian and Singaporean – at its office located at Community House in Palmerston North.
The demonstrations are about sharing secret recipes, enjoying feasts and bringing other cultures into everyone’s kitchen.
Council president Nina Kirschbaum said it was important to introduce food diversity.
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“We wanted to introduce the traditional food and cooking from different parts of the world to Palmerston North because we are multicultural city.”
The council started the demonstrations as early as 1995 when a group of members from varied communities used to cook at each other’s homes.
Hafsah McQuanlan said she had made a fermented batter at home, and put soya bean in it to make the popular Indonesian dish Tempeh Goreng.
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Manawatū Multicultural Council president Nina Kirschbaum, right, spreads the batter of Indonesian dessert Dadar Gulung, as Rita Lakhani looks on.
“It [Tempeh Goreng] is fermented soya bean. Since soya bean has got no taste, we dip it in a batter and fry it.
“It is popular in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.”
Rita Lakhani, who cooked vegetarian pakoras (fritters) for one of the events, said she loved the demonstrations as they always brought together different communities.
“Last time, I cooked pakoras with tamarind chutney. It was a vegetarian delicacy liked by everybody.
“What I love about these demonstrations is that they ignite interest about traditional food amongst people who could only eat traditional food at restaurants earlier.
“I just tried my hands at the Indonesian dessert Dadar Gulung.”
Dadar Gulung was popular sweet pancake rolls, flavoured with pandan extract, filled with shredded coconut and sweetened with palm sugar.
Shilpy Arora/Stuff
Rita Lakhani, right, tries her hands at making Dadar Gulung and Manawatū Multicultural Council’s President Nina Kirschbaum cheers on.
Lakhani and Kirschbaum said there was a need to have a cultural hub with a community kitchen in the city.
Kirschbaum said having the kitchen would be useful for not only cooking demonstrations, but also during the fasting month of Ramadan.
“During Ramadan, we cook every day for people who fast, but it is not limited to people who fast.
“People from different faiths come together and cook. We can share [food] with the whole community.
“People can share food, knowledge about cooking and share authentic food.”
Shilpy Arora/Stuff
Mariam Findlay fries Lumpiang, Filipino spring rolls.
The council’s service manager Ebele Ezepue, from Nigeria, said cooking demonstrations of traditional food helped him understand the world better.
“Today, Nina is going to make a green dessert. Some of it tastes like Tapioca starch extracted from cassava plant.
“The spaghetti I eat now [at the cooking demonstrations] is more traditional and is different from the ones I used to eat in the past.
“Some of these taste like African food as well.”
For more information on the cooking demonstrations, email [email protected].
