Members of Qalam wa Lawh’s Cooking Club (نادي الطبخ) are currently working on a long-term project called ثقافة وطن عبر أطباقه , or “Cultures through Dishes.” While working on this project, students from all over the world prepare and present dishes from their home country through a variety of different themes, including holiday dishes, sweets, healthy dishes, and much more!
Arabic students learn to make Moroccan couscous
Last week, Qalam students Qingyi and Donny prepared طورطة بالبيض, or egg tarts, and presented their dish choice in Arabic! Through this branch of the project, the students learned that there are often connections between cultures that may, at first glance, seem very different. During their work, Qingyi explained that this tasty sweet was originally a traditional Portuguese dish. But over time, and because of colonization, this dish is now a popular for holidays in China!
In the video below, Qingyi explains how the recipe came from Portugal to China and how the tart is now considered to be a staple in many Chinese celebrations and family traditions. She also explains how to make the tart. A bonus with this recipe is that it only requires a few ingredients – the pastry tarts, flour, milk, eggs, cream, and sugar!
Check out the video below to listen to Qingy’s entire presentation, and learn how to make the tart for yourself!
Members of academic clubs at Qalam wa Lawh work on various types of projects throughout their stay. And Qalam wa Lawh serves a diverse set of students of different ages and backgrounds from all over the world every year, adding value not only to the classroom environment, but also to give students the opportunity to learn from one another. This is one of the things that inspired the Cooking Club’s ثقافة وطن عبر أطباقه (Cultures through Dishes) project.
Other potential projects with the Cooking Club could be, for example, researching access to healthy food in Morocco, or the difficulties that come with using the expensive but very important زعفران (saffron) spice.
The members of the Cooking Club also help the coordinator organize Moroccan cooking workshops, where all students at Qalam can come to learn different Moroccan recipes. The workshop often includes a trip to the market the day before, as well.
Other upcoming activities connected to the various Cooking Club projects include the following:
lasagna – a heavy Italian pasta dish filled with meat and vegetables
paella – a spiced rice dish with meat from Spain
kluski – Polish dumplings with various fillings
strawberry shortcake – a fruity sweet originally from England
You can learn more about Qalam wa Lawh by visiting our homepage. For further inquiries specifically about our Clubs, visit the Academics Club page. And you can visit the Moroccan cooking workshops page for more information about these hands-on learning experiences (open to all Qalam students!).