Peruvian Charity Dinner: Cooking Ceviche & Quinoa

I was recently invited to an event on Facebook for an evening of Peruvian cooking class and salsa lesson. It was for a charitable cause in support of an education project in remote community of Cuzco-Peru.  I learned about Peruvian food and culture, plus enjoyed a little bit of dancing before packing things up at 8 pm. 

We learned how to make Ceviche and properly cook Quinoa (see below).

Ceviche

The main dish of the night was Ceviche, a famous South American costal fish dish. The dish features raw fish, in this instance we used sashimi grade Tuna, copious amounts of citrus juices (lime) and spice with aji/chili peppers. We also had onions, salt and coriander. - Wk.

This dish is actually prepared without using heat it has to be prepared carefully. However, the use of the citric juices which are acidic actually denature some of the proteins in the raw fish, which helps minimize risk of food poisoning. 

Depending on where you go there are different variations of Ceviche, we tried the Peruvian version. In Ecuador the dish is made with a tomato sauce base. In Chile, they marinate in lime and grapefruit juices and use halibut fillets instead. - Wk

North Indian Music and Dance: Tabla and Kathak.

I had the opportunity to sit in a Tabla and Kathak performance with vocals this past week organized by Toronto Tabla Ensemble. It featured and was attended by Tabla and Kathak students. 

The traditional Tabla is a membranophone "drum". There are usually two drums, of different sizes. The musician uses the fingers and palms, with the used to apply pressure to the drum to change the pitch as the fingers produce the "tap" or "bol" that you hear (source):