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Locals Welcome - Season 1 Episode 8 -
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00:00A classic ingredient from one of the oldest cuisines in the world.
00:13Wow.
00:16Perfect.
00:18The pomegranate is an ancient symbol of abundance and prosperity.
00:23The jewel on the rich table of Iranian hospitality.
00:27I'm Suresh Das.
00:29I've spent my career writing about the local favourites that make Canada's food scene truly unique.
00:34I believe every bite tells a story.
00:37Now, I want to share those stories with you.
00:45A wonderfully vibrant cuisine.
00:48The most generous people you'll ever meet.
00:50And a devotion to lavish celebrations.
00:53This is Iranian culture to me.
00:55Many families left their country during the 1979 revolution.
01:02Others came here during the war with Iraq and the deepening conflict with the West.
01:07And many settled here in Toronto.
01:10Toronto has one of the largest Iranian populations outside of Iran.
01:15I would say probably second to maybe Los Angeles.
01:19And a good portion set roots here in North York on Yonge Street.
01:22The epicentre is still at Yonge, just south of Steele.
01:26If you look left and right, you see Farsi everywhere, you see Arabic everywhere.
01:29And colloquially, I mean, I think it's pretty cool that Iranians refer to this part of Toronto as Tehranto.
01:41For Iranians, food is deeply tied to the custom of elaborate hospitality.
01:45The Persian Empire was at the heart of the legendary Silk Road trading routes for spices and countless luxuries.
01:54Hosting guests with the very best not only showed respect, it helped grease the wheels of trade.
01:59I'm meeting a good friend to explore those traditions, with a meal that goes back thousands of years.
02:10At a restaurant named Bar Asafid, where a feast is created from the humblest parts of an animal.
02:18Hey! How's it going?
02:21I've known Samira Moyadin forever, as an Iranian restaurateur, journalist, and food podcast host.
02:28Are you an eye man? Are you a brain man? Are you a tongue man?
02:32Shall we just do everything?
02:34Last time that we had lunch, you made me eat, like, lamb testicles.
02:38Yes.
02:39So I'm game for whatever you want to do. The full kalapache.
02:42Yeah. Let's go for it.
02:46Samira and I have done a lot of adventurous eating together over the years.
02:48But we've never shared this dish, kalapache, which translates to head and hoof.
02:55It uses the off cuts of the lamb to create a meal of broth and meat.
03:01Because prepping and cooking the lamb is so labor intensive, some restaurants will only specialize in kalapache.
03:08In morning time, we start around 5, 5 o'clock. This person says, at least we need 7 to 8 hours.
03:20Chef Amir Khalawaipur came to Canada 20 years ago, bringing his family secrets for preparing this ancient dish.
03:274,000 years ago, the Persian people eat kalapache. My father, he was a very good chef. And I follow my father's recipe.
03:41Here we go. Brilliant.
03:48Got the lime. That's our broth. This is the lamb broth.
03:53That's their homemade bread. Two types of bread here.
03:56Oh, my goodness. Okay.
04:00That's sangak. Wow. We can fight over that tongue.
04:04I mean, there's this prevailing notion that in certain parts of the world, you have to consume every part of whatever you are eating.
04:12And so kalapache is the idea of, like, consuming the whole animal.
04:15Absolutely. It really goes back to that not wasting the animal. And it's not a fad for us, right? Head to toe.
04:23This is the meat from the face and the head. Take some of this.
04:31Put it on your bread.
04:34And then do you dress it afterwards?
04:35You can put some pickled stuff on it.
04:38Squeeze a lime. Okay.
04:39Mmm.
04:44This is probably my favorite part of the dish.
04:48But this is lamb tongue. Very different from cow tongue, of course.
04:51I mean, it's so soft. You can feel that it's soft. Yeah.
04:54Really well done.
04:56So that tongue that really kind of dissolves in your mouth for me is cooked, like, just perfectly.
05:01So there's one more thing we have to try.
05:03Look at the eyeballs.
05:04Here's an eye for you. Thank you.
05:06An eye for an eye.
05:09Like, eating properly cooked cod cheeks is what it reminds me of.
05:12Cod cheeks, that's it.
05:14I bet that if you served that to someone and didn't tell them what it is, they'd just be like, this is amazing.
05:18Yes, absolutely.
05:20Making the meal is time consuming.
05:23And when made at home, almost always shared with guests.
05:26This is a very difficult dish to make for it to be good.
05:31And whenever it was made at home, it was like a big deal.
05:35Like, we are doing this and, like, 20, 30 people are coming over.
05:39It's like a celebratory thing.
05:40Oh, huge, yeah.
05:41But it's not something you cook for, like, a family of four.
05:44Right, right.
05:46Generally, you would have a little bit of garlic.
05:49I brought you some garlic.
05:50You brought your own garlic.
05:52So this garlic, I like to call black gold.
05:55Pickled condiments are a key part of Calapacha, especially garlic, brined in vinegar and kept for many years.
06:02This was made by my grandmother before she passed.
06:08This one is 12 or 13 years old.
06:11Now, this is just in a little bit of salt and vinegar.
06:14Just smell that.
06:16Whoa.
06:18Getting a lot of herbal notes, but also medicinal notes as well.
06:20Yeah.
06:21Taste this, and it's almost like fruit.
06:23Like fruit, yeah.
06:24It's just unbelievable.
06:29Mm-hmm.
06:30Mm-hmm.
06:32That reminds me of pomegranate molasses.
06:34Yes, exactly.
06:38Most of my Iranian Persian friends, they always talk about the idea of, like, they've left a place that they made me didn't want to leave, and they can't go back.
06:46So how important is it is in your culture and within your family to be able to preserve, you know, the cuisine and culture?
06:53Sometimes food is the only connection you have to the homeland, right?
06:58So you try and preserve those things, recipes or stuff like that.
07:02I mean, right now, this is all I have of, you know, my grandmother, other than, like, photos or whatever.
07:08So I do hoard it in that way, you know?
07:10I really, every time I eat it, I think of her.
07:13Well, I just got a taste of that history. Thank you for sharing that.
07:16When you pass Finch on Yonge Street, the world changes from a culinary and language standpoint.
07:32I remember when I was in my 20s coming here and being introduced to the idea of Toronto.
07:39It's this condensed neighborhood that is filled with Iranian businesses.
07:44And it all kind of really started with two supermarkets.
07:48We're going to go to one of them, my favorite place, Korak.
07:52Korak is one of the foundations of the Toronto community.
07:55Expanding from a tiny convenience store in 1989 to a one-stop mega shop of Iranian delights.
08:01Looks pretty amazing for Nourouz right now.
08:07Beautiful store.
08:08I'm joined by Barbo Tsudi, a chef who's sharing his expertise in the diverse flavors that are key to his culture's hospitality.
08:19With Iranian cuisine, we use a limited amount of spices, but we use a lot of different plays on sweet and sour to flavor our food.
08:27Korak's aisles are packed with ingredients that are hard to find at other stores.
08:34This is a very important ingredient to Iranian cooking.
08:37So it's dried limes that are dried in the sun.
08:40A lot of the stews that we eat are based off of this flavor profile.
08:44Yeah, because you reconstitute them in the stews.
08:46Exactly.
08:47So here we have hash.
08:48It's a fermented whey.
08:49These are the kind of ingredients that give our cuisine distinction and that are just really the flavor profiles of our cuisine.
08:56But I think the crown jewel of Korak is its bakery.
09:05In Iranian culture, sharing bread is an important act of hospitality that goes back centuries.
09:11Sangak is an unleavened flatbread that was originally baked on small stones over an open fire.
09:18At Korak, to mimic that ancient technique, dough was flattened on a paddle, tossed onto a specially designed bed of hot stones, then baked until soft and chewy inside and crispy out.
09:32What do you think, grab a couple of loaves?
09:38Please.
09:41Oh, don't roll it.
09:42Oh, you can't roll it.
09:43Why?
09:44You've got to leave it whole because you want to keep the integrity of the bread.
09:47Slide it in.
09:48Oh, nice!
09:49And generally, just for transportation purposes, you would do one fold.
09:53A trip to grab some traditional dips and spreads from the hot counter, and the rest of our lunch is complete.
10:04All right.
10:06There we go.
10:07This is a nice spread.
10:11Iranian food is all about laying out a variety of dishes, even if the occasion is casual.
10:17I'll have the bread.
10:18I'll put a little piece of this, a little piece of that, and make a little bite, a perfect bite.
10:22And every bite is different.
10:23It's all about the spread.
10:24Yeah, it's all about the spread.
10:25There's a stew of dried lime and fava beans, dips of yogurt with cucumber and beets, and the luxuriant blend of fermented whey, eggplant, and walnuts that is Kashka Baramjan.
10:38The Kashka Baramjan is always, like, favorite.
10:41Mm-hmm.
10:42I love it.
10:43But for Iranians, rice dishes are the pinnacle of any meal.
10:50There's so many varieties of rices from different regions.
10:54It has to be the most important thing at the table.
10:56And Shirin Pola, a dish that can be traced to opulent royal feasts, is a standout.
11:02So this has orange marmalade, carrots, pistachios, sometimes almonds, saffron.
11:08So just playing into that sweet and sour.
11:13The saffron lingers over and over.
11:15It's delicious.
11:16No matter how much formal training I've had in the kitchen, it took me a long time to be able to cook rice as close to my mom as possible.
11:23I mean, moms and grandmas don't always measure things, too.
11:26No, never.
11:27Never.
11:28And they're cooking by feeling.
11:29It's almost like when you ask, how much water do you put in with your rice?
11:31And they go like this.
11:32Yeah, yeah.
11:33Right?
11:34This is the measurement.
11:35This is the measuring cup right here.
11:36My mom is like this.
11:37She'll point her finger down.
11:38Yeah.
11:39Before you knew you wanted to be a chef, growing up, where did you draw inspiration from?
11:49Part of the inspiration was really in my mom, Sima.
11:54Every night for dinner, coming home, there'd be the smell of rice on the stove.
11:59Her providing those memories and those experiences at the dining table through her cooking, that has come almost full circle to me.
12:09It sounds like tradition is such an important thing for you.
12:12You can never take nostalgia off your back.
12:14No.
12:15Wow.
12:16Yeah.
12:17It's who you are.
12:18It's who you are.
12:19It's who you are.
12:29While Korok is the iconic one-stop shop for Iranian food in Tehranto, there are smaller specialty purveyors that offer wonderful windows into the tradition of lavish Iranian hospitality.
12:44It's good to see you, man.
12:45You as well.
12:46And my old friend Samr Bar, who immigrated from Iran in his late teens, has a unique way to explore them.
12:54This is what you're known for, right?
12:55You run basically cycling tours with food as a key component of it, which is amazing.
13:00My two loves, two passions.
13:02Yeah.
13:03Food and cycling and just building community.
13:05Yeah.
13:06Today, we're in the northern reaches of Tehranto in Richmond Hill.
13:10Iran's proximity to India and the sugar trade help foster a love for sweets and tea.
13:16So Sam wants me to experience the traditional tea service and luxurious pastries that are our specialty at BB Cafe.
13:24Hi.
13:25Hi, Parisa.
13:26Hi, Parisa.
13:27Hey, Suresh.
13:28Hey, Sam.
13:29How are you doing?
13:30All right, so, Parisa, definitely some Zulbia.
13:31Your special type.
13:32Yes, the black sesame.
13:33Yeah.
13:34My dad created that recipe, so it's a must-have here.
13:35Amazing.
13:36Amazing.
13:37And some tea?
13:38Yeah.
13:39Oh, fantastic, yeah.
13:40We start with the Zulbia, crispy spirals of deep-fried dough bathed in rosewater and cardamom syrup.
13:53We get owner, Parisa Najad, to add some house-made cookies.
14:01So I'm going to start you guys off with some shawapasi tea.
14:04We'll get that lit.
14:06This is definitely a traditional way to serve the tea.
14:11Enjoy.
14:12Thank you so much.
14:13Oh, yeah.
14:14Look at that nice, rich color.
14:15Whoa.
14:16Yeah.
14:17Ah, you can already smell it.
14:18Yeah.
14:19Yeah, totally.
14:20Right?
14:21Yeah.
14:22A lot of sweets that we saw in the display downstairs earlier, it's a lot of the stuff that the grandmas
14:30would make, and most of the time it comes with tea.
14:33So you're having tea at breakfast, tea after lunch, tea in the afternoon, tea after dinner,
14:43and if there are guests there, then, you know, there is a couple of more rounds of it, too.
14:49So by the end of the day, it could be like six, seven cups of tea in.
14:53Wow.
14:54And if there's a party, there's a lot of sweets going around.
14:57I love it.
14:58Enjoy.
14:59Oh, that's lovely.
15:00I got to dive in straight for the Zubia because I've been missing it.
15:02Absolutely.
15:03I haven't had it in some time.
15:04So you want to just crack a piece of it?
15:06Let's do it.
15:07Oh, yeah.
15:08Perfect.
15:09Cheers.
15:10Cheers.
15:11Oh, man.
15:13It's just so good.
15:15Super crispy, but not too crispy.
15:17Super crispy.
15:18Doesn't flake off.
15:19The right texture.
15:20The black sesame seeds really add a nice little pop to it.
15:23You can tell it's not as sweet as your typical Zubias.
15:27Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:28So this is very special.
15:30There's such a sense of, like, opulence when it comes to Iranian food and culture in general.
15:36We care about the aesthetics.
15:37It's not just the taste, but it has to look good.
15:40To be a great host, you want to impress.
15:42Right.
15:43Right?
15:44So it has to be the best quality.
15:45And it's how people talk about you.
15:47So you want to make sure it's not just the taste, but it's also optics.
15:51Right.
15:52But at the end of the day, hospitality and food, it's who we are.
15:56So we always want to share the best with you.
15:58That's how we show love.
15:59Right.
16:00Okay, okay.
16:01And what better way to share the best with your guests than a celebration?
16:11Passers-by might be startled to see flames on the street.
16:14But these fires signal the most significant of Iranian holidays.
16:19Persian New Year, which begins with the spring equinox.
16:23These flames symbolize rebirth into spring's new life.
16:27It's the celebration of Nouruz.
16:41Meaning new day.
16:43And this ritual of jumping over fire marks its official beginning.
16:48Samira, her sister Salome, and her brother Amir have convinced me to leap along with them.
16:56Right into the festivities.
16:58Oh, wow.
16:59This is going to be epic.
17:04A fizzy pomegranate drink.
17:19The perfect way to begin this Nouruz feast.
17:24Oh, wow.
17:26Salome.
17:27Salome.
17:28My dear friend Samira Moyadeen has invited me to share in the most extravagant of Iranian celebrations.
17:36With a seat at her family's table for Iranian New Year.
17:41And we're at a particularly well-named restaurant.
17:47What is a typical Nouruz at home for you guys?
17:50Our Nouruz time always changes.
17:52With the vernal equinox, right?
17:54So in our house, we always make sure that we get up no matter what time that vernal equinox happens.
18:00And then if it's like 4 in the morning, we kiss each other, we say Happy New Year, we go back to bed.
18:05That's amazing.
18:06Welcome everyone.
18:07Thank you, Pariba.
18:10Ashreshta.
18:11A traditional Nouruz soup of noodles and beans and greens in a rich broth.
18:22Garnish with mint, fried onions and kashk, or fermented whey.
18:28It's delicious.
18:33What is the significance, Amir, of this soup?
18:36The herbs are for spring.
18:38They're vivifying the season.
18:40And then like the noodles represent prosperity.
18:43And you never break the noodles.
18:46You not break the noodles, because that is not good for the New Year.
18:49You mean when you're eating it or when you're preparing it?
18:51When you're preparing it.
18:52When you're preparing it.
19:01This is my jam.
19:04Between courses, there's traditional dancing with some elaborate light effects.
19:10While classic Nouruz dishes come together in the kitchen.
19:13Torsh.
19:14Meat kebabs marinated in pomegranate molasses and walnuts.
19:22Kubideh.
19:23Ground lamb shaped around skewers, then grilled over an open fire.
19:27And tadig, rice infused with saffron.
19:41Oh, look.
19:43Oh, wow.
19:45Look at that.
19:46My goodness.
19:47A patch of sumac is typically added to bring vibrancy to the dish.
19:50You can put it on your rice.
19:52And it hits that sour note.
19:53Yeah, it adds a little sourness, which again, I'm a sour head.
19:56So I like love that little accent.
19:58Yeah.
19:59There seems to be like just a celebration of opulence, richness and vibrancy, color.
20:07Things like look like they have life in them and hope and happiness.
20:11Spring.
20:12Spring.
20:13Everything's coming to life.
20:14Yeah.
20:15Part of it, it's really a celebration of nature.
20:18It's not really tied to a religion.
20:20That's why it's a national celebration.
20:23It's celebrated by all the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia.
20:27It goes back like four or five thousand years.
20:30What does it mean for the people of Iran that left Iran, whether they wanted to or not?
20:35How do you celebrate that?
20:37I think just something simple as the smell of your food.
20:41You see your own people around.
20:43I think that in itself brings us together.
20:46You try to hold on to these sort of markers of identity that you, you know, grab wherever you can.
20:53All of those things made us feel like we're still at home.
20:56That desire to share and savor the richness of their culture is at the heart of Iranian cuisine.
21:11The age-old tradition of elaborate and generous hospitality is one to celebrate not just once a year, but every day.
21:21Keeping this rich culture burning bright in Tehran.
21:24In Tehran.
21:25In Tehran.
21:26In Tehran.
21:27In Tehran.
21:28In Tehran.
21:29In Tehran.
21:30In Tehran.
21:31In Tehran.
21:32In Tehran.
21:33In Tehran.
21:34In Tehran.
21:35In Tehran.
21:36In Tehran.
21:37In Tehran.
21:38In Tehran.
21:39In Tehran.
21:40In Tehran.
21:41In Tehran.
21:42In Tehran.
21:43In Tehran.
21:44In Tehran.
21:45In Tehran.
21:46In Tehran.
21:47In Tehran.
21:48In Tehran.
21:49In Tehran.
21:50In Tehran.
21:51In Tehran.
21:52In Tehran.
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