John Champe High School has an extremely diverse range of students, as Loudoun County is home to a wide variety of ethnicities and cultures. A key aspect of many cultures is the food enjoyed and made with family and friends.
Cooking can bring people closer in many ways. It is an amazing way to keep people’s memories alive, share experiences with one’s ancestors, and share one’s own culture with family and friends. Champe students shared their family recipes, evidencing the significance cooking plays in their respective cultures.
“Butter chicken is really close to home because it’s one that my dad, whose a chef, makes regularly, just like his parents and grandparents make back in India,” Avani Domakonda said. “The version I will be making today is Americanized with pasta added.”
Butter Chicken is a staple in many Indian homes, especially American Indian homes, as it is an Americanized version of Murgh Makhani. It is a way for families, especially those who have immigrated from their home country to feel closer to those they have left behind. Butter chicken is served in many Indian restaurants locally, so not only cooking it, but eating the dish is a culturally centric experience. The recipe for Avani’s dad’s Butter Chicken is attached below.
“My family makes cheesecake bites during special occasions, which is why they play a special role in my kitchen,” Danica Eklund said. “Especially during the 4th of July and whenever we have a big family get together my grandma will make them for everyone, so I’ve been making them since I was little.”
Even if some dishes do not have generations of deep cultural significance, they still bring people together, especially during special occasions. Since Cheesecake bites are a more convenient version of traditional cheesecake, it is shown that often the most memorable dishes are the ones that are created by a mix of decadency and convenience. Danica’s family cheesecake bites are made with Oreos, and the recipe is provided below.
“Tandoori Chicken is from Southern India, where my family is from, so I grew up on this dish,” Lithik Kolagani said. “This was the first dish I ever learned to make and it only takes five ingredients.”
Many children learn to make dishes that are significant to their culture at a very young age. This brings them closer to not only their immediate family who is teaching them but to their ancestors who ate the same types of foods. Sharing foods from one’s culture with one’s friends and families, like Lithik with Jacob in our podcast video linked below, is a great way to encourage your friends to try new things and explore different foods.
“At home I eat basically the same thing, like macaroni and cheese and smoothies,” said Danica Eklund, “But a lot of the times at my friend’s houses, their parents make lots of different things and I’m introduced to new foods, like Pakistani foods at my friend Arianna’s house”
Link to Podcast: https://www.wevideo.com/invitation?invitationId=3747956541-5e65f5bb-4948-40ac-90dc-1c48a981f87f
