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5 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,M ay 20,2021 w aterloochronicle.ca THE 2021 GRADUATE FOR ONLY $75 To place your ad, please call 1-877-646-6701 or email contact@starmetrolandmedia.com you will receive an ad in our special salute to graduates section published in the June 17th edition of the paper with photo and congratulatory message of your choice. IN YOUR LIFECongratulate Though Ramadan took on a different look and feel due to COVID-19 restric- tions again this year, a Wa- terloo man used his time distancing from others to disseminate the cuisine and some of the customs. The month of fasting based on the Islamic calen- dar is observed by more than a billion people world- wide, but Mubarak Chaud- hry said many of his neigh- bours and colleagues here are curious about it. Fasting has a lot to do with food -- healthy eating, more specifically. "To me, from the food perspective, it's the largest culinary festival in the whole world," he said. "Not a lot of people know a lot about what goes on in- side the house, but it's a cel- ebration. It's a very harmo- nious thing to do and I wanted to extend it to a broader audience." For Chaudhry, a native of Pakistan who moved to Canada in the late 1990s -- he's currently employed as a project manager in Peel region -- cooking has al- ways been a passion. After moving to the Lakeshore area of Water- loo two years ago he en- rolled part-time at Liaison College to sharpen his culi- nary skills. He built his own kitchen and started a YouTube channel, 'Mobbi's Kitchen & Lifestyle', to share some simple recipes. South Asian cooking isn't always good for you, said Chaudhry, who incor- porates healthy substitutes in traditional recipes, while aiming to retain their authentic flavour. Nutrition is paramount during Ramadan, when those strictly adhering to customs don't eat food or even drink water from sun- rise to sunset. That's part of the reason Chaudhry was referred to by the name "Mr. Oats" dur- ing his virtual cooking demonstrations for suhoor (the morning meal) over the past month, which in- cluded a "super healthy" kheer - a type of pudding - sweet and savoury pan- cakes and waffles, blueber- ry cupcakes and other reci- pes using oats. "The versatility and nu- trition that oats offer in breakfast is impressive," Chaudhry said. But the dozens of reci- pes he cooked up via live stream included dinner- time (ishtar) favourites, from samosas a pakoras to butter chicken, biryani and Afghani banjan borani. The recipes originate from various Muslim coun- tries and include soups, quiche, pastas and fresh baked breads, such as stuffed naan. On average, about 50 people joined live discus- sions during the cooking demos. Some of them had more than 100 participants. Those included some of Chaudhry's Canadian friends and fellow culinary classmates, also people from the U.S., Europe, Tur- key, Morocco, Iran and var- ious parts of South Asia. Some prepared their morn- ing meal while he was pre- paring supper. Given the audience makeup, much of the dis- cussion was in Urdu, Per- sian and Arabic, and likely didn't reach as many peo- ple unfamiliar with the cui- sine as Chaudhry hoped; however the videos (about an hour in length) can be watched again with the recipes posted for anyone to try. Chaudhry plans on do- ing something similar next year, but plans to raise more awareness locally in advance. Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, nor- mally entails getting to- gether with family and friends for prayer and cele- bration; this year, Chaud- hry's family, including his wife and three children, en- joyed a more intimate gath- ering at their Waterloo home with a barbecued leg of lamb and various other eats and treats -- a "food feast" as he puts it. Many people including children and pregnant women modify their fasting practices during Ramadan, but after a month of self-re- straint, some indulgence is certainly warranted. Chaudhry said he al- ways feels a lot better after the month-long ritual which gave his body a break from the "constant pecking" of pandemic bore- dom. His friends who've tried it attest. "For the last whole month I've slept less, but I feel 10 times more focused and energetic," he said. "It's a yearly thing that I do to get myself on track, be- cause your focus for the whole day is not on food." Much of it gets shifted to meditation, spirituality, community building, char- ity and being a better per- son overall, Chaudhry ex- plained. His videos and parts of his family's Eid celebration will be shared on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and In- stagram. COMMUNITY WATERLOO MAN EXPLORES THE FOOD, CUSTOMS OF RAMADAN IN VIDEO SERIES BILL JACKSON bjackson@torstar.ca Mubarak Chaudhry, pictured in his Waterloo kitchen. Mobbi's Kitchen & Lifestyle photo 'IT'S A VERY HARMONIOUS THING TO DO AND I WANTED TO EXTEND IT TO A BROADER AUDIENCE'