In this episode, Sheetal Aunty teaches me a her take on a traditional Gujarati toor daal with jaggery – that’s right, it has sugar in it! As we cook, Sheetal Aunty and I connect over our shared Gujarati heritage and love of cooking and eating Indian cuisine.

Sheetal Purohit is from Porbandar, Gujarat, India, and she loves Kingston, her home for the last 24 years.

Intro and exit music: Creep by Lal @lalforest

Follow @daalproject on instagram or visit our website at daalproject.org

Gulshan Babbar, or Gulshan Aunty to me is from Amritsar, India and has called Kingston, Ontario her second home since 2001. She is a pillar of the local Hindu community, organizing cultural and religious events alongside running her own business. She shares her dal makhani recipe and also teaches me to make ghee as we talk about why she loves daal and Kingston.

Gulshan Babbar is from Amritsar, Punjab, India. She is the owner of Bayridge Grocery in Kingston, Ontario and is Secretary of the Hindu Mandir of Kingston Board of Directors.

Intro and exit music: Creep by Lal @lalforest

Follow @daalproject on instagram or visit our website at daalproject.org

In this episode, Eram Aunty shares her mother’s masoor moong daal recipe with slow fried garlic cloves, while she talks about her passion for educating children.

Eram Butt is Pakistani with ancestors from Kashmir. Living in Kingston since 2011. Eram is the Principal of Manar Academy as well as the Islamic Society of Kingston’s Evening & Weekend School where she coordinates the Qur’an and Islamic Studies classes.

Intro and exit music: Creep by Lal @lalforest

Follow @daalproject on instagram or visit our website at daalproject.org

In this episode, Simran Sharma teaches a rich toor daal with browned onions, cinnamon and other whole spices. She also asks “What would it mean if food becomes free? If you are not worrying what are we going to eat for the next meal?”

Simran Sharma is a PhD candidate and migrant worker at Queen’s University. Her research traces solidarities between Black enslaved and South Asian indenture workers on the Plantations.

Intro and exit music: Creep by Lal @lalforest

Follow @daalproject on Instagram!

In this episode, Jill Glatt of Magpie Print shop shares her interpretation of the family daal recipe accompanied by smoked fish and talks about what it means to measure with one’s heart.

Jill Glatt is a Katarokwi/Kingston Ontario-based illustrator, natural dyer, printmaker, and arts educator. Her artistic practice is based around and informed by ecology, community, and sustainability. Jill is also the Volunteer Coordinator for the Skeleton Park Arts Festival and sits on their board of directors as President. Learn more at Magpie Printshop.

Intro and exit music: Creep by Lal @lalforest

Follow @daalproject on Instagram!

Reena Kukreja teaches ghiya wali chana daal, aka bottle gourd with split chickpeas, a Punjabi recipe often eaten in the summer months. Reena also talks about food memory and her trajectory in filmmaking.

Reena Kukreja is an Associate Professor at Queen’s University in the Department of Global Development Studies. Reena is a feminist-activist, researcher, teacher, and a documentary filmmaker who is interested in understanding the complex impact of migration on people’s intimate lives.

Intro and exit music: Creep by Lal @lalforest

Follow @daalproject on instagram!

Rina Khan shares her grandmother’s interpretation of a South Indian sambar daal, alongside reflections on community and how food grows and changes with us.

Rina Khan (she/her) is an immigrant originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh and now a settler in the Treaty 6 territory now known as Edmonton, Alberta. She is a PhD student researching methods of using AI in cancer care in a fair and ethical manner. Rina is also a transgender woman and a vocal advocate for transgender rights. In her spare time, Rina is an active member of her community and enjoys knitting in company of her cat.

Intro and exit music: Creep by Lal @lalforest

Follow @daalproject on instagram!

In this episode, Shobhana Xavier teaches her take on Parrpu Curry, a Sri Lankan Tamil daal recipe. She also shares reflections about her family’s migration to Canada leaving Sri Lanka during the civil war and her return many years later.

Shobhana Xavier is Tamil-Canadian. Born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, she grew up in Scarborough, Ontario and is currently a professor of religious studies at Queen’s University. She thinks and teaches about religion and culture, and has published books on Sufism and spirituality. She is also the co-host of the Just Eats project and podcast, which explored questions of food, racism, and social justice.

Intro and exit music: Creep by Lal @lalforest

Follow @daalproject on instagram!