[chicken] Mansaf منسف
In Canada, the most famous meal for a big holiday family gathering like Thanksgiving would probably be a roast turkey with all the trimmings; in parts of the Middle East, this would be Mansaf. In Jordan, where many people consider this their national dish, it is traditionally made with lamb and rice covered in a tangy white sauce made from keshk or jameed, a kind of dried yogurt. It is served on huge platters (sometime with the lamb head as a dramatic centerpiece!), and guests gather around and reach into the communal dish together with their right hands. (Keeping one’s left hand behind one’s back is considered polite). Tonight’s dinner is a variation of Mansaf from Sweida, in Southern Syria, that is made with bulgur, halal chicken, a tangy, rich yogurt sauce and a garnish of walnuts and parsley.

[vegetarian] Kibbeh bel Fatar كبة بالفطر
For our vegetarian option, there will be kibbeh – small fried torpedoes of seasoned bulgur dough stuffed with a mushroom, onion and walnut filling – instead of chicken, served along with the bulgur and mansaf yogurt sauce

Fattoush فتوش
This popular Levantine salad is made using toasted or fried pieces of pita bread combined with mixed greens, fresh vegetables like tomatoes, cucumber and radish, but vary according to season and region. Mint and parsley lend a freshness and fragrance, and dried sumac (the same staghorn sumac that grows here in Ontario) gives the olive oil-based dressing a distinctive tangy flavour.

Kaak bel Ajweh كعك بالعجوة
Delicious, date-stuffed cookies flavoured with vanilla, anise, sesame seeds and mahlab, a spice derived from cherry kernels that imparts a lovely marzipan aroma. These cookies are popular in Lebanon around Easter, where they are known as “Crown” cookies, their ring shape are thought to Jesus’ crown of thorns.

$20 +HST

Meals are available for pickup from The Depanneur, 1033 College Street (between Dufferin & Dovercourt) from 6–7pm on Thursday, Oct. 6
foodora sponsors FREE Delivery within 3km radius

Meals go on sale on Tuesday at 7am.
Please indicate “PICKUP” or “DELIVERY” in the Order Notes at the Checkout.

Newcomer Kitchen is a new project that invites groups of Syrian refugee women to use our kitchen to cook traditional Syrian dishes in a fun, social setting. Meals are prepared and packaged, and then sold online for pickup or delivery to pay for all the ingredients and provide an honorarium for the cooks.

We also offer 1 spot to help/hang out in the kitchen, learn the recipes and join the ladies for family meal on Thursday afternoon. We are asking for a $50 donation for this, which will go to topping up the $ we have to share with the cooks. This is available for purchase online, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Proceeds from the sale of meals goes directly to the newcomer cooks. However this does not cover the costs of the enormous amount of behind-the-scenes coordination required to keep this project going. You can support the Newcomer Kitchen project directly and our vision of expanding this model to support more women in more neighbourhoods!

Support the Newcomer Kitchen’s FundRazr campaign.

Help us take this idea into any restaurant kitchen, in any city in the world!

Learn more about the Newcomer Kitchen project.