SUPPER CLUB: Afghan Sofra by Frishta Ghafoori
CSI Spadina 192 Spadina Ave., Suite 501, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaFor more than two millennia, Afghanistan was a place where important trade routes between India, China, the Middle East and Europe converged. Marco Polo crossed the country en route to China; Arab travellers and the British passed through on their way to India. A rich culture took hold at this crossroads, and with it a varied cuisine influenced by that of Persia, India and Mongolia, but with style all its own. One symbol of Afghan hospitality is the sofra, a woven cloth or spread upon which food is served. In a broader sense it has come to mean the kind of convivial family meal associated with Islamic cultures, and is where we, half a world away, get the idiom of 'putting on a big spread'. Tonight Frishta Ghafoori will share a lovely selection of traditional Afghan dishes, all infused with this spirit of hospitality.