The IRC in New York provides on-site English as a Second Language classes with dedicated ESL teachers who engage students by connecting traditions from their home countries to those in  America. Below is a little window into the IRC in NY's ESL work, complete with a Nepalese recipe from our client Niru!

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Mi Zar and her husband Nai Kyaw celebrating Thanksgiving for the first time in the U.S.
Photo: Manar Marouf/IRC.

The ESL teacher began this exercise with the following prompt:

On Thanksgiving Day, many Americans give thanks with family and friends and we share a meal. Like holidays all over the world, sharing food with family and friends is an important part of our culture. Some Americans enjoy Thanksgiving because it does not involve religion or shopping. Instead, we just enjoy being with people we love and eating delicious food. Sometimes there is traditional American food like turkey, but often there is food from all over the world. What did you eat on Thanksgiving? Who were you with?

Mi Zar and her husband, Nai Kyaw, celebrated Thanksgiving with delicious Burmese food.

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Burmese food to celebrate Mi Zar and Nai Kyaw's first Thanksgiving in the U.S.
Photo: Manar Marouf/IRC.

 

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Claudia celebrated with a traditional Thanksgiving meal this year.
Photo: Manar Marouf/IRC.

Claudia enjoyed a traditional American spread this Thanksgiving, writing "This is the food that we ate on Thanksgiving Day. There was a cake, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, turkey, sausages and pork." 

Niru shared a recipe she titled, "A Very Traditional Nepalese Food from Newari Culture of Nepal 'Takha or Thathali'".

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Chef Niru showing off her delicious Takha!
Photo: Manar Marouf

See if you can make it yourself using Niru's recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

Normally, it is cooked with water –buffalo meat but I used pork meat with bone, flesh and skin.

3 dinner spoons vegetable oil

One big onion, chopped

One potato, cut in medium size

1 dinner spoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

5 red dried whole chilies and 2 teaspoon chili powder as my flavor

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cumin powder

3 times water than meat

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Takha from Nepal as prepared by chef Niru.
Photo: Manar Marouf/IRC.

How to cook:

When pressure cooker gets proper heat, add oil.

After 30 seconds, add dried red whole chilies and stir.

After chilies start turning black, add chopped onion and stir.

After onion starts turning golden, add minced garlic and ginger and stir as I need.

After 30 seconds, add meat and stir as I need.

After 5 minutes, add salt, cumin powder and stir for 2 minutes.

Add water, cover with lid and put the flame in medium heat and cook for 1 hour.

Afterward, pour in clean metal pot and leave it for overnight in refrigerator

Next day, it will be like jelly.

Actually, this food is eaten cold in winter with bitten rice and some other traditional food.

 

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