FOOD FOR RELIGIOUS AND HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 536.

Because the early nomads heavily depended on livestock for survival, animals were at the core of ancient Kazakh religion. Traditional beliefs held that separate spirits inhabited animals. Honored guests were sometimes asked to bless an animal and ask its spirit for permission to taste its flesh.

Most Kazakhs of the twenty-first century are Sunni Muslims. The Islam religion did not become widely practiced until the late 1700s. This is because the nomads of that time settled in rural areas, and the Muslims worshiped in mosques that were in the cities. Muslims in Kazakhstan celebrate the Festival of Fast-Breaking (known as Id al-Fitr or Eid al-Fitr elsewhere), which is the day ending Ramadan. Ramadan is a month-long fast, where Muslims cannot eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. During the Festival of Fast-Breaking, Kazakh Muslims visit each other and hand out deep-fried dough twists and other fried doughnuts, such as baursaki, as a form of celebration.

Ø Collect the unknown words of all your teammates and yours. Fill this table with the information:

Ø Answer the questions:

1. Why is meat the most popular national foodstuff in Kazakhstan?

2. What kind of lifestyle did Kazakh people have in the past?

3. Do Kazakh people eat only their national food? Why?

4. How are guests treated in Kazakhstan?

5. What food do Kazakh people have for celebrations?

6. Do you know similar dishes cooked by peoples living in your country? Name them to your teammates.

Ø Discussion:

1. What kind of Kazakh food do you enjoy?

2. Do you think Kazakh food is healthy? Why or why not?

3. What food from your culture is found in the Kazakh diet?

Ø Project work:

Make a project “My favourite food”.

Kazakh Traditional Dishes

The main traditional dish of kazakhs is besbarmak. It is mostly served for the guests and eaten by hands (bes barmak- means five fingers). Besbarmak is usually cooked of fat mutton and parts of smoked horse meat and horse delicacies like kazy and shyzhyk. The meat is boiled and separately is boiled thin paste. Boiled parts of meat are put on the paste and spiced with a special flavoring called tuzdyk. As the custom demands the host serves the meal in special crockery- tabak. The bastabak, which is placed before the most honourable guests is used to serve the mutton head, zhambas, horse meat delicacy and other fatty parts.The esteemed guest (usually the oldest one) cuts bits and parts from the head and offers them to the other guests at the table. The secret of distribution of parts of the meat from the head lies in traditional wishes. When given the plate, it expresses the wish – “be wise and eloquent “, the larynx – a gift to sing, skin of forehead – “be the first among equals “. Meanwhile one or-two dzhigits (young man), sitting next to the esteemed quest start cutting the boiled parts of meat to pieces and the dish is again spiced with tuzdyk. The quests are offered to help themselves to the dish.

Ø Put the sentences in the correct order:

- The meat is boiled and separately is boiled thin paste.

- The esteemed guest (usually the oldest one) cuts bits and parts from the head and offers them to the other guests at the table.

- The main traditional dish of the Kazakhs is besbarmak.

- Besbarmak is usually cooked of fat mutton and parts of smoked horse meat and horse delicacies like Kasy and shyzhyk.

- The guests are offered to help themselves to the dish.

- The secret of distribution of parts of the meat from the head lies in traditional wishes.

Ø Choose the right word:

1. The main traditional dish of Kazakhs is …

a) bauyrsak

b) kuyrdak

c) besbarmak

2. Besbarmak is eaten with …

a) hands

b) four fingers

c) five fingers

3. The meat is …

a) fried

b) boiled

c) cooked

4. The bastabak is plased before the most …

a) respectful guests

b) constant guests

c) honorable guests

5. Mean while one or two, sitting next to the esteemed guest, start culting the boiled parts of meat to pieces and the dish is again spiced with tuzdyk.

a) women

b) girls

c) young men

Ø Match the words:

1. traditional a. meat

2. smoked b. guests

3. boiled c. dish

4. special d. horse

5. honourable e. parts

6. fatty f. to pieces

7. cut g. flavouring