Okra and Onion Stir Fry

I might have mentioned it before, my mother got married very young and had me when she was barely 18. It meant, I have remotest memories of her 20s but 30s is clear as yesterday.

I remember her favourite cobalt blue salwar kameez, the duppata falling perfectly on her slender shoulders, the chiffon sleeves loosely wrapped unto the elbow. Her skin, always complimented as porcelain like, was exactly that but I often marvelled at her rosy lips, one she would intensify with a rosy pink lipstick, the only colour she ever wore. Her gold kissed brown hair tied into a simple pony gave more reasons to focus on her face. A beautiful young woman, who only cooked good food, made sure we had a freshly made juices after school, evening snack before dinner and fruits as after dinner dessert.

Photo Shoot For Cocoa Room

Cocoa room hardly needs any introduction of course, but the fact that you get to photograph one of your favourite breakfast places in Kuwait, is a deal to be happy about! Since the last time we had our breakfast there, they have added quite a few new things on their menu like pictured above Turkish poached eggs on garlic yogurt drizzled with clarified butter, paprika and mint served with sourdough bread that totally makes me weak at the knees. Here are some of the shots from the shoot. Hope you enjoy them!

Zucchini Koftas in Creamy Coconut Tomato Sauce

My family moved to India from Kuwait when I was just out of high school.  At a confused end of teenage years, academic pressures and moving countries left me at very angry-at-the-world grumpy seventeen year old. To add to the pain, we were shifting to a town. A remote town.

There was nothing much to do at first. No scratch that, there was nothing to do at all. Cousins, whom now I know where ticketed by Ammi came to hang out with me, often returned disappointed in my lack of interest to create a conversation. The only activity that felt remotely similar to my life in Kuwait was reading. I begged cousins to borrow books from the school library. I asked them to hunt down people who might have used books. Most of the books I gathered had been left unattended for years. I felt a terrible comfort in those yellowed pages, sniffing through the smell of old pages that sometimes would surprise me with  the stale smell of dried roses. Days would pass into nights, and I would for all I can remember, sleep reading. 

Coconut And Lime Olive Oil Cake

Must have been sixth or seventh grade, a classmate who's name I have conveniently forgotten but the taste of her mom's tender pound cake, the one we used to get the thinnest slice of considering it had to cater to a class of twenty five, still lingers on in my fondest memories. The sight of the glossy aluminium foil loaf pan would get us all excited and I would for an otherwise timid child be a part of all the hullabaloo the class created.

Work Update - The November Company

 I have been such a huge fan of Bibi Hayat's events and everything she does looks beautiful! So when she called me to photograph her bakery - November Bakery for the upcoming mother's day, I knew it's going to be fun. They decided to go with the citrus theme for Mother's day which is so refreshing compared to all the pinks being overdone otherwise.

Some photos from the shoot I styled and shot.

Panko Crusted Ginger Lamb Chops With Mint Labneh

My daughter will eat or at least attempt to eat anything that can be held in hands and has some crunch to it. Because potato chips (ahem) are not an option I'm always looking to turn regular recipes into finger foods and add some crunch to it. 

These chops, that Ammi makes with ginger and then pan fries them until well done sprinkling water as it dries to keep it moist and juicy has been a family favourite for years but I think the crispy panko makes it even better. 

Mint, ginger and lamb are a fabulous trio, so the mint labneh is a must here. It cuts the spiciness and adds a fresh dimension. Greek yogurt would work well, but if you have time let the yogurt drain in the fridge overnight to get creamy tart labneh. Ginger is a natural meat tenderiser so you don't have to cook the lamb chops for too long, else they get tough.