Tikka Masala: 3 Ways

Happy New Years!

It's the fifth day of the new year and I already sense a change in the air. For me, 2016 was a year of many milestones and new experiences. I published my first recipe video and one of my food videos - Farhana's Traditional Biryani - went viral. I met new people through blogging and learned of new opportunities. Traveling to Maui was by far the highlight of my year. Spending time with my loved ones, experiencing exciting adventures, and viewing incredible sceneries was exactly as incredible as it sounds. 

For the new year, 2017, I want to dream big. I want to dream big and follow through with my dreams with hard work and persistence. So to any of you out there who have big dreams - you CAN do it! I believe in you. Let's do it together. 

A Lovely Iftar with Friends

Assalamualaikum! I hope your days are going well. The last ten nights of Ramadan are here. The time flies so fast, it feels like we just started fasting yesterday. Alhamdulillah, I was blessed with the opportunity to have a small gathering of friends over for iftar. It was a night filled with conversation, laughter, and fun.

You know you're desi when your invite was for 8pm and people start trickling in around 8:45pm (and you're secretly glad because your prep is also running behind schedule). ;)

Today, I am sharing the iftar and dinner menu of the night for inspiration. With my husband's support and encouragement, I was able to put together this menu. Thanks, once again, to all of my lovely friends for joining us and please keep me and my family in your duas. Please let me know if you would like any of the recipes of the food items below. Enjoy!

Farhana's Traditional Chicken Biryani

Every Desi household has their own biryani recipe, but for us cooking amateurs, having a tried and tested video recipe on hand is really useful. Thanks, Mom, for filming this video with me. That's 1000 phone calls you just saved yourself from every time I attempt to cook biryani!

Enjoy this video that we put together of a classic chicken biryani - flavorful, aromatic, and with just the right amount of spice. Good luck in the kitchen and we hope you can try it out.

Video Recipe: Spicy Fish Fry and Tartar Sauce

Best of Wardah presents.......

Farhana's Kitchen! I'd like to share a new creative direction I'm taking, accompanied by my talented mom and the best chef I know, Farhana. My mom is always sharing her recipes with others, so I thought I'd share some on my blog. But, I knew that watching someone create a delicious meal is so different from reading and following a written recipe. Thus, an idea was born! If I were to film my mom as she cooked one of her oft-requested recipes, so many people could try them and she'd never have to share the recipe again. After much convincing, she grudgingly agreed and this is the result.

Kheer - Indian Dessert

Hello everyone!

Today, I want to share a recipe for an Indian dessert called kheer. You may know from reading my previous blog posts that I come from a Paki-Indo background. Recently, I have started exploring the Indian cuisine and learning how to cook using the many colorful and flavorful spices commonly used in India and Pakistan. One of the most popular desserts of India is kheer.