Meet Ilhaam Banoobhai-Anwar. her blog was inspired by cooking for her husband. When she got married she had really high expectations of what she needed to cook on a daily basis. Eventually she realised it was not sustainable and took a more relaxed approach to cooking for two. She has a full time job and does not have a lot of time when she comes home from work, so most of her dishes can be made in 30 minutes.
1. What inspired you to write about food?
I am a culinary lecturer by profession, I can talk about food 24/7. This was my way of having a creative outlet after hours.
2. How would you describe your site to new readers?
My blog is aimed at young wives/ families/ students/ people who don’t know how to cook. I make budget friendly meals with simple ingredients.
3. What is your take on organic food, is it a big deal for you?
Organic food is great and I wish people knew more about where their food comes from. We should all be eating as close to nature as possible - as in making our food from scratch. To me thats what organic food should be about.
4. You try a new recipe and it does not turn out the way you had planned, what do you do?
Initially I am obviously disappointed and declare I am never going to cook again (jokes). Failure can be hard to deal with but I don’t take myself too seriously. Everyone makes mistakes, as long as you learn from them it’s okay.
5. What are your three favourite ingredients?
Ooh thats a tough one. Coriander, spring onion and basil. I could cook any of my favourite dishes with those (Indian, Mexican and Italian).
6. What are you 3 worst ingredients?
I don’t really have ingredients that I hate to use… except offal, its the smell that gets me.
7. What is your favourite local restaurant? Why?
Bibis Kitchen in Wynberg, Cape Town. They serve Indian cuisine. I have such fond memories of going there with my family on special occasions when it was still a restaurant and the food, glorious food! We always left happy with our tummies full.
8. Give your top food blog that inspire you the most?
International blog - I love reading Skinnytaste.com it was probably one of the first food blogs that I started to follow. Back then there were not many South African blogs.
South African - Sam Linsell of Drizzle & Dip. Her images are just amazing. You can see how much of effort she puts into each shot and I appreciate that.
9. What’s the one super power you wish you had?
To be one of the X-men!
10. What is the most memorable dish that you have made?
Definitely Biryani flavoured risotto that I made for Christmas Dinner 2017. It was a huge hit.
To try out a few of Ilhaam's amazing recipes, you can visit her blog, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
*Thank you Ilhaam for appearing in this guest feature on food.
Thank you for the feature Tyla
You are most welcome! Thank you so much for accepting the interview.