Ainy Cooks

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“Recipes don’t work unless you use your heart!” – Dylan Jones
Very true it is, and I felt the same passion and love of this 21 years old girl Fatima towards food and cooking for her family and friends while we were discussing blogging few days ago.  FATIMA COOKS is a place where this young girl cooks and tells you details with friendliness. I love her photography skills and her enthusiasm . Today she is here with us to share her experiences of blogging and Cooking. You will get a lot of Desi style recipes on her blog with a beautiful click. So here she goes 🙂
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Asalamu alaikum! My name is Fatima, the face behind http://fatimacooks.net 🙂 I am a Punjabi Pakistani but was born in Karachi and came to London when I was veryyyyy young. I am a 21 year old student living in London and just got married last August when I was 20. I am a full-time student at University and am also training as a fitness coach. 
Before marriage, I would mostly bake or cook non-Pakistani foods. I’ve always been active in the kitchen but cooking Pakistani food was solely by Mother’s area. However, my husband was a big salan-and-roti kind of guy, so through trial and error I learnt the basics of Pakistani food and now, Alhamdulillah, I am very confident with cooking. In fact, I am so comfortable with cooking Pakistani food that it is my favorite cuisine to cook! It’s my favorite thing to cook for my loved ones now – in fact, you should come over too for dinner with me sometime! 
Getting married at such a young age has truly been the best thing that has ever happened to me. My husband is extremely supportive of everything I do and never did he complain when I was going through my learning period and cooked him half raw curries or burnt rotis 🙂 
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Why and how did you decide to start a food blog?
I have always been an avid reader of food blogs and would regularly use them for inspiration for what to cook for dinner. I have also always wanted to write down exact recipes of my successful cooking so I didn’t need to remember/guess the exact quantity of ingredients and spices the next time. My blog came about very impulsively as I read an blog post on Deliciously Ella about how to start your own food blog. It’s then that the blog became the perfect solution to my desire to write all my recipes down as well as being a platform for inspiring others as I too would be inspired! I’ve never looked back since!
What about the layout and design of your website? Was it difficult to learn how to manage all of that?
WordPress makes it very easy to customize the layout and design of your blog. Having said that, I do want to update the design soon. My brother is fantastic with all the techy stuff, I’ll be going to him when it’s the time! 
 
Which part of blogging excites you most: the recipe development, the post writing, or the photography?
The entire process is super duper exciting but my favorite is the post writing. This is because I can share the story behind the recipe and the memories associated with it. I feel like food is more than just something to eat, but it is also an emotional substance that reminds me of people, places and times. I love expressing that. For example, whenever I make aloo keema I remember this was the first dinner I ever made after marriage that my husband loved and that thought always makes me happy.
 

What would be your dream destination regarding food?

I would love to write a cookbook one day! Something for beginners or for people who are new to Pakistani cuisine, or even for busy working women who need quick and easy recipes! It’s always been a dream of mine since I was 7 to be a writer! But let’s see what the future holds. 
 
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What are your cooking inspirations? A famous chef, your mom, a cookbook, a blog?
My Father is my biggest inspiration, both in cooking and in life. He cooks with so much love and passion that is amazing but he is also a fantastic cook. I want to cook the way he does with as much passion as he does! He combines flavors and ingredients from different cultures like an art and it always surprises me how he puts his own spin on things. I have yet to taste something he has cooked that isn’t a 10/10, MashaAllah! I am also a huge fan of Shayma from www.TheSpiceSpoon.com Her writing style is beautiful and I love reading her stories about her family, heritage and cooking.
 
What is your favorite cuisine and favorite Pakistani dishes.?
That’s a tough one, Ainy Baji! I love Italian, Middle-Eastern and Bangladeshi food but if I had to choose one it would be Italian. My favorite Pakistani dish would have to be between a good spicy Prawn Karahi or a tender, aromatic meat Pilau. I can’t decide!!
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What are the pantry ingredients that you use the most?
I often use butter and ghee in my cooking instead of oil – it adds a world of a difference. My favorite spices are coriander and cumin powder (pissa hua dhania aur zeera) for adding a brilliant flavor and paprika for a pop of color!
What do you think food blogging will look like in 5 years?
I think we will see a lot more new food bloggers on the field! And I’m pretty excited to find those food bloggers, get to know them and try out their recipes 🙂
 
Any message for new bloggers?
If you are passionate about something and know it is something you can’t get bored of, then go for it and start up your own blog! It will be an outlet for your thoughts, a place to share valuable information that others can find inspirational or helpful and it will be a platform to meet new people! Plus, it’s so much fun!
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 I am very active on Instagram so do follow me to keep up-to-date with what I’m cooking!
And you can follow me here too 🙂
Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/FatimaCooks/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/fatima.cooks/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fatimacooksnet
Website: http://www.fatimacooks.net 
“Secrets, especially with cooking, are best shared so that the cuisine lives on.” – Bo Songvisava
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 Thanks dear Sister for giving your precious time. 🙂

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