NAQIYAH MAYAT: CULINARY GODDESS WITH A TASTE FOR THE SUBLIME

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Twelve years ago, Naqiyah Mayat was a new wife and starter cook. Since then the domestic goddess has amassed a strong following on social media, which became the catalyst for her first cookbook, The Beginning: Indian Recipes from my Home, writes Debashine Thangevelo

WHEN I first met Naqiyah Mayat, it was for a podcast interview to chat about her first cookbook. Imagine my surprise when her friendly hug was accompanied by a special home-made treat of freshly-fried puris with ginger halwa.

I scoffed them down later in the day (yes, I shared with others in the office). Delicious, would be an understatement. It felt like gymnastics in my mouth as my taste buds went into overdrive.

Mayat has a very Nigella Lawsonesque vibe. She makes the idea of being in a kitchen, cooking up a storm, all the more enticing.

As a Hindu who married into a Muslim home, she got to learn two different ways of preparing Indian cuisine. Mayat said: “The Beginning… tells the story of the food I grew up with and the food I would like to bring into your home.

“It’s a combination of twelve years of learning how to cook, sharing my food on an online community platform via social media.

“It is where I gained not only the trust, but the support of a community of women, who inspired me to put this book together.

“The food that I grew up with was vastly different from the food I have now learnt to cook after being married. The food that my husband grew up with was very different to what I learnt to cook once we got married.

“And I’ve taken a combination of everything I’ve learnt from my mum and things I’ve learnt by myself and created the style of food I can call the Naqiyah way.”

And the mother of four (her little ones are under 11 years old) is confident about getting people cooking with this book as she takes them through the essentials needed.

“You have got to start with the basics. And then slowly build yourself up to feel confident enough to cook a breyani or try to attempt making a dhal puri. So this book is not just for the new wife or starter cook. If you need some inspiration in the kitchen.

“If you’ve been cooking for ages and just want to take a new spin on things, there’s a recipe for every level of proficiency.” Mayat fondly recalled food memories that helped forge a long-lasting love for cooking and entertaining.

“Two stand out for me – watching my grandparents’ source and grow their own vegetables and watching my mum flip hot rotis onto a plate.

“Food is how I think of my cultural identity – I grew up eating Indian food and that was my comfort.

“Every experience, whether deliberate or subconscious, has shaped my approach to food.”

She also had a sweet anecdote about the first thing she cooked.

“It was probably cooking kheer with my Nani. Her kheer recipe has helped me navigate through my own life experiences, has brought people to my own table and has influenced how I feel about sustaining that generational influence. The starting point is not the recipes, but the spices. In chapter one of the book, we detail spices that are required for Indian cooking and once you have all the ingredients on hand, it is easy to master the recipes that follow.”

What’s her go-to meal?

“A chicken curry and rice,” she shared, without hesitation. “That is something I love to come home to if I travel or if it is a cold day or if I’m hungry. There are two versions in the book. One slightly longer and one that is a super-quick fix, which helps women at work or if you have had a busy day and you need to put food out on the table.”

Mayat has a Marie Kondo approach to getting organised, too.

“On a Sunday, I plan out my meals for the week. I cook four meals a day. I’ve got four children and they are all school-going. I plan my week’s menu and I do my shopping on a Sunday or Monday morning. That helps me manage my time, especially with the cookbook and the digital platforms.

“I take into consideration what my kids like and my schedule. They love mutton curry, sugar roti and biryani. Once a week I set aside time to make one frozen meal.”

Her prawn and chicken moon recipes are freezer suitable and a favourite with her kids. It’s accompanied by masala tea.

As for the Naqiyah twist, she revealed: “Mohamed (her husband) and I come from a central point of being ‘Indian’ so there is an understanding and an overlap of food and culture.

“For me, the understanding of spices was a challenge and although spices might be a universal language that’s intertwined into being Indian, the processes of making certain spices are vastly different. Growing up and living with my parents, my mom used powdered Masala, but since getting married into a Muslim family, I’ve had to learn about other spices like freshly ground wet masala. This is a combination of ground garlic, ground ginger and roasted and ground spices.

“I was young when I got married, with no understanding of how to cook, and although cooking is a central foundation in most homes, I had to learn to cook and adapt what I had learned from watching my mom, for my marriage.

“I had to find common ground and this was the Naqiyah way. So, it might not be your chicken curry, or my chicken curry, but now it’s our chicken curry – it’s a place that we choose to meet in the middle.”

The dough section in the book is a very special one, too, as it pays homage to her mom.

“My mum has set the standard for excellence in dough making. From start to finish, she has perfected this craft and it remains the staple food in her kitchen. I was raised sitting on the counter in the kitchen watching her smear rotis with ghee and then flip them, while hot, onto my plate.

“There was always a butter dish nearby. I would lather it onto the roti and to my mom’s dismay, yet pleasing glance, she’d say (every single time), ‘So much butter.’”

Mayat is also the host with the most. “I love creating showstoppers for my guests – making food that people love to eat, but feel intimidated to cook themselves.

“For me, a show-stopper doesn’t necessarily need to be something elaborate – a memorable meal can be created with a few ingredients and minimal prep… I would cook fish curry with roti and rice.

“Cooking fish has a perception of being notoriously temperamental and all-round more complicated than any of the other proteins. I have always held my fish curry as a tool to impress and feel like it’s almost one set up from cooking chicken and meat.

“In order to improve your skills, cook a fish curry as part of your meal plan, at least once a month. If you are pleased with the outcome, chances are that it will please others and it will make you want to cook this again.

“For dessert, I would serve something like a traditional ‘sweetmeat’ I recently recreated as a panna cotta, topped with Turkish candy floss. It was a great way to elevate ordinary flavours.”

The Beginning: Indian Recipes from my Home

is an invitation to join Mayat “at her table”, where love, experimentation and sophistication are the key ingredients.

All the recipes shared are from

The Beginning: Indian Recipes from my Home,

which retails for R450.

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