Homemade Indian and Middle Eastern recipes plus baking from a small expat kitchen in the UAE. Written for curious cooks who eat well beyond their postcode. You'll find everything from Indian curries and breads to Lebanese casserole and Arabic desserts.
Trending Recipes
These are my tried, tested and loved-by-you recipes. It makes me super happy when you share your feedback.
- Egg Puff Recipe (Kerala Bakery Style Mutta Puffs)
- Afghani Chicken Curry
- Chai for Two | 2-Cup Indian Tea Recipe (with ratio)
- Baked Samosa Recipe
- Cream Kunafa
- Date Energy Balls without oats
- Osmania Biscuits Recipe
- Galettes Bretonnes | French Butter Biscuits
- Kafta bil Sanieh
- Cherupayar Curry with Coconut
- Hariyali Chicken | Chicken in Mint Coriander Yoghurt Sauce
- Chicken Chettinad Curry with Homemade Masala
Browse by Cuisine
Festive Baking & Cookies
Butter biscuits, tea-time cookies and a cake or two for the holiday table. Written for a regular home oven.
Diwali Sweets & Snacks
Crunchy snacks, creamy puddings and festive sweets for Diwali and Navratri, made from my kitchen to yours.
Winter Comfort
Warm bowls, slow-simmered curries and winter tonics for the cooler months.
Middle Eastern Recipes
From Palestinian ka'ak to Lebanese sweets and Gulf street food, these are the recipes your Arab neighbours are making at home, written so you can make them too. Expect bold spices, scaled down, and flavours that taste exactly like you remember them.
- Halloumi Cheese Sambousek Recipe
- Maamoul with Dates Recipe
- Lahsa Recipe | Yemeni Spiced Eggs with Creamy Cheese
- Chicken Fatteh Recipe with Rice
South Indian Recipes
Kerala curries, Malabar breads, Tamil rice dishes...these are the recipes I grew up eating.
- Unniyappam Recipe with Roasted Rice Flour
- Moru Curry without Coconut (Buttermilk Curry)
- Kerala Mutton Stew with Coconut Milk (Instant Pot)
- One-Pot Chicken Donne Biryani Recipe
About Famidha Ashraf
I'm Famidha, a chai lover, an Indian in the UAE, a Hooman of two cats, a Malabari who loves Tamil food and the cook cum writer behind But First Chai. He is Mr F, my husband, who gets to taste whatever I cook. Couch dinners, favourite shows, and our cats for company, that's our kind of evening.
Dessert Recipes
Who is not sweet-toothed? Discover desserts for both small and large occasions that will satisfy your sweet cravings.
Whether you're baking for Eid, making something eggless or looking for a Middle Eastern sweet to bring to a potluck - this is where to start. No complicated equipment, no hard-to-find ingredients.
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trending recipe!
Quicker, easier, and made with spiced minced meat cooked in a tomato, yoghurt, fried onion, and herb mixture, then layered with saffron-infused basmati rice. A dish that's festive enough to impress yet simple enough to satisfy a weeknight craving.
Keema Biryani
Sweet Bread Bakes
Some popular sweet quick-bread recipes are not just banana bread.
See more quick bread and muffin recipes
Latest Recipes
Christmas bake!
★★★★★
Kerala Plum Cake
An alcohol-free Kerala Christmas cake with orange-soaked dried fruits, deep homemade caramel and warm spices. Soak the fruit overnight, bake it the next day, and it tastes even better on day two.