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.
Cozy Curries & Tea-Time Snacks for Cooler Days
- Tuna Cutlet Recipe (Kerala Style)
- Chicken Hyderabadi Curry Recipe (dum ka murgh)
- Osmania Biscuits Recipe
- Egg Puff Recipe (Kerala Bakery Style Mutta Puffs)
- Butter Murukku Recipe with Rice Flour and Besan
- Keema Biryani Recipe
- Baked Samosa Recipe
- Chai for Two | 2-Cup Indian Tea Recipe (with ratio)
- Chicken Chettinad Curry with Homemade Masala
- Chicken Cutlet Recipe (Kerala Style)
- Afghani Chicken Curry
- Hariyali Chicken | Chicken in Mint Coriander Yoghurt Sauce
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.
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.
- Cherupayar Thoran Recipe (Kerala Green Gram Stir-Fry)
- Unniyappam Recipe with Roasted Rice Flour
- Moru Curry without Coconut (Buttermilk Curry)
- Kerala Mutton Stew with Coconut Milk (Instant Pot)
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.
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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.
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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.