Britain’s most sought after make up artist Lubna Rafiq shares her passion for cooking with Asian Lite
What type of food do you like to cook?
Healthy, fruity and non-greasy foods. I love cooking grilled fish; fruit chat and yoghurt based side dishes.
What do you enjoy about cooking?
I enjoy the satisfaction that my family and friends get from eating food that I have prepared – even the preparation process is quite therapeutic.
How do you decide on what you’ll be cooking up?
It’s a family choice – taking into consideration what my daughter and husband will enjoy, together with what I can find in the kitchen that day.
Where do you shop and how do you decide what to buy?
I shop at my local Asda, it has all of the halal selection of poultry as well as the spices and ingredients I need for an Asian household. I also make a shopping list, which includes a variety of fruits, salads and all things healthy, well as healthy as we can.
Have you find cooking during Ramadan challenging?
No, I never find cooking challenging, least of all during Ramadan when I get a sudden boost of energy, knowing the reward I will get for feeding those who have been fasting, Insha’Allah.
So what had you been cooking for Sehri/Iftar during Ramadan?
For Sehri, the most important meal of the Ramadan day, it has been a full meal. Like homemade healthy paratha filled with potato, radish or other healthy fillings. For Iftar, it’s been light and healthy too, after a long day fast – grilled fish and meats were usually our treat.
Have you got any make-up advice for girls this Eid?
We’re looking to have a sunny, hot Eid al-Fitr this year, so it’s a good idea to keep it minimal, fresh with summer bold colours.
What recipe idea will you share with us?
Let’s keep it simple – a healthy filling paratha:
LUBNA’S RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:
Brown flour
Cooking potatoes
2 garlic cloves
2 green chili
Ginger
Salt
Coriander
Haldi (turmeric)
1 tbsp of olive oil
Ghee (clarified butter)
METHOD:
1. Boil the potatoes and then add a pinch of salt and hint of haldi power and spoon olive oil.
2. Grind all the whole onion, garlic cloves, green chili and a hint of ginger.
3. Fry the onions and the ground stuff, add some water and a bit of coriander to make your masala. Avoid curry powders!
4. Sieve the potatoes and add them to the masala – then cook under a low heat for 10 minutes.
5. Prepare your dough as you would for a normal paratha, and then create and top and bottom layer, and fill lightly with your filling.
6. Cook on a flat pan as normal and at the last minute at a hint of low fat ghee on both sides.
7. A lovely yoghurt raita is the perfect companion to this paratha.
