November 2012 – Saaleha.com

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ShootCake (Photography Work)
Food & Crafts (IceCreamEveryday.co.za)
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New York (pre-Sandy)

My thoughts on this city of cities lay latent on the pages of my notebook...

saaleha_b

My first attempt at Karachi Halwa resulted in some

My first attempt at Karachi Halwa resulted in something more akin to a kind of glassy al-dente turkish delight. Perhaps it was because I’d taken the recipe and method off of a 30 second TikTok video or that I’d substituted coconut oil for ghee. Still, it was edible and somewhat pleasing (a bit cocunutty, and would probably be great enrobed in chocolate) but I was not happy. I was after the sticky, chewy halwa my mum used to buy from Shalimar Delights in Fordsburg.
While the Tiktok I’d seen made it seem like you could go from slurry to sweetmeat in a couple of stirs, a video by @swaras_sweet_delights on YouTube showed in great detail just how much arm action was required to deliver on pure chewy, stretchy nostalgia.
Click the link in my bio to for Swara's how-to.

I did not divert from Swara’s recipe except to use two teaspoons of lemon juice in place of the citric acid, add more cardamom and use ground butterfly pea flower to get this deep purple colour (without the acid element, this halwa would have been deep blue). I did have some arrowroot powder on hand but had to top up with cornflour to make the full quantity required. I remember buying the arrowroot from either Dischem or a health store a while back. You could probably just use cornflour. As for the butterfly pea flower, I bought some in Vietnam and stored the packets in the freezer. It’s becoming more popular as an ingredient, and there are more foodie stores stocking it these days.

#dslr #foodphotography #foodstyling #sweatmeats #eidmubarak #karachihalwa

A free Eid printable for all you last-minute-layla

A free Eid printable for all you last-minute-laylas. Visit www.icecreameveryday.co.za or click the link in bio to access.

#freeeidprintables #eidprintables #icecreameveryday #terrazzolove

Haven't shoot with the #helios40_2 in ages. It's

Haven't shoot with the #helios40_2 in ages. It's so soft when wide open, it really isn't ideal for food photography but for that ineffable dreamy quality it produces. Had my order of burfee and almond rocha (pictured here) from @afzal_jozi dropped off today. It's meant for Eid but I don't see it lasting that long.

#smallbusiness #dslr #foodphotography #foodstyling #almondrocha #zenit #zenitlens #manualfocus #russianlens

Accepting a challenge from @mohammedadam "An image

Accepting a challenge from @mohammedadam "An image from your life untitled"

#dslr #drinksphotography #workinglockdown #blackandwhite #stilllife

I know it's not going to be the same but it's goin

I know it's not going to be the same but it's going to be ok.

#looktothelight #ramadaanmubarak

This is a bit of an homage to @thebiteshot and her

This is a bit of an homage to @thebiteshot and her generous spirit. If you've watched any one of her photography tutorials, you know exactly what I mean. Joanie recently shared a recipe for fudgy chocolate cookies. I couldn't wait for a working oven to try them and so I reduced her recipe by a third and made these in an airfryer, baking two at a time. These cakey-cookie hybrid beauties kept every crumb of their chocolatey promise. And if you want to be extra, nuke the cookie for a few seconds and serve with custard.

#dslr #foodphotography #foodstyling #cookies #thebiteshot #airfryerrecipes #cookienowplease

I was never a fan of eating ribs;it always felt li

I was never a fan of eating ribs;it always felt like way too much masticatory effort for so little meat pay-off. And then I had slow-cooked fall-off-the-bone ribs from @azrajab when she still ran @yugofoodbar
It was a revelation.
I've tried to replicate those flavours with these spicy honey soy lamb ribs. My oven packed up just before the last step of cooking these but there was enough residual heat left to finish them off. Say a little prayer for its resuscitation, I haven't even baked Banana bread yet!
Click the link in my bio for the recipe.

#dslr #foodphotography #foodstyling #naturallight #stickyribs #lockdowneats

I may have unwittingly started a photo series. Her

I may have unwittingly started a photo series. Here's how to make aloo tiki puri patta; get your mother-in-law to prepare the puri, patta and fry strips of samoosa pur. Pop a couple of ready-made aloo tikis into the airfryer. Stack components to assemble. Drizzle with a chutney (I had a green one from @mealmates_achaar on hand) and mint.

#dslr #foodphotography #foodstyling #lockdowneats #indiansnacks #carbsarelife #alootiki

I did not stockpile spinach I swear. The last lot

I did not stockpile spinach I swear. The last lot of leaves found deliverance in this moist and moreish spinach lagan. I used @naqiyah_mayat 's recipe for methi lagan as a base. Find it in her debut cookbook "The Beginning: Indian Recipes From My Home"

#dslr #foodphotography #foodstyling #spinachlagan #bhajicake #nmthebeginning

It's can't-dry-your-washing-so just-eat-bhajia wea

It's can't-dry-your-washing-so just-eat-bhajia weather in Johannesburg. Click the link in my bio to get to this recipe for crunchy spinach pakoras.

#dslr #foodphotography #foodstyling #spinachpakora #snacks #vegetarianrecipes

The shape of the world right now. #dslr #fruitstu

The shape of the world right now.

#dslr #fruitstudies #backlighting #lockdown

Mindscapes. 23.02.20 Cape Recife, Port Elizabeth

Mindscapes.
23.02.20
Cape Recife, Port Elizabeth

#dslr #precovid19
#prelockdown #portelizabeth #easterncape #caperecife #lighthouses

Though I am keen on more writing and some image-ma

Though I am keen on more writing and some image-making, I'm not doing too many prompts/challenges during the #21daylockdown except for this one from @sawomenphotographers and a writing one from @frayintermedia

My goals during this time are to stay safe and sane, keep the people around me safe, work through my backlog, do something useful with my privilege and be as productive as I can without putting undue pressure on myself.
#dslr #silhouette #21daychallenge #glassphotography

I often get asked, "How does @naqiyah_mayat do all

I often get asked, "How does @naqiyah_mayat do all the things she does?" My stock response is that while all of us are sleeping on our dreams, she wakes up early. Talent and a keen creative mind only shine when you put in the hours. And in her own words, this was "twelve years in the making." Swipe the gallery for more from the launch of Naqiyah's first recipe book and the beginning of a culinary phenomenon.

#nmthebeginning #naqiyahmayat #dslr

Lunch today were these @darlingolives olive jam, c

Lunch today were these @darlingolives olive jam, cottage cheese and coriander sandwiches on a really pillowy health bread by @sajisbakes (I airfried the negatives with a bit of garlic-flavoured avo oil for crunchy snackables)
Yes, my flavour combinations sound questionable but this is a savoury-sweet mashup that works for me. Don't skip the coriander.

#dslr #foodphotography #foodstyling #lunchtime #carbsarelife #eatwhatishoot

I was at my computer editing, sipping on this mang

I was at my computer editing, sipping on this mango and coconut fizzy from @fehmzmocktails when I experienced a kind of sensory disconnect. While the views from my window were blurred by rain, I had Maui in my mouth.
I can't tell you what this take-me-back-to-the-beach flavour is called because it hasn't been named yet. And that's where you come in.

Get lucky with the newly-added 13th flavour to the @fehmzmocktails range.

Try the new flavour this weekend at the @halaalgoodsmarket and from stockists after March 3rd. Name the drink and win a Fehmz Mocktail hamper worth R2500.
The competition is open to residents anywhere in SA where the prize can be couriered and closes on 15th March 2020.

Enter the competition by going to the @fehmzmocktails Instagram page and leaving your suggestion under their post about the new flavour. Mention me @saaleha_b in your comment and if you win, I get a hamper too!

#fehmzmocktails #namethemocktail #winwithFehmz #dslr #drinksphotography #studioanywhere

My dedicated photo space is about a week and a bit

My dedicated photo space is about a week and a bit from being ready. Until then these roasted chickpeas seasoned and tossed with flaxseed, pomegranate balsamic vinegar, cherry tomatoes and basil from @fatima.mayat 's garden had to be shot on our study floor. Lit with two modified @lumecube lights.

#dslr #LitByLume #foodphotography #foodstyling #moodyfood #artificiallight #ledlighting #chickpeasalad

So adorbs right? #dslr #mommyandme #addoelephantn

So adorbs right?

#dslr #mommyandme
#addoelephantnationalpark #easterncape #ishootwithorms #liveforthestory #latergram #elephantsofinstagram

Who's a pretty birdie? The Knysna Loerie. #dslr

Who's a pretty birdie?
The Knysna Loerie.

#dslr #ornithology #birdwatching #turaco #knysnaloerie #ishootwithorms #liveforthestory #gardenroute

If you like your dose of nature accessible with de

If you like your dose of nature accessible with decked walkways and no gradient, pop into the Garden of Eden between Plett and Knysna for a short forest stroll. You can hear a bit of the N2 traffic in some parts but it's still a nice bit of green to wander through.

#dslr #gardenroute #gardenofeden #sanparks #cobweb #spiderweb #forestwalk #ishootwithorms #liveforthestory #canonrsa

Footage of a leaf suspended on a strand of cobweb.

Footage of a leaf suspended on a strand of cobweb. It's B-roll stuff but I like the mildly hypnotic quality of the movement (Maybe this is the year I learn how to shoot and edit video properly.) #visualasmr #nosound #video #tsitsikamma #gardenroute #forestwalk #broll

Jumping on the hindsight is 20/20 bus. This is the

Jumping on the hindsight is 20/20 bus. This is the year I realised my coping mechanisms include retreat and non-communicativeness. Not great when your profession is service-oriented. But I will be better. Shot these images in Saint Petersburg and Kazan a few months ago. Here's to looking up more in 2020.

#dslr #documentaryphotography #za2ru #russia #ishootwithorms #happy2020 #saintpetersburg #kazan #baumanstreet #russianmetro #russianunderground

Art and art. #dslr #bridalphotography #weddingpho

Art and art.

#dslr #bridalphotography #weddingphotography #mendhioutfit #portraiture #highkey #bridalportraits #shootcakephotography #abstractportrait #womeninartsa #womeninartsapeople

At lunch yesterday was this lush and moreish gaaja

At lunch yesterday was this lush and moreish gaajar halwa made by Sadaf Malik (call/WhatsApp orders on 0834533610).
She's based in Joburg South.
I'm looking forward to setting up a dedicated photography space in the new year. My current situations are ad hoc setups around the house that have to be packed up each time I shoot.

#swipeformore #dslr #foodphotography
#foodstyling #homebusiness #shootcakephotography #gajarkahalwa #pakistanicuisine

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