Looking for a great traditional recipe? What makes a great meal according to Manchester blogger - 'The Pakistani Foodie'.

With millions of users worldwide, Instagram is bombarded with sumptuous food pictures.

Maryam Majid has been running her food blog @thepakistanifoodie on Instagram for two years after being inspired by her mother’s “effortless cooking.”

Maryam shares how her nostalgic memories became the foundation of her blog.

“I was forever uploading my cooking pictures on my personal social media platforms when one day I thought why not make a page dedicated to food? The rest as they say is history.

“I have had a passion for food since I was very little. I remember sitting on my mum’s worktop and watching her cook and always being so mesmerised.

“As a child I remember my dad tearing chapatti into little pieces and mixing it up in the curry and I used to eat it with a fork. To this day it still comforts me as much as it did back then.”

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A self-confessed food aficionado, Maryam has created her own brand of hot chocolate. Describing herself as a “huge chocaholic,” Maryam began experimenting with the hot drink until she mastered what she deems to be the perfect recipe. 

Maryam also shares Pakistani food recipes on her Instagram page which are an amalgamation of her mother’s recipes and some of her own.

“I remember experimenting at a young age and making my brother test out my weird concoctions.

“By the age of 11 I was cooking proper meals.

“Food has always played a huge part in my life for as long as I can remember.

“A lot of the Pakistani dishes on my page are inspired and cooked using my mum’s methods that I use to this very day.

“I have created my own recipes too, based on what my own family now enjoy eating.
“I think we are so very lucky to have such a huge variety of foods with so many different flavours that we don’t appreciate Pakistani cuisine as much as we should.

“To this day, when I watch cookery channels, Pakistani food is rarely mentioned, which is a huge shame as we have so much to offer.

“We definitely need more recognition.”

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From savoury food to mouth-watering desserts, Maryam also has an avid sweet tooth. Her posts include desserts that she makes, varying from a school dinner type pudding to luxurious cakes.

“Desserts are my guilty pleasure and the reason I’ll never be a size 10! 

“The Naked Berry Cake is my favourite because it symbolises for me exactly how food should be, rustic, down to earth and simple but when you look at it, it makes you say wow! 

“You can make the most amazing tasting dish with the simplest and delicious of ingredients.” 

Maryam shares her thoughts and reviews of a variety of fast food places, restaurants and dessert venues, allowing her cravings to take her where they choose. Although she enjoys eating out, she says maintaining a healthy regime is very important to her.

“As much as I enjoy exploring new restaurants, I do make all my meals from scratch at home.

“I rarely use processed frozen foods or ready-made spices. I always buy the best ingredients my wallet allows me to as I truly believe that you are what you eat.

“As a busy mum and now with running my own business, it’s not that easy to cook as much as I used to, but I try and balance everything as well as I can.”