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roya's culinary journey

food creative

September 23, 2016

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Hey Friends,

I'm Roya. A food creative with a passion for cooking, photographing and styling food for a delicious living Read More…

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Throwback to 2 years ago... a weekend sharing what

Throwback to 2 years ago... a weekend sharing what I love... Food. Family. Photography.

It's been a while as I SLOWLY dip my toes back in socials, as Instagram is trying to lure me back in by turning my old stories into reels 😆 I see what you're doing IG, nice hand holding.

Just don't hold your breath. I miss you guys, my life has been a whirlwind and most challenging yet, but in what I believe is monumental for my growth. I'll share when can. 😊🎈. Much love, Roya.

Hey lovely friends! Popping on here to say a very

Hey lovely friends! Popping on here to say a very quick hello… you’ve all been missed, I haven’t given up on instagram (yet) 😅 but need this break during my transition to another country!
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I’ve been in Riyadh and trying to discover as much as possible without overwhelming myself. A big part of it feels familiar and reminds me of life growing up in Dubai. There’s so much going on, the city and business is booming, and compound residential life is another story! LOL.
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I wish I could say that I picked up where I left off, but in reality, trying to get acclimated to anything new throws me off a bit.
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Instead, I’ve been working towards my health and fitness goals, working on personal projects, and meeting some wonderful people in the community. I need to take the time to observe what’s around me in order to feed my creative spark and energy.
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I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving Potlucks, Pumpkin-Spice everything, and I’ll be back to share my adventures with you before you know it.
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Sending much love,
Roya
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#thanksgiving #pumpkinspice #pumpkinseason #foodphotoshoot #foodiegram #eatpretty #foodphotographyandstyling #foodphotographer #foodphotography #foodstylist #darkfoodphoto #moodygrams #foodfluffer #foodartblog #hautecuisines #wherewomencreate #stilllifefoodphotography #riyadhfoodphotographer #riyadhfood #riyadhfoodblogger #foodartblog #ihavethisthingfordarkness #still_life_mood #darkfoodphotography #foodartblogger #visualstorytelling #moodygrams #beautifulcuisines #pinkladysnapsnov21 @foodartblog @beautifulcuisines @hautescuisines @pinkladyappleuk @foodphotoaward

NEW ADVENTURES... Hey friends. I hope you've all

NEW ADVENTURES...

Hey friends. I hope you've all been doing well. I wanted to pop in here for a minute to wish many of you a happy Eid and I hope you're enjoying some summer breaks.
🌻🌻🌻
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It's been about 2 months since I've been socialising on social media, and I've missed a lot of you! Truth be told my life lately has been focused on preparations for our move soon, as we embark on a new adventure to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia! 🇸🇦
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Not gonna lie, but personally for me its been a bit of an adjustment emotionally. The pandemic certainly caused a shift in our plans to move to Portland, Oregon, but we're trusting the cosmos and will make the most of this "detour" 🙏.
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Dubai will always be my home away from home. I grew up here since the 80's and I know I'll be back from time to time. Lots of wonderful friendships and bonds have been formed, and I met the love of my life here ❤.
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My priorities at the moment have shifted to organising and packing as we try to sell most of our furniture, and then rent out our beautiful home.

As most of you have seen over the past 3 years, a lot of love and nurturing went into building a space we really loved... My renovated kitchen hosted wonderful gatherings and even turned into food videoshoots for client work. I also did some of my best work in my studio room and worked towards my food and creative business goals. Boris and I will certainly miss taking you along our green thumb experiments in the garden.
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Not gonna say goodbye, I suck at that, but leaving you with one grand of a Persia rice dish which I hope to make again once I'm all settled in.

Sending you guys much love.
I'll see you soon
Roya xoxo
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#persiancuisine #persianfood #iranianfood #foodgawker #wherewomencreate #still_life_gallery #stilllifefoodphotography #onourcreativetable #foodartblog #feedyoursoul #foodblogfeed #creativityfound #foodphotographyandstyling #makeitdelicious #ihavethisthingfordarkness #darkfoodphotography #stilllifefoodphotography #feedfeed #foodartblogger #visualstorytelling #moodygrams #still_life_mood #bonappetit #beautifulcuisines #hautescuisines @foodartblog @beautifulcuisines @hautescuisines @feedfeed

. . "Surround yourself with people who allow you t

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"Surround yourself with people who allow you to blossom" - elizabeth mcrorie.
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Sending these beautiful peonies that I picked from my Aunts garden last year, to all you warm, kind, and wonderful people that have been such a positive influence, support, and cheerleaders in my life. Thank you for being here from the get go.
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And to all my friends and family celebrating, I hope you have a happy and safe Eid Mubarak.
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#ramadanvibes #eidmubarak #momentslikethese #lifeandthyme #still_life_gallery #darkphotography #slowfloralstyle #selfportrait #ihavethisthingfordarkness #ihavethisthingwithflowers #stilllifephotography #visualstorytelling #mygarden #instagarden #flowermagic #mybloominglens #flowerstagram #theartofslowliving @still_life_mood @still_life_gallery_

. And that my friends, wraps up the Adas Polo sequ

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And that my friends, wraps up the Adas Polo sequence. I’ve included recipe cards in this post for you guys to save and refer back to anytime. Previous post has the IGTV recipe video as well.
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Dedicating this dish to my Amma Fakhriya that introduced me to it last year, when I was in the US during lockdowns.
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To be honest, I really miss the cooking escapades with my family. Most times it feels very lonely doing this solo, and not being able to enjoy the laughter and banter in the kitchen, and then feasting with my brothers and cousins.
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Looking back I realise that we did quite a few "Polo's" actually, meaning that rice is steam cooked in a pot between layers of either vegetables, legumes, herbs, or meat. Which got me wondering...

Do you guys have a favourite kind of Polo rice dish, or do you prefer plain rice with sauces and stews on the side?
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Sharing this series to some lovely food photography challenges this month.
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#5daysofstorytelling @evakosmasflores @bealubas
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@vaimomatskuu #texthursdays
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#onourcreativetable #ooctsavoury @onourcreativetable @haniyeh.nikoo @bakingmydays @violaminerva @panyaskitchen @lionelandhetta @story_on_a_plate_ @berryhunting
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"SAVORY" by @useyournoodles @thelittleplantation @elisa_ceramics #useyourcreativenoodles

#adaspolo #persianfood #persiancuisine #middleeasternfood #feedyoursoul

Here we go… Adas Polo! (عدس پلو)
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The Persian Rice and Lentils recipe you’ve been hearting on my last post, thank you so much.

If you love that combination of sweet and savoury, this dish is for you. It’s perfect on its own as a hearty and filling vegetarian dish with yoghurt and a shirazi salad on the side. Otherwise, serve with oven-roasted chicken or lamb shanks.
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Be warned… it smells like the holidays… thanks to floral and citrus notes coming from orange peel, rose petals, cinnamon, and saffron just to name a few. And that's a marvelous thing.
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Much love,
Roya xoxo
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#adaspolo #persianrice #persianfood #persiancuisine #middleeasternfood #feedyoursoul #visualstorytelling #beautifulcuisines #mydubai #dubaifoodie #ramadan2021 #bayaraworld @bayaraworld #ramadanrecipes #foodgawker #saveurmag @saveurmag @bonappetitmag #bonappetitmag #feedfeed @thefeedfeed.recipevideos #dubaifoodphotography #dubaifoodblogger #damnthatsdelish #arabicfood #makeitdelicious #stilllifefoodphotography #foodartblog #foodblogfeed #foodfluffer #foodphotographyandstyling #foodvideos #recipevideos

Persian Rice and Lentils recipe... also known as A

Persian Rice and Lentils recipe... also known as Adas Polo, is happening right around the corner as I finalise edits on my next IGTV video.
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Thought I'd entice you in the meantime and hope you can just smell the aromas of this dish from here. If not... let's imagine for a moment a savoury-sweet love affair of the senses, with a big pot of rice, lentils, butter, saffron, black currants, dates, orange peel, rose petals, cumin, turmeric, walnuts, and crispy fried onions in the air.
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Oh, It's exotic. Stay tuned.
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#adaspolo #persianfood #persiancuisine #middleeasternfood #feedyoursoul #foodblogfeed @foodblogfeed #creativityfound #foodphotographyandstyling #foodartblogger #visualstorytelling #beautifulcuisines @foodartblog #foodartblog @beautifulcuisines @hautescuisines @cuisine_creations #cuisine_creations #bayaraworld @bayaraworld #ihavethisthingwithcolor #ramadanrecipes #foodgawker #stilllifefoodphotography #dubaifoodphotography #dubaifoodblogger @pinkladyappleuk @foodphotoaward #pinkladysnapsmay21
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@creativelysquared #cs_texture2021
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@vaimomatskuu #texthursdays
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#onourcreativetable #ooctfindyourlight "sidelight" @onourcreativetable @haniyeh.nikoo @bakingmydays @violaminerva @panyaskitchen @lionelandhetta @story_on_a_plate_ @berryhunting

I've fallen in love with the flavours, colours, an

I've fallen in love with the flavours, colours, and aromas of this trio of rose buds, cardamom, and pistachio... especially when I tend to go towards the darker side in my imagery.
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I had a few of you innocently ask me if the recipes, pictures, and videos on my feed were all done by me. And that's a big fat yes! A one woman show until I can hire someone to help take the pain away 😅. But for all other client projects, I tag my teammates and mention them in my caption.

So thanking you all for the love, messages, shares, and saves of my pistachio mahalabia cake. For someone who bakes once in a blue moon, it truly means so much. Speaking of baking, this amazing matte-finish green plate is made by my good friend @peaceofbake... a food photographers dream.
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Now switching back to some savoury recipes this week, I've got a Persian dish coming up tomorrow, and a wonderful authentic Moroccan Lamb tagine very very soon!
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Stay tuned!!!
Roya xoxo
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#aprilisforarabfood #persianfood #persiancuisine #arabicfood #middleeasternfood #feedyoursoul #foodblogfeed @foodblogfeed #creativityfound #foodphotographyandstyling #foodartblogger #visualstorytelling #beautifulcuisines @foodartblog #foodartblog @beautifulcuisines @hautescuisines @cuisine_creations #cuisine_creations #bayaraworld @bayaraworld #ihavethisthingwithcolor #ramadanrecipes #foodgawker #stilllifefoodphotography #dubaifoodphotography #dubaifoodblogger @pinkladyappleuk @foodphotoaward #pinkladysnapsapr21@cblbackdrops #cblbackdrops
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@creativelysquared #cs_texture2021
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@vaimomatskuu #texthursdays
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#onourcreativetable #ooctfindyourlight "backlight" @onourcreativetable @haniyeh.nikoo @bakingmydays @violaminerva @panyaskitchen @lionelandhetta @story_on_a_plate_ @berryhunting

The Pistachio Mahalabia Cake recipe you've all bee

The Pistachio Mahalabia Cake recipe you've all been waiting for, as over 80 of you saved it! Thank you so much. I hope you try it and love it as much as we did! 🥰

I also hope you guys enjoy the video... these take me all day to create! 😅 the recipe cards can be found in my last post and in the video as well.

Much love,
Roya
Xoxo
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#aprilisforarabfood @sweetpillarfood @tavolashop #pistachiocake #bayara @bayaraworld #pistachio #instacake #cakedesign #prettycake #ihavethisthingwithcolor #cakestagram #damnthatsdelish #cakesofig #ramadanrecipes #arabicfood #middleeasternfood #feedfeed #foodgawker #makeitdelicious #stilllifefoodphotography #dubaifoodphotography #dubaifoodblogger #foodartblog #feedyoursoul #foodblogfeed #foodfluffer #cuisine_creations #foodphotographyandstyling #beautifulcuisines #hautescuisines @bonapetit @saveur @foodartblog @beautifulcuisine @hautescuisines @thefeedfeed @cuisine_creations @thefeedfeed.baking @chicagometallic

. Pistachio Mahalabia Cake… Inspired by some of

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Pistachio Mahalabia Cake… Inspired by some of my favourite desserts and flavors this Ramadan, and turning it into this pretty spring-themed cake.
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With a decadent yet tender crumb, this cake is packed with pistachios and kissed with floral notes of cardamom and orange blossom water. Then, once baked and cooled, it gets topped with a thick milk custard (mahalabia) with a hint of rose water, adorned with seasonal fruit, edible rose petals and a dusting of pistachio kernels before being chilled in the fridge to set.
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It’s one of those cakes that you want to share with your family, or gift to your friends at your next suhoor gathering. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee to end (or start!) the evening with.
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If you LOVE the look of this cake, you can get the cake pan from @tavolashop. It’s known as the “MaryAnn” pan that has this raised base to fill with all sorts of whipped creams, frostings, or ganache.
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And while this cake is all sorts of pretty, the idea I had for this cake took me lots of research, 3 various attempts, one being disastrous, and then reaching out for advice from my bestie baker friend @peaceofbake to get it to the stage of quantity and form perfection.tried, tested, tasted, and shared with family until it was approved!

Swipe for the recipe card. Will post video on stories soon! I hope you will try it and love it.

Wishing you well and happy baking my friends.

Roya xoxo
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#aprilisforarabfood @sweetpillarfood #pistachiocake #bayara @bayaraworld #pistachio #instacake #cakedesign #prettycake #ihavethisthingwithcolor #cakestagram #damnthatsdelish #cakesofig #ramadanrecipes #arabicfood #middleeasternfood #feedfeed #foodgawker #makeitdelicious #stilllifefoodphotography #dubaifoodphotography #dubaifoodblogger #foodartblog #feedyoursoul #foodblogfeed #foodfluffer #cuisine_creations #foodphotographyandstyling #beautifulcuisines @foodartblog @beautifulcuisine @hautescuisines @thefeedfeed @cuisine_creations @thefeedfeed.baking @chicagometallic @cblbackdrops #cblbackdrops
@creativelysquared #cs_composition
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Adapted from Sabine Venier @alsothecrumbsplease

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