Sukaina was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan. Her mother is Indian and her father is Pakistani which meant Sukaina witnessed a beautiful fusion of cultures and customs growing up. In 2014, Sukaina left her family home in Pakistan for Sydney, where she married an Australian citizen with Pakistani roots.
Sukaina’s family spoke three languages at home: Hindi, Gujrati and Urdu. She confesses she is not quite fluent in Gujrati as she did not have the chance to live in India, rather, she visited only occasionally with her mother.
Sukaina maintains a strong connection with her family history and her friends back home. A key focus of their communication centres around the two Eids–one Eid marks the end of Ramadan while the other commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim (also known as Abraham) to follow Allah’s command to sacrifice his son.
Food is a huge part of her family’s lives and they enjoy preparing food and eating together as a group. For festivals like Eids, the families come together for prayers to start the day and then prepare feasts to celebrate. Indian diets feature more vegetables and lentils, while Pakistanis tend to eat more meat.
Her all-time favourite meal is a classic Biryani, which is a complex dish to master. The trick, she says, is to strike the right balance of flavours and textures. The dish, which consists of rice with any kind of meat, fresh herbs and saffron is typically featured at all Indian family gatherings. Sukaina has learned the art of making the perfect biryani from her mum but is equally fond of the dish at her local restaurant.
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