Faizel Patel – 26/11/2020

(Twitter: @FaizelPatel143)

From engineer to master chef?  Radio Islam sound producer Ebrahim Sha wowed staff with memon akni with many paying compliments to his cooking skills.

Sha, who learnt to make akni about a month ago, says rice is a favourite in his home and he wanted to try his hand at making the dish.

The word akni is derived from the Arabic term yakhni, which means stew.

It is a mixed rice dish with its origins among the Muslims of the Sylhet region and is often considered to be a particular variation of biryani or pulao; hence, the terms akni biryani and akni pulao are also common.

Speaking to Sister Ammarah during the Household Express Show on Radio Islam on Thursday, Sha says his side career as a chef began with making pancakes and he moved on from there.

“We had a cooking challenge at Radio Islam. So I was sitting one day and I went on to the Radio Islam website and I was scrolling through. Rice is a favourite dish in our house, every week we must have rice. So I tried out the memon akni and as we speak I am cooking now.”

Sha in his usual jovial style challenged another senior Radio Islam member to also cook a dish for the staff.

“I challenge Ml (Sulaimaan) Ravat to memon akni because he is the one that made me make it today. I challenge him today also.”

Sha has encouraged other Radio staffers and listeners, especially the males to try their hand at cooking including visiting the Radio Islam website which has a plethora of delicious and easy to make recipes, everything from aloo paratha, to butter chicken, chips, pies, subs and even akni and biryani, not forgetting the sweet dishes like sojee among others.

Listen to the interview with Ebrahim Sha