About

Hello & Welcome

Thank you for stopping by!

I'm Nelo Samad, the person behind this recipe site. I create and test recipes, shoot and photograph them, and write all the content. Yep, I wear all those hats. And this isn’t my first rodeo with food blogging, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

The Backdrop

I was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan’s megacity that boasts a vibrant and thriving food scene. It’s a melting pot of international food trends and has a knack for adapting them to the local palate.

Dining out is the most common form of social activity there and so food was a large part of my life growing up.

In my twenties, my husband’s job took us to Dubai where I discovered a whole new world of flavors. I tried 'real' Chinese food for the first time, which was nothing like the shashlik, beef chili, or manchurian I had known.

Some of the new-to-me cuisines, and the authentic versions of the familiar ones, tasted too different. But as time went on, that uniqueness grew on me.

This next chapter of my life deepened my love for food cultures and sparked some serious passion for cooking. My husband and I had a ton of fun experimenting with and trying daring, unique flavors.

My First Recipe Blog

Then in my thirties, we moved to Calgary (Canada), a city we now call home.

I’ve really come to love Calgary for a lot of reasons. For one, it’s got easy access to the beautiful Rockies, and it’s not one of those concrete jungle cities. Don’t get me wrong, I don't mind tall buildings, but I like the low-rise skyline so much more.

That said, the one thing that’s been a bit of a (small) bummer here, is the lack of the crazy variety of cuisines and restaurants we had access to in Dubai. So, ever since our move, we've been cooking a lot more at home, to get our fix of all those food options we miss.

This change also inspired me to have my own little corner of the internet, where I could share recipes from my kitchen and connect with other foodies. And that's how my first blog, Next in Lime came to life. It's been the perfect space for me to get creative with food.

This Second Blog

For my first blog, I've always focused on creating and sharing recipes that could resonate with a global audience, and it feels surreal to have tens of thousands of visitors there each month from all over the world.

But my everyday cooking repertoire also includes a lot of desi food, and I frequently get asked by friends and family for those recipes too. So, I thought, why not have a separate, dedicated space for it, and that’s exactly what this second blog, Cooking With Nelo, is all about.

The recipes you'll find here are the ones I’ve made over and over and am truly super proud of. While I strive to keep things simple, I do not compromise on flavor.

If I think a recipe calls for an uncommon or a less frequently used ingredient, I won’t swap it out. Your meal will still be much cheaper than takeout. And if I add an ingredient like that, you can be sure it truly makes a difference.

Useful Spice Facts

• We desis like our food bright and packed with strong flavors. So if you're new to South Asian cuisines, feel free to adjust the amount of spicy additions (like red chili powder, Kashmiri chili powder, green chilies, etc.) to suit your taste.
• When you scale up the recipe for a bigger crowd, spicy seasonings can sometimes increase the heat of a dish disproportionately. I usually increase such ingredients by half for each additional portion. For example, if I'm doubling a recipe, instead of increasing 1 teaspoon of red chili powder to 2 teaspoons, I just use 1.5 teaspoons.
• Spices, whether fresh or dried, can vary significantly in their level of heat, even if they’re the same type. A while ago, I cooked a daal recipe that I’d made several times before, but this time it turned out far spicier than usual. I couldn’t understand what went wrong until I realized two days later that I had switched the brand of my red chili powder, and this one had me scrambling for antacids.
• The brands and potency of your spices may differ from mine and may need to be adjusted to suit your taste.

I’d Love to Hear from You!

I try my best to share important tips and shortcuts for each of my recipes and bring you my 15+ years of cooking experience. That said, if you ever have any specific questions, feel free to email me at contact[at]cookingwithnelo[dot]com.

Let's get cooking!