Sohla El-Waylly

“Biryani is a layered rice dish spotted throughout the Middle East and South Asia in countless variations depending on the region.”

“In the 'Test Kitchen', I have a strict knife sharpening process.”

“I never really knew my 12-inch-long tweezer tongs were special until I started getting 50 Instagram DMs a day about them. Dont you all have these? Well, you should.”

“My mother is cursed with making the best biryani in town. I know everyone says that about their mothers cooking, but this is different. When theres anything going down in Californias San Fernando Valley, she gets a call.”

“Working in a restaurant is tough. You're standing in front of hot things, holding sharp things, for hours on end with little pay. But, oh, the seltzer. The one respite from never-ending back pain is a bubbly, bottomless supply of it.”

“Spanakopita is a traditional Greek savory pie wrapped in flaky layers of crisp phyllo and filled with spinach and salty feta.”

“Koshari is a cozy pile of warm carbs - traditionally, cooked rice, lentils, macaroni, and chickpeas, all mixed together - smothered in perky tomato sauce and buried in fried shallots.”

“Ive found my way into a life surrounded by food people, which often leads to intensely passionate conversations about nonsense: deep-dives on devils food cake, monologues on jammy eggs, and proclamations of love addressed to Popeyes fried chicken sandwich.”

“When my husband and I worked as line cooks in LA, we lived in a constant state of broke and tired.”

“Aioli is jazzy, showy, and a downright attention hog next to chill and classic mayo.”

“Regardless of whether you prefer your waffle light golden or dark brown, it should be crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside.”

“A food mill both pures and strains soft items, like boiled potatoes or tomatoes, in one shot. It has a simple construction, consisting of a bowl fitted with a hand crank that rotates a plate, which forces food through a perforated base.”

“Crispy-skinned fish is an elusive thing. As soon as your filet makes contact with a hot pan, it wants to curl up, which leads to uneven cooking and floppy skin.”

“When most people think of raita, they imagine the cucumber-flecked two-ounce cups that tag along in every Indian takeout meal, but, just as with chaat and dosa, the term raita can apply to a wide variety of yogurt-based condiments.”

“My all-time favorite way to use for instant dashi is to simply boil potatoes in it, simmering the water all the way down until Im left with a finger-licking salty dashi crust all around them.”

“When you knead youre not only developing the gluten, but youre also lining up those gluten strands into an orderly structure thats strong and tight.”

“So don't put a lot of pressure on yourself to try and change something that's been a problem for hundreds of years, you know what I mean? Everyone should just do whatever they can, and that might just mean reaching out to one coworker who you think is struggling... We all just have to keep doing these little things every day.”

“Kneading dough is as simple as pushing the dough away from you with the heel of your palm, folding it over itself with your fingers, and pulling it back. This repeated push-pull cross-knits the protein strands, developing a strong gluten net.”

“Unlike food mills, stand mixers, or even the humble potato masher or whisk, the potato ricer breaks down a potato into a smooth and fluffy mash while only rupturing the cells once as they pass through the perforated base.”

“Sunday brunch, or any-morning brunch, is better with warm, golden waffles. Crisp and light and scented with vanilla, waffles are the shape of a perfect breakfast, cupping pools of melted butter and maple for a lavish start to the day.”