I cooked rice for my family for the first time when I was six years old.
It didn't go perfectly. But my mother stood beside me, showed me what to listen for, and told me that learning to cook is learning to take care of people. I've never forgotten that. It's the reason this blog exists.
My name is Hina. I'm a Pakistani home cook, recipe developer, and food blogger based in Dubai, UAE. I'm the person behind every recipe, photo, and video on Hinz Cooking — a site I started in 2018 that has grown into a collection of 350+ tested recipes trusted by home cooks across the world.
Where I Come From
I grew up in Karachi — one of the great food cities of the world, though it rarely gets the credit it deserves.
My father's family is from Lucknow, which means I grew up with the influence of two distinct culinary traditions in one household: the slow-cooked, aromatic Mughal-influenced food of Lucknow, and the bold, coastal, street-food culture of Karachi. My mother and father both loved to cook. So did my brothers. Food was never just fuel in our house — it was how we spent time together.
When I moved to Dubai, I discovered a third food world. Living in the UAE put me inside Gulf cuisine in a way you can't get from a cookbook — eating Mandi at family gatherings, learning what makes Dakkous taste different from house to house, understanding why Kabsa and Mandi feel like the same dish to an outsider but are completely different in technique to someone who grew up eating both.
My son's favorite meal is Chicken Mandi. My husband's is Shish Tawook. Mine is biryani with raita.
That's the household these recipes come from.
What I Do
By education I hold a Master's degree in Computer Science. By profession I run Dillenium — a digital marketing and communication company. By passion, I cook, test recipes, shoot videos, and write Hinz Cooking.
I am the recipe developer, food photographer, videographer, and writer behind this site. I do not outsource recipes. Every dish on this blog has been made in my own kitchen in Dubai, tested until it works consistently, photographed, and written up with enough detail that someone making it for the first time can succeed.
My technical background shapes how I approach recipes. I think in systems, not just steps. When a recipe fails, I want to know why — the water ratio, the oil temperature, the order of ingredients. That's why the posts on this site explain the reasons behind the steps, not just the steps themselves.
My Cooking Philosophy
Three principles guide every recipe I publish:
Minimal spices, maximum flavor. I grew up watching my mother build complex flavors from a small number of well-chosen spices. I've never believed that more spices means better food. The goal is always balance — the right spice, in the right amount, at the right moment.
Whatever is in your kitchen is enough. I don't write recipes that require specialty tools or hard-to-find ingredients. The food on this site is made from what a real Pakistani or Middle Eastern household in any city in the world already has. If a substitution works, I'll tell you.
Tested means tested. I don't publish a recipe after making it once. If a dish has a step that commonly goes wrong — sealing the foil on a Mandi, getting the garlic right in Dakkous, the water ratio on basmati rice — I test that failure point specifically and write about it so you don't have to discover it yourself.
What You'll Find on Hinz Cooking
Pakistani recipes — the food I grew up with. Authentic karahi, kabab, biryanis, naan, chaat & dahi baray, and the kind of dishes that take all day to eat at a family gathering. These are the recipes I know most deeply.
Middle Eastern & Gulf cuisine — the food I've lived inside in Dubai. Chicken Mandi, Chicken Kabsa, Maqluba, Dakkous sauce, Shish Tawook, Baba Ganoush, Falafel. These recipes come from years of eating this food in people's homes, not just in restaurants.
Easy weeknight dinners — the food I actually cook on a Tuesday. Quick, practical, family-tested meals that don't require an afternoon in the kitchen.
Sauces, spice blends, and condiments — the foundations. Honey garlic sauce, mayo salad dressing, Baharat spice mix, Dakkous. Learn these and everything else gets easier.
Cooking techniques — the complete guide to 17 cooking methods that explains every technique used across these recipes, from braising and steaming to frying and oven baking.
Credentials & Recognition
- Video recipes on YouTube with step-by-step guides for every major recipe
- 350+ original tested recipes published since 2018
- Recipe developer, food photographer, and videographer
- Specialist in Pakistani cuisine and Arabic Gulf cooking
- Based in Dubai — direct access to Middle Eastern food culture
- Master's degree in Computer Science
- Founder, Dillenium Digital
FAQ'S
Hina is a Pakistani home cook, recipe developer, and food blogger based in Dubai, UAE. She is the founder of Hinz Cooking — a recipe site specializing in authentic Pakistani cuisine, Arabic Gulf cooking, and easy family dinners. With over 350 tested recipes published since 2018, Hinz Cooking has grown into a trusted resource for home cooks across Pakistan, the Middle East, the UK, the US, and beyond.
Every recipe on Hinz Cooking is developed and tested in Hina's home kitchen in Dubai. No recipe is published after a single attempt — each one goes through multiple rounds of testing until it works consistently for a home cook without specialist equipment or hard-to-find ingredients. Where a step is commonly misunderstood or easy to get wrong, the recipe explains why, not just what.
Hinz Cooking specializes in three areas: authentic Pakistani recipes rooted in Hina's upbringing in Karachi with Lucknow family heritage; Arabic Gulf cooking including Chicken Mandi, Chicken Kabsa, Maqluba, and Dakkous sauce developed through years of living in Dubai; and easy weeknight family dinners that work on any budget in any kitchen. A complete guide to cooking techniques used across all these recipes can be found in the 17 Cooking Methods guide.
The best way to reach Hina is to leave a comment on any recipe post — every comment is read and replied to personally. For recipe suggestions, collaborations, or business enquiries, use the contact form or reach out via Instagram or YouTube. Recipe suggestions from readers are always welcome and some have made it onto the blog.