If a sweet aroma wafts through the air while passing through Edayappuram near Aluva, then undoubtedly little big chef Mohammed Nihal is at work. Nihal at the tender age of three and a half years started to mix dough along with his mother Nisha and aunt Beebu to make pathiri (a pancake made of rice flour) and porotta (a flatbread made of maida or wheat flour) and soon he mastered the art of cooking an assortment of eatables.
'Menu Bakers', the YouTube channel of 5-year-old Nihal, has close to 15,000 followers. After realizing that his son had a great passion for cooking, Nihal’s father Tahir, an IT professional, posted a 5-minute video on social media showcasing the young boy’s culinary skills. A YouTube channel was launched after the initial video garnered meaningful views.
Nihal’s favourite dish is diplomatic pazhampori (fritters), which is fried banana stuffed with beef. His kind of fritters was named diplomatic pazhampori as a few months ago gold smuggling through diplomatic channel was hogging the headlines.
The encouragement from seasoned chefs and other YouTubers is a doing of world of good for Nihal, who is a class I student of St. Francis School in Aluva. Many top-notch hotel groups had invited the 5-year-old to introduce his unique dishes and he had also acted in an ad film. Nihal’s elder sister Nitha Fathima assists him in his gastronomic journey.
