Like peanut butter and jam, mac and cheese, burgers and fries … Azraa and Waven Harper are just better together.
After almost a decade of marriage, high school sweethearts and total food nerds Azraa and Waven Harper took their relationship to a whole new level. They entered a reality culinary show for home cooks.
With food being their love language from the get-go, it wasn’t too hard for the duo to put their hearts and personalities on a plate to impress their competition. Waven enjoys cooking basic meals, his wife loves giving them a delicious twist, and this delicate balance is exactly what got them through to My Kitchen Rules SA’s season finale.
The pair say they cook with their hearts and only measure and weigh ingredients when they’re baking, preferring to feel and taste as they go along because they feel they know what good food should taste like.
Becoming parents of two beautiful boys fresh after school, Azraa and Waven quickly learnt the importance of support, communication and determination. Needless to say, these qualities came in very handy throughout the show. Not only did MKR bring them closer together, but it made them realise that they simply cannot live without one another.
Azraa, an avid baker, digital content creator and owner of Occasionally Online, and Waven, personal trainer by day and home cook by night, have foodie dreams … they’d like to open an artisan bakery and café where they will make and sell fresh quality baked goods, host special occasions and teach other people how to bake, decorate cakes and cook.
Fave part about cooking?
Azraa: The fact that it’s therapeutic. I love creating things and I do that through food.
Waven: The eating part, haha.
Cooking or baking?
Azraa: Baking is more fun. It’s what I do for a living and I absolutely love it.
Waven: Baking is hard for me and I don’t like to measure. I enjoy cooking because you can make anything with your own twist.
Your cooking style?
Azraa: I cook with my heart and my intuition. I’ve been cooking since I was 12, so I’ve had a lot of practice. I really like trying new dishes.
Waven: I just keep it traditional. Most of the times, I stick to the basics and what I’m comfortable with.
Who’s got the most annoying habits when it comes to cooking?
Azraa: Definitely me. Let’s just say it looks like the kitchen exploded when I’m done cooking.
Waven: Yes, I agree. Definitely Azraa. And I have to clean up after her because I don’t like a messy kitchen.
What is your go-to midweek meal?
Azraa: A traditional flavour-packed chicken curry and rice.
Waven: Grilled chicken breasts, broccoli and rice.
If you could cook with anyone, who would it be?
Azraa: Yolanda Gamp – a self-taught baker and cake designer from Canada. I’d really like to bake with her.
Waven: David Higgs! After meeting him and interacting with him, I found that he is such a genuine person with so much knowledge.
Kitchen tools you can’t go without?
Azraa: Definitely my Kenwood mixers.
Waven: A good set of knives.
Your signature dish?
Definitely our coconut prawn curry. We always get asked by family and friends to make it for them. It’s also the dish we’re most known for on MKR SA.
Top 3 cooking tips?
• Keep tasting as you cook.
• There’s no right or wrong when it comes to cooking, as long as it tastes good.
• Always cook with love.
Seven tips for getting kids to eat healthier:
We all want our little ones to follow a nutritious diet. But, being the parents of two busy boys, Azraa and Waven know it’s easier said than done. They share a few of their expert tips on how to get kids to eat (even just a little bit more) healthy.
Disguise the veggies – Incorporate the veggies in meals such as stews and spicy rice.
Don’t make a big deal out of it – Try to normalise veggies by incorporating it in every meal.
Give kids a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at food – Kids are more likely to give healthy food a taste if they’re already interested and exposed to it. If possible, take them to a farm or local farmer’s market to pique their interest.
Offer choices – The choice between apple slices and celery with peanut butter may not seem like much, but it gives kids the autonomy they crave, while still keeping you in control of nutrition.
Snack smarter – Keep snack portion sizes for children small. Additionally, you’ll want to try to avoid ruining their appetite for dinner by providing snacks too close to dinner.
Include your kids while cooking – Kids are more likely to give a new food a try if they have had a hand in making it.
Lead by example – Children are hugely influenced by their environment and so a parent’s choice in nutrition is especially important.
Three nutricious lunchbox combinations:
Lunchbox 1: Whole wheat bread with ham, cheese and cucumber, apple slices, peanuts, yoghurt and bottled water.
Lunchbox 2: Air-fried chicken nuggets with mayo dipping sauce, cheese triangles, biltong, sliced strawberries and bottled water.
Lunchbox 3: Whole wheat bread with peanut butter and strawberry jam, mini blueberry muffins, one banana, popcorn and bottled water.
Azraa and Waven’s famous coconut prawn curry
If you’re a fan of spicy of seafood, you’ll definitely want to try Azraa and Waven’s signature dish. It’s absolutely to die for! Serves 5
You’ll need:
1kg deveined prawns (with shell on); 2 tablespoons Kashmiri curry powder; 1 tablespoon turmeric; 1 tablespoon garam masala; 2 teaspoons cumin seeds; 2 cardamom pods; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1 bunch coriander; 2 cans coconut cream; 1 cup butter; 15 jam tomatoes; 1 large onion; 5 cloves garlic (minced); 2 teaspoons grated ginger; 2 green chillies; 3 teaspoons sugar; 1 – 2 teaspoons salt; 3 tablespoons oil
To make:
Finely chop the onions and grate or blend the tomatoes.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Add onions and braise them.
Add cumin seeds, cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks. Braise with the onions until golden brown.
Add all dry spices, garlic and ginger and braise until spices are cooked.
Add grated or blended tomatoes and sugar, and cook until it turns into a tomato gravy.
Roughly chop coriander and chillies and add them to the tomato gravy. Let the mixture simmer.
Remove prawn heads and set aside.
In a separate pot, add butter and prawn heads and fry until prawn heads turn pink.
Add in the coconut cream to infuse the prawn flavour. Once prawn heads have turned pink, strain the coconut cream mixer and set aside, remove prawn shells and discard.
Add the coconut cream mixture back to the separate pot and add the prawns. Cook in the coconut cream just until prawns turn pink and curl up.
Remove from heat and add the coconut prawn mixture into the tomato curry.
Cook for a further 5-10minutes and serve with rice or roti. Enjoy!
Details: Follow Occasionally Online on Facebook and occasionallyonline_sa on Insta.
Text: ALANICKA LOTRIET. • Photographer: CATHY PINNOCK, NICOLA JANSEN VAN VUUREN.
