Kitchen with Amna: The awe-inspiring story of Pakistan’s most popular female YouTuber

From being a shy and timid girl who always found herself getting lost in the pleasure of creating exotic cuisines from all around the world, Amna reached the pedestal of becoming Pakistan’s most popular YouTuber with over 1.7 million subscribers.

The queen of Pakistan’s YouTube scene started out with humble beginnings mingled with constant fears of the outside world and a sense of uncertainty and apprehension hovering over her own capabilities.

In conversation with The News International, Amna brought forward her story of reaching online fame and becoming a momentous voice echoing around in kitchens across Pakistan as well as over the world.

Narrating her journey, Amna revealed: “Before, I used to consider myself weak. I always used to be nervous and worried because of what people might be thinking about me.”

Amna’s sister Ayesha, who is also part of the champ’s team, chimed in saying: “Our father used to say that you guys cannot do jobs. But in the face of hardships we wanted to stand up on our feet so that and we would not need to resort to asking anyone for anything.”

Amna, who holds the title of becoming the first Pakistani woman to receive YouTube’s coveted Golden Play Button, went on to share that the first video she made was jokingly, in 2015 during Ramadan. “We were making fruit chaat and I decided to make a video and my brother agreed with me.”

Revealing further about how she started off, she said, “Amna in 2015 was very innocent and immature who knew absolutely nothing and was very shy and hesitant in interacting with people openly. But now I am a completely changed person and for this transition, the credit goes to YouTube and my brother.”

“Even today people see me and chuckle saying ‘look at how you were before and look at you now’. They admire the fact that we started from the very bottom and reached the top and this makes me very happy,” she adds.

The kitchen icon’s brother Bilal who also stands as an integral pillar in leading the YouTube channel to the summit handling the technical filming and editing divisions of putting together episodes, came forth shedding light on the limitations that the trio of siblings encounter during the process: “Sometimes, the onion burns, sometimes we’re filming and a sabziwala in the background starts chanting, so when stuff like this happens we have to keep trying again and again to get the perfect shot.”

“And by the end, Amna’s tone changes and viewers ask why is her tone so angry in the video,” he adds with a snicker.

Having indulged herself in the art of cooking since the mere age of 12, Amna today stands as a guiding light and mentor for all, instilling in them not just a zest for the skill but also teaching them to give it their all in whatever they do.

The culinary empress also shines as a glimmer of hope for those women stranded by society’s restrictive mindsets by setting themselves free and proving that even if women belong in the kitchen, no force can stop them from soaring through the skies.