TIKTOK TANNIES

These Cape Town sisters have found fame thanks to their delicious meals

- PIETER VAN ZYL

GOLDEN koeksisters glistening with syrup, melt-in-the-mouth milk tart, perfect pies, pizza with a base so thin it crunches like a biscuit... Welcome to the delectable world of Najma "Tietie" Abrahams and Azabah "Nanna" Fanie sisters who have not only perfected the art of home cooking, but love to share their skills too.

And, thanks to TikTok, a cellphone camera held by Tietie's son and a treasure trove of recipes in their heads, their lives have taken a whole new turn.

Tietie (56) and Nanna (53) may be somewhat older than TikTok's usual demographic, but they're clearly delivering the goods: some of their videos have amassed more than a million views and they have more than 90 000 followers on the social media platform.

A cooking show starring the sisters is expected to start airing in the new year and a cookbook is in the works too.

"We cooked ourselves out of a shack to where we are now," Nanna says, chatting to YOU in the open-plan flat in Strand in Cape Town where they live and produce all their videos.

"We almost ended up with all of us living in a one-room place, but here we are now, she adds.

The sisters and Tietie's children, who live together, found themselves in a precarious position when Tietie's marriage of 21 years collapsed and money was scarce.

But their TikTok channel has helped them afford this flat.

"We don't crawl into a corner and give up, Tietie says. "We stand together. We get back up and do things for ourselves."

Today, homemade pizza bases and meat pies are set on the countertop, ready to be popped into the oven.

"We started early this morning" Tietie says. "Loadshedding was until 8 am so we worked with the dough."