I used to feel cooking was a burden.
I honestly hated the kitchen.
But after i moved out of my house. I feel the easiest dish (filling dish) to make is daal rice.
Just dump everything is a 1/1.5ltr cooker. And 3 whistles. You are good to go
Cleaning.
A clean workspace makes cooking easier, fun and it feels good to be organised. I make sure to put away anything that is no longer required and only take things out close to adding them (or on need basis)
Baigan ka bharta for me. I used to have an idea that it was a pretty fancy dish and quite difficult to make but contrary to my expectations it was very easy and low cost recipe.
1) Have the required tools/vessels, period. We often try to "manage" with whatever we have but it becomes frustrating to wash and plan on how to re-use those.
2) Wash the vessels immediately after cooking, it's much easier to do small tasks and the kitchen counter will also be relatively neat.
3) One pot recipe ftw
4) Plan your next day's meal and buy groceries the previous day.
5) Making tea for one at home is too much work, better have it in the nearby shop.
PS: Will add as I remember
I have bought a bunch of these seasonings from Amazon (they're just fancy spices) and my daily evening snacks consist of mixing/matching the above with different seasonings. It is so filling, plus healthy. Also, when the weather is cool (as it is in Bangalore these days), a steaming serving of masala oats is just a delight!
Edit: Also, it's so easy to make it that a monkey could do it. Just add all the ingredients into a pan with water, forget it, return in 2-3 mins and voila!
The seasonings are fine but you're right about the Maggi masala. I was even concerned about the amount of added sugars in it but I guess it's okay if you're only using like 1/1.5 sachet a day.
boiled egg, mash it, cheese of any kind, thodu sa butter, oregano halka sa, black pepper, mix together, put in bread, put in sandwich maker, best sandwich ever
Pre-planning and prepping meals for the day. I soak pulses the night before to make my salads. Keep batters ready a day prior and chop by veggies for dishes a day prior. The next day, I don't have that hassle of cleaning or planning too much.
1) A pinch of salt in a kadhai of oil while deep frying poori's will make them oil-free
2) Get the onion cutter with string, it's very cost effective and will increase your speed of cooking drastically!
3) If you are running out of time and have to cook chole/ rajma.. just grind onion, ginger, garlic and coriander leaves, fry it till it starts to leave the oil then add tomato puree.. then the regular masalas and everything
4) Few drops of lemon in any curry while cooking enhances the taste
5) Cover your hair while cooking so the onion- garlic pungent smells won't follow you all day. If hands smell like onion, rub your hands with coconut oil and wash.
Okay, this tip probably won't transform your cooking, but it does help me avoid food waste as someone living alone who doesn't cook similar things every day. Most ingredients can be frozen! Spring onion were the bane of my existence because they were so useful (use the white part instead of onion and the green part as a herb/garnish!) but they went bad sooo quickly. Now I just chop them up and freeze the green and white part in separate dabbas. Herbs like coriander, dill, mint etc. also freeze well. I think freezing them in fat would probably retain maximum flavour, but I usually get lazy and compensate by adding lots and lots of them. BigBasket peeled garlic is also great, if you're also a garlic fiend but hate the time-consuming and messy process of peeling it. I freeze that too, since it goes bad much quicker than whole bulbs of garlic.
Also not a real hack, but garlic + a hint of spice + dried herb seasoning, evening those Dominos' packets will do + a creamy base (mayo, yoghurt etc.) is a great sauce for pretty much everything. I love it inside sandwiches, with fried eggs (poor man's cilbir!), potato wedges, inside a roti/paratha, with some kind of filling, on spicy rice dishes, simple seasoned grilled chicken and much more.
I'll share another "trick" that I called "Rail Museum Maggi" (if you know, you know).
When you're making Maggi, instead of bringing the water to a boil, removing the noodles from the packet, breaking up the cakes, adding masala, etc., do this to simplify:
With the packet still closed, crush the noodles inside. Don't turn it into a fine powder but just enough so that the noodles are roughly as long as your fingertips. Now, open the packet at the top. Cut the masala packet and add the masala into the dry, partially crushed noodles inside the packet. Hold the mouth of the packet close with your fingers and give it a good shake, as if you were shaking that peri peri masala into a pack of McDonalds fries.
Take a pan, put water in it, add butter/ghee if you like and dump the contents of the packet into the pan. Give it a brief stir (the water may have warmed/cool, doesn't matter). Cover the pan with another plate, light the stove and forget it.
Return in 3-4 minutes for awesome Maggi.
Choley.
I always found them pretty hard to make but they are simple yet amazing. i add khadey masale and tea in a small pouch to give it that rang..also baking soda at times, very little makes it nice and fluffy.. and poori saath mein oyehoye
Mix all vegetables like peppers, onions, tomatoes, grind it in the chopper and you can make so many recipes with this mix. I love it. Can make wraps, tikkis if we add potatoes, stuffed parathas, fried rice, pav bhaji, tawa burger and the list goes on. I love this mix, my mum taught me this trick when I started living alone and boy has it helped!
boiled lai leaves , tomato, chillies , cut ginger and some pealed but not cut or crushed garlic, salt to taste and very little turmeric. Yummm best soup ever !!
peel and cut potato in half, add it in rice, and cook it just usually, you get boiled potatoes. Now the magic. Add ghee/mustard oil, with chilli flakes/green chilli/boiled green chilli. Any of picks among those two, delivers different taste everytime. Mush the potato, add the oil, add chilli then a bit of salt. Mix it with hand and enjoy. Simple and tasty, but not so nutritious.
Put bread in mushy rice to fix it. Put potatoes in salty curry to fix it.
Ohhh bread? Like just one piece straight in?
I used to feel cooking was a burden. I honestly hated the kitchen. But after i moved out of my house. I feel the easiest dish (filling dish) to make is daal rice. Just dump everything is a 1/1.5ltr cooker. And 3 whistles. You are good to go
real, discovered how easy it was to make dal recently as well
Roasting each and every spice individually with good amount of time before adding the next masala. This helps get the masala flavor right
Cleaning. A clean workspace makes cooking easier, fun and it feels good to be organised. I make sure to put away anything that is no longer required and only take things out close to adding them (or on need basis)
Baigan ka bharta for me. I used to have an idea that it was a pretty fancy dish and quite difficult to make but contrary to my expectations it was very easy and low cost recipe.
1) Have the required tools/vessels, period. We often try to "manage" with whatever we have but it becomes frustrating to wash and plan on how to re-use those. 2) Wash the vessels immediately after cooking, it's much easier to do small tasks and the kitchen counter will also be relatively neat. 3) One pot recipe ftw 4) Plan your next day's meal and buy groceries the previous day. 5) Making tea for one at home is too much work, better have it in the nearby shop. PS: Will add as I remember
Thanks How do u plan on 4? Do u cut everything prev ni8?
Would recommend against it. Some veggies taste better when cut fresh. Especially salads
No, I don't cut em. Just keep it ready so that it's easier to not think in the morning on what to do.
Half onion (not cut), butter and a can of tomatoes, 20 min on low heat ... and ... voila ... a great pasta sauce.
Wait, onion not cut? So do you blend the sauce after taking it off the heat?
No blending. The onion will become mushy. It's a lazy cook sauce but has an awesome flavour.
Rolled oats + Maggi masala + garlic (and/or Onion) flakes = healthy heaven.
Exactly i used to make this and i lose a lot of weight too! so yummy, tastes even better with loads of veggies!
I have bought a bunch of these seasonings from Amazon (they're just fancy spices) and my daily evening snacks consist of mixing/matching the above with different seasonings. It is so filling, plus healthy. Also, when the weather is cool (as it is in Bangalore these days), a steaming serving of masala oats is just a delight! Edit: Also, it's so easy to make it that a monkey could do it. Just add all the ingredients into a pan with water, forget it, return in 2-3 mins and voila!
Seasonings and Maggi masalas have high Sodium so beware.
The seasonings are fine but you're right about the Maggi masala. I was even concerned about the amount of added sugars in it but I guess it's okay if you're only using like 1/1.5 sachet a day.
high 5 from a fellow bangalorean and masala oats eater 🙏
High five! :)
boiled egg, mash it, cheese of any kind, thodu sa butter, oregano halka sa, black pepper, mix together, put in bread, put in sandwich maker, best sandwich ever
Pre-planning and prepping meals for the day. I soak pulses the night before to make my salads. Keep batters ready a day prior and chop by veggies for dishes a day prior. The next day, I don't have that hassle of cleaning or planning too much.
Pre-planning the meals >>>>
1) A pinch of salt in a kadhai of oil while deep frying poori's will make them oil-free 2) Get the onion cutter with string, it's very cost effective and will increase your speed of cooking drastically! 3) If you are running out of time and have to cook chole/ rajma.. just grind onion, ginger, garlic and coriander leaves, fry it till it starts to leave the oil then add tomato puree.. then the regular masalas and everything 4) Few drops of lemon in any curry while cooking enhances the taste 5) Cover your hair while cooking so the onion- garlic pungent smells won't follow you all day. If hands smell like onion, rub your hands with coconut oil and wash.
Boiled eggs
Maggi maggi maggi...
Okay, this tip probably won't transform your cooking, but it does help me avoid food waste as someone living alone who doesn't cook similar things every day. Most ingredients can be frozen! Spring onion were the bane of my existence because they were so useful (use the white part instead of onion and the green part as a herb/garnish!) but they went bad sooo quickly. Now I just chop them up and freeze the green and white part in separate dabbas. Herbs like coriander, dill, mint etc. also freeze well. I think freezing them in fat would probably retain maximum flavour, but I usually get lazy and compensate by adding lots and lots of them. BigBasket peeled garlic is also great, if you're also a garlic fiend but hate the time-consuming and messy process of peeling it. I freeze that too, since it goes bad much quicker than whole bulbs of garlic. Also not a real hack, but garlic + a hint of spice + dried herb seasoning, evening those Dominos' packets will do + a creamy base (mayo, yoghurt etc.) is a great sauce for pretty much everything. I love it inside sandwiches, with fried eggs (poor man's cilbir!), potato wedges, inside a roti/paratha, with some kind of filling, on spicy rice dishes, simple seasoned grilled chicken and much more.
I'll share another "trick" that I called "Rail Museum Maggi" (if you know, you know). When you're making Maggi, instead of bringing the water to a boil, removing the noodles from the packet, breaking up the cakes, adding masala, etc., do this to simplify: With the packet still closed, crush the noodles inside. Don't turn it into a fine powder but just enough so that the noodles are roughly as long as your fingertips. Now, open the packet at the top. Cut the masala packet and add the masala into the dry, partially crushed noodles inside the packet. Hold the mouth of the packet close with your fingers and give it a good shake, as if you were shaking that peri peri masala into a pack of McDonalds fries. Take a pan, put water in it, add butter/ghee if you like and dump the contents of the packet into the pan. Give it a brief stir (the water may have warmed/cool, doesn't matter). Cover the pan with another plate, light the stove and forget it. Return in 3-4 minutes for awesome Maggi.
Choley. I always found them pretty hard to make but they are simple yet amazing. i add khadey masale and tea in a small pouch to give it that rang..also baking soda at times, very little makes it nice and fluffy.. and poori saath mein oyehoye
Microwave garlic to peel them easily.
Lemon makes everything better in baking
Mix all vegetables like peppers, onions, tomatoes, grind it in the chopper and you can make so many recipes with this mix. I love it. Can make wraps, tikkis if we add potatoes, stuffed parathas, fried rice, pav bhaji, tawa burger and the list goes on. I love this mix, my mum taught me this trick when I started living alone and boy has it helped!
boiled lai leaves , tomato, chillies , cut ginger and some pealed but not cut or crushed garlic, salt to taste and very little turmeric. Yummm best soup ever !!
peel and cut potato in half, add it in rice, and cook it just usually, you get boiled potatoes. Now the magic. Add ghee/mustard oil, with chilli flakes/green chilli/boiled green chilli. Any of picks among those two, delivers different taste everytime. Mush the potato, add the oil, add chilli then a bit of salt. Mix it with hand and enjoy. Simple and tasty, but not so nutritious.
Prawns with coconut and with haldi and jeera powder. Best..
Has to be anda bhurji or bread omelette!
Flick and toss. And if u crank up the flame to high, while cooking Chinese, the pan/wok catches fire. Chef!