We are all too busy to relax, too busy to work out, too busy to eat healthy and too busy to cook. There is too much to do and too little time. All this is affecting our health. I do love to eat out, a lot!! But, I also cook at home on all weekdays. Indians traditionally cook at least 15 - 20 meals a week at home. And I am no exception. Indian food seems elaborate to most, so what are the short cuts that one can take to put a home cooked meal on the table almost every day?
I have a few tricks that I have followed when I lived in the US. Now that I have moved back to India, things are easier. I have a maid who can do all the prep work for me and all I have to do it prepare the meal and take the credit. But I still have some memories from my good old days. If my tips can help even a few people cook healthy meals for their family, then it is all well worth the effort.
1. Buy gadgets. A good quality food processor will go a long way. It will cut down the prep-time into half and make everything look professional. Do the chopping slicing for two batches at one time and store them in dated, ziplock pouches in the fridge.
2. Use the ice cube trays as much as possible. Now what would you use it for?? I sauté a large batch of a mixture of onions, garlic and tomatoes, and store them in individual compartments of the trays. Once they are frozen remove them from the trays and store it in plastic bags. Whenever you need some, all you have to do is, pop as many cubes as you need, into your meat or vegetable preparation or crockpot.
3. A home made spice blends are always nice and taste fresh. But then, you need variety from time to time. So, I use the home made spice as well as the ready-to-use spices available in supermarkets. There is a lot of variety in the indian brands as well as other cuisines. Some Indian ones are: Chole masala(used for Chick peas), Pav bhaji Masala (for mixed veggies), there are many different kids of Garam Masalas (to add a spoonful in the end as seasoning), Tandoori Masala for chicken or fish (mix it with yogurt and ginger garlic paste). There is a recipe on every box.
4. Fresh fish always tastes good even simply with some salt, pepper and olive oil, and takes only minutes to cook. For chicken, marinate it in the morning before you leave for work and throw it on the grill or pan in the evening. Pair it with a blend of sautéd frozen veggies and you have a meal ready.
5. When you cook pasta, cook a little extra which can be thrown into a wholesome soup. Take your frozen sautéd onions and tomato, salt, a can of crushed tomatoes, mixed veggies, some cooked beans, your leftover pasta, leftover chicken or meat. There you have it. And no matter what you are cooking always taste for seasoning. If this does not taste right, by all means add some tomato ketchup. How about freezing some leftovers of this too.
6. My favourite cooking pot is a pressure cooker. It builds the pressure inside and increases the boiling temperature. This helps in cooking the food much faster. It takes 1/3 the time to cook food in it as compared to other cooking methods. Make sure there is water added to the pressure cooker before cooking anything. Beans and meats cook in half the time. I even cook my veggies in it. But for veggies, switch off the heat before the pressure builds up completely.
7. That crockpot you received as a wedding gift; it is time to put it to use. The frozen onion, tomato, garlic paste will be right at home here. Add 3/4 cubes of that to meat, a blend of vegetables and some seasonings. Set it in the morning before you leave for work, and you have a piping hot one pot meal waiting for you when you get back from work. There are loads of crockpot recipes available online.
I hope you can use these tips to cook a healthy, hearty meal everyday of the week. Please share your tips with me.
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