Tag: flavours

Sarson Saag -Mustard/Rapini/Broccoli Medley – प॑जाबी शान-सरसो॑ का साग

On By lavinamehraIn 10 minutes or more recipesLeave a comment

SERVES: 4

GLUTEN FREE- LOADED WITH MINERALS AND FIBRE -QUICK TO MAKE

Why this recipe? How is it green and quick? How am I contributing to making this earth green by following this four steps or less recipe?

Using Pressure Cooker will take 10 minutes whereas it will take 15-30 minutes in a regular pan. 

Using frozen chopped spinach, fenugreek leaves, garlic, green chilli and ginger will save 10-12 minutes of your time.

By using this recipe you save: 50% of fuel energy and 15 minutes of your precious time that is about 5 to 8% of the total time you spend in kitchen on an average (assuming you spend a total of 2-3 hours in a day in the kitchen)

COOKING TIME: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 tablespoon oil
1 cinnamon stick (dal chini)
1 star anise (chakraphool)
1 big cardamom (elaichi)
2 bay leaf (tez patta)
1 bunch of mustard (sarson) / rapini leaves (half kilo) or Broccoli florets
10 frozen spinach (palak) pellets (100 grams)
3 frozen fenugreek (methi leaves) pellets (100 grams) or 50 grams of dried fenugreek (methi) leaves
1 large onion – chopped any size
1 large tomato -chopped any size
1 inch frozen crushed green chilli
2 inch frozen garlic or 4 crushed cloves
2 inch frozen ginger or 50 grams freshly grated ginger
1 tea spoon salt
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
2 tablespoons coriander powder
1.5 teaspoons all spice (garam masala)
Butter dollop or butter oil (ghee) for topping (optional).

STEP 1. Put cinnamon stick (dal chini), star anise (chakraphool), big cardamom (eliachi) and bay leaf (tez patta) into heated oil, let them get brown

STEP 2. Add rest of the ingredients except all spice (garam masala) and cook for 2 whistles in cooker or until everything is tender in a pan (about 10-15 minutes).

STEP 3. Remove whole spices and run the hand grinder for 1 to 2 minutes right into the cooker/pan to make it smooth. You can then put the whole spices back in.

Step 4. Add garam masala and let it simmer for 5 minutes until you see that water has evaporated. Add butter or ghee, if desired.

HANDY TIPS:thumb_IMG_0232_1024
As very little oil is used to prepare this recipe, you can add a dollop of butter or butter oil (ghee) when serving.
You can replace the mustard leaves with fresh or frozen broccoli florets or rapini if the mustard leaves are not available. It will give close to the same original sarson saag (Mustard) taste.

Save some bucks-एक सलाह पैसे बचाने वाली

On By lavinamehraIn TipsLeave a comment


The attractive and exotic looking olive oil bottles with flavoured dressing and cooking oils that we are ready to pay big bucks can be prepared at home. When you fill up your olive oil bottle simply add some dry whole spices like a cinnamon stick, bay leaf, whole red chilli, or fresh herbs like rosemary or dill. The oil starts to pick up the flavour of the spices in 3 to 4 days.

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BUTTER CHICKEN-मख्खनी मुर्गा बिन मख्खन के

On By lavinamehraIn 10 minutes or more recipesLeave a comment

–
With ready grilled/sautéed/roasted chicken tikka

SERVES: 3-4

GLUTEN FREE- LOADED WITH PROTEINS -QUICK TO MAKE

Why this recipe? How is it green and quick? How am I contributing to making this earth green by following this four steps or less recipe?

Using Pressure Cooker will take 5-7- minutes whereas it will take 15-20 minutes in a regular pan. Using frozen chopped garlic and ginger will save 5-10 minutes of your time.

By using this recipe you save: 50% of fuel energy and 15-20 minutes of your precious time that is about 8 to 15% of the total time you spend in kitchen on an average (assuming you spend a total of 2-3 hours in a day in the kitchen)

Allows you to be creative.  For vegetarian option, you can choose to add cottage cheese, baby potatoes or veggies to substitute chicken.

COOKING TIME: 15-20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons oil
1 cinnamon stick (small)
1 star anise
2 green cardamom
5 pieces of cloves
5 medium tomatoes (pureed)
1 inch frozen garlic or 2 fresh crushed cloves
2 inch frozen ginger or 25 grams fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
20 cashews or almonds (powdered)
200ml full cream milk
½ kilo grilled boneless chicken/chicken tikka

STEP 1. Put cinnamon stick, star anise, green cardamom, and cloves into heated oil until they get brown

STEP 2. Once spices are brown, add crushed tomato/puree, red chilli, ginger, garlic and sugar and cover the pot. Let it simmer for five minutes, then add powdered nuts with half a glass of water and cover the pressure cooker for 4-5 minutes (or if using a pan for 10-12 minutes).

STEP 3. Remove whole spices and run the hand grinder for 2 minutes right into the pan to make gravy smooth.

STEP 4. Add grilled chicken/chicken tikka (ready made or prepared using Four Steps or Less recipe of जला भुना मस्त मुर्गा (CHICKEN TIKKA) and 1/2 cup of milk to curry as it becomes thick. Let if boil for 5 minutes before you serve. If needed, keep adding milk to get the required density.

Handy Tips:thumb_IMG_0184_1024
1. The quick option is to use already grilled/roasted chicken tikka (or even raw boneless chicken) to add to the butter chicken curry.
2. If using raw chicken, smear cut chicken pieces with meat masala or curry powder, let it rest for 5 minutes and then add to the curry, let it boil for 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

 

 

 

Time is Precious-एक सलाह काम की

On By lavinamehraIn MusingsLeave a comment

Time is precious, value your time. When in the kitchen preparing a meal, use the same time to do other preparatory things for future use while your food is on the stove getting tender. For example, as I mentioned in a previous post, you could peel and grind ginger and garlic to freeze for future use. Or you could prepare a broth or sauté chopped onions for the next day (as I will explain in an upcoming post). This will save cooking time for your next meal and you get some more time each day to spend with your loved ones!

Chop and Freeze-एक सलाह दिल से

On By lavinamehraIn Tips24 Comments


When you have some free time, peel and chop ginger, garlic and green chillies in a chopper and freeze them in a thin layer in separate freezer bags. Once frozen, break the layer with loose hands to pieces of different sizes. You can throw in a piece of the required ingredient as needed for any recipe while cooking.This will cut short the cooking time substantially. Now spend this saved time with your family or doing what you like to do the most.

What is a Pressure Cooker?

On By lavinamehraIn About4 Comments

A pressure cooker is the only saviour of earth! I am not joking.. the rate at which mankind is currently consuming fuel energy, it is only the pressure cooking that can make a significant difference over time on the carbon footprint that our beloved planet is taking on. One of the main elements of green cooking is using pressure cookers. Pressure cookers not only cook food quickly but also retain the vitamins and minerals that are otherwise lost using other cooking methods.

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Pressure cookers have been in use in most parts of Asia, more so in India and Asia for decades now. Trust me, they are safe. You just need to understand how they work. There can however be a little bit of a learning curve if you’re using a pressure cooker for the first time. It’s important to know how to get started safely. If you know how the basic mechanism works it will be easy for you operate it with ease.

There are a wide variety of pressure cookers available in different shapes and sizes. All work on the same principle. When the pressure cooker is heated by the stove, the heat produces steam which cooks food faster by using the effects of pressure combined with heat.

A pressure cooker consists of the main pan, a lid, a rubber gasket that goes on the lid to seal pressure and a steam release system that includes a whistle and a safety valve. The whistle blows when steam reaches its maximum capacity. This is a way to time the cooking as well as a sign that the pressure cooker is working properly. The cooking time for many of my recipes is measured by the number of whistles that blow!

 

Quick Daal Makhani sans butter-बिन मख्खन के दाल माखनी

On By lavinamehraIn 10 minutes or more recipesLeave a comment

SERVES: 4

GLUTEN FREE- LOADED WITH MINERALS AND FIBRE -QUICK TO MAKE

Why this recipe? How is it green and quick? How am I contributing to making this earth green by following this four steps or less recipe?

Using Pressure Cooker will take 30-35 minutes whereas it will take 35-55 minutes in a regular pan. 

Using frozen chopped garlic and ginger will save 5-10 minutes of your time.

By using this recipe you save: 50% of fuel energy and 30 minutes of your precious time that is about 15 to 20% of the total time you spend in kitchen on an average (assuming you spend a total of 2-3 hours in a day in the kitchen)

COOKING TIME: 30-35 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

  • ½ Kg whole black Urad lentil (maa ki daal)
  • 50 grams red kidney beans (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 big cardamom
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 onions (about ½ kg)
  • 1 large tomato chopped any size
  • 1 inch frozen crushed green chilli or 2 fresh chillies
  • 2 inch frozen garlic or 4 crushed cloves
  • 2 inch frozen ginger or 50 grams grated fresh
  • 300-400 ml of water
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons red chilli powder
  • 2 tablespoons coriander powder
  • 1.5 teaspoons garam masala
  • 200 ml to ½ litre of milk (2% or 3% preferable)

PREPARATION:
Soak lentil and beans mixed together in hot water overnight.
Chop onions and tomatoes in small pieces.

STEP 1: Put cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, and bay leaves into heated oil for less than a minute until they get brown.
STEP 2: Once whole spices are brown, add the rest of the ingredients except milk and garam masala. Add enough water for it to stay about 2 inches above the level of dal and cook for 4-5 whistles (10-15 minutes) in a pressure cooker (or until everything is tender if using regular pan).
STEP 3: Let pressure in the cooker release by itself. Once the pressure is gone, add milk and garam masala. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, keep adding milk as dal becomes thick over time.

HANDY TIPS:IMG_0146
1. If you are not using a pressure cooker, it may take 25-30 minutes of low heat setting in a pan with the lid on for the dal to become tender.
2. You may want to garnish it with cut fresh coriander leaves and if you don’t care about making it lean (fat free), feel free to add a tablespoon of fresh cream or butter while serving.

Creativity

On By lavinamehraIn About8 Comments

1. Try replacing conventional ingredients more often with readily available alternatives. Explore spices and ingredients. You do not have to be the best chef to bring in kitchen alchemy (when ingredients blend to create a luscious result more than the sum of its parts), you just have to be bold enough to experiment. Adding one more or one less pinch of a spice can change the taste and flavour of a dish.
2. There is no standard recipe for anything in this world. The cook is the Queen/King of the Kitchen. Be confident and do not hesitate to test out an alternate method of cooking that is simple, quick and green. The final result may be different but trust me it will be good.
3. Try blending sweetness of peas with bland turnips. Experiment once in a while and add red chili powder into banana bread recipe, ginger to plantain chips and serve hot coriander chutney with a dessert.
4. Make the dish look outlandish and exotic with creative presentation when serving it.

Swift Method

On By lavinamehraIn AboutLeave a comment

1. Have all ingredients ready before you put the heat/stove on so that energy and time is saved.
2. Use high heat and low heat alternatively to save energy and some creative methods to get unique flavours like smoked, burnt, sautéed and fried. (I will talk about some of these in the coming days)
3. Throw in almost all ingredients together, believe me it really does not make much of a difference if one ingredient is less sautéed than the other in most recipes.
4. Use hand mixer/blender that works right into the cooking pan without having to cool down food and take it through grinder/processor

Right Tools

On By lavinamehraIn AboutLeave a comment

1. Pressure cooker – it saves 70% energy and the food is more nutritious and flavourful.
2. Hand mixer/blender – one that can be used in a hot boiling pot
3. Non stick heavy base cooking pan
4. Pair of small tongs to remove whole spices and put them back