Some tender veggies like cauliflower breaks away in the cooking pan as soon as it softens . To get the right colour and texture of the finished recipe for such ingredients, cook at highest heat level for first 5-10 minutes. Make sure to keep turning the ingredients occasionally so that some pieces get brown even though not tender or cooked fully. After you get the right colour and burnt flavour, alternate the heat to low to let the ingredients get tender and fully cooked. You may want to add a few drops of water when putting the heat at low to help tendering process and finish up the recipe.
Tag: quick
Save Time for the Next Time-एक सलाह वक़्त बचाने वाली
Here is a tip to get the quick cooking going and to save time on the days you are really pressed for it and yet want to make something nice and elaborate. Most sumptuous indian curries and dishes require sautéed onion and this is what takes time. So, be smart and keep some chopped sautéed onions in your refrigerator. The day you are making a recipe with onions, plan on peeling and chopping some extra onions to save them for the next time. You can also do this on a weekend or at a time when you are anyway in the kitchen cooking something else and have your hands free in between to peel the onions and drop them in a chopper. Sauté all onions together for your current recipe as well as for the next one. Save sautéed onion in small freezer bags/containers for the next time for quick use. This has been a trick that has saved me time on many occasions. For some my upcoming recipes I will be using ready sautéed onions from my fridge. It’s all about saving time, the most precious thing..efficient use of time in the kitchen this time around will save some time for the next time you are in the kitchen.
Sarson Saag -Mustard/Rapini/Broccoli Medley – प॑जाबी शान-सरसो॑ का साग
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:
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.
BUTTER CHICKEN-मख्खनी मुर्गा बिन मख्खन के
–
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:
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.
What is a Pressure Cooker?
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.
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!
Four Steps or Less 