How to cook a quick meal

Give me a good chopping board and a good knife and I will chop quintals of vegetables in a matter of minutes.

Many friends have asked me how I go about the daily routine of making food and I will explain it keeping the basic North Indian meal as an example.

      First things first…I believe in having good tools for any job and I would fain do with sharpest knives  and a convenient chopping board.

Infact I have recently bought a new set of knives and a real handy chopping board.

So I have my vegetables all washed and scrubbed and the tools in order on the work top .

I place the pot on the gas with the required amount of oil and while the oil or butter or ghee is becoming warm, I quickly peel and chop the onions.

    I add them to the pot and while they are turning pink or golden brown or dark brown as the recipe requires , I keep stirring in between and chop the vegetables.

     On the other stove I place a smaller pan for the “dal ka tadka”.

I chop the onions and tomatoes and keep them aside and begin the tadka as well.

         Simultaneously  the onions for the sabzee are done and then  I put the masalas followed by the  vegetables and cover .

       I have the vegetables and the tadka cooking and while that’s happening I have to be around  to stir and toss in between so I knead the dough , arrange the washed utencils , wash the pulses/ dal in the pressure cooker itself , just wipe off the  working top, wipe the masala containers which tend to get messy etc etc.The dal tadka gets done soon,  and then  I place the pressure cooker on the stove.

       So  you see that in the span of 30- 45 minutes I have made one complete meal and tidied up my kitchen as well.The rotis are best served hot so either they are prepared while the family is on the dining table, to serve them hot hot or sometimes prepared in advance and kept in a hotpot or casserole.

     Thats the easiest  and quickest I could make it seem and trust me its a lot more intersting and easier than that.

   Happy simple cooking!!!

articles· cooking aids

 How to cook a quick meal

Give me a good chopping board and a good knife and I will chop quintals of vegetables in a matter of minutes.

Many friends have asked me how I go about the daily routine of making food and I will explain it keeping the basic North Indian meal as an example.

      First things first…I believe in having good tools for any job and I would fain do with sharpest knives  and a convenient chopping board.

Infact I have recently bought a new set of knives and a real handy chopping board.

So I have my vegetables all washed and scrubbed and the tools in order on the work top .

I place the pot on the gas with the required amount of oil and while the oil or butter or ghee is becoming warm, I quickly peel and chop the onions.

    I add them to the pot and while they are turning pink or golden brown or dark brown as the recipe requires , I keep stirring in between and chop the vegetables.

     On the other stove I place a smaller pan for the “dal ka tadka”.

I chop the onions and tomatoes and keep them aside and begin the tadka as well.

         Simultaneously  the onions for the sabzee are done and then  I put the masalas followed by the  vegetables and cover .

       I have the vegetables and the tadka cooking and while that’s happening I have to be around  to stir and toss in between so I knead the dough , arrange the washed utencils , wash the pulses/ dal in the pressure cooker itself , just wipe off the  working top, wipe the masala containers which tend to get messy etc etc.The dal tadka gets done soon,  and then  I place the pressure cooker on the stove.

       So  you see that in the span of 30- 45 minutes I have made one complete meal and tidied up my kitchen as well.The rotis are best served hot so either they are prepared while the family is on the dining table, to serve them hot hot or sometimes prepared in advance and kept in a hotpot or casserole.

     Thats the easiest  and quickest I could make it seem and trust me its a lot more intersting and easier than that.

   Happy simple cooking!!!

 Baking equipments

Technically  speaking, Baking is defined as cooking cakes, bread , vegetables etc by using dry heat in an oven.

       But for me,  Baking means a process of blending  the simplest and easily available ingredients in the  correct order and proportion   followed by placing the dish in the oven and watching the magic  happen, beginning with the delicious aroma of food filling  up a home and of course resulting into  the beautiful  sight of scrumptious oven baked dish of whatever it may be a cake ,cookies ,baked vegetables, stuffed chicken , fish etc etc. I just love the idea of doing part of the work myself and then leaving it to the oven to complete the picture.
       There are a few basic cooking  equipments we need to assist us in cooking and also to ensure complete success in our baking endeavours. Besides the correct proportion of the ingredients , we need the following to get  the right texture.

         We will begin with the measuring cups and the other tools we require to fix a good bake. I have tried and put as many baking things in the pictures as possible...in case I miss out anything please feel free to write a comment.
         The black measuring cups are the Amercan measuring cups....as you all must have noticed that I have mentioned always which measuring cups I am using in my recipes.
     Now the difference between the Indian and the American meauring cups is the quantity measured , I mean the Indian measuring cup measures 200 ml and the American measures 250 ml. Now that might not make a big difference sometimes, but if you are not getting the best results with your cakes or cookies, I would say use the correct measuring cup and  then see the result.
      The red and the steel ones are the Indian measuring cups.The measuring spoons are all the same , its just that you  should always take a level spoon measurement because that is the most accurate.
         I have shown whisks , silicon spautula , a bread knife , cookie cutters and the rest of the things that I feel one must have in a kitchen to make baking an easy and quick experience.
         In the background I have a wire rack to cool the cakes or the cookies . Now it is very important to bring the baked items to room temperature before storing them. Incase you are living in coastal areas you just can not afford to skip this part. Your cakes will catch fungus and your cookies will get damp if you do not cool them on a wire rack .
       Now another useful thing is to have a measuring scale . Mine is a very basic model, there are these real smart electronic ones available in the market these days. Well if you are really serious about baking then go ahead and buy one. If you are going to buy the one which I have, then purchase the measuring scale upto just one kilogram, that would give you the accurate measurement to the last gram.

           Baking dishes....you can never have enough of them. The day you decide that you are not going to invest in any more shapes and sizes , the very next day you will come across a real sweet looking size or shape in some remote corner of the shop and no matter how much you resolve not to look that side ...you will end up buying it without even  checking the price. Thats what happens to me every time. So I have found a solution to the problem...I just go ahead and buy what I like without feeling guilty about it.  The result is this awesome collection of baking tins which occupy two big shelves in my kitchen closet.
         It is very important to use the correct size of the baking tin . If you use an incorrect size, like a bigger one will make your cake dry and flat and a smaller one would result in the cake batter over flowing and remaining raw from the center .The cake batter should come half way or just a little more of your baking tin and it goes without saying that if you are using the regular aluminium tins you have to dust them with a little oil and flour to avoid the cake from sticking to the tin.   
           Lets start with the first picture of ringed tins. What I like about cakes baked in a ring tin is that they never fail and the pieces have such a traditional shape and so easy to slice that its a treat just to look at the cake. The red cake tin is a Tefal tin for kugelhopf but I have used it for the regular cakes of slighlty larger amount and got brilliant results of the same .

       Now we come to the muffin tins . Well I personally like using the smaller aluminium muffin cups lined with  paper muffin cases because my one batch of recipe fits entirely into about  fourteen of these and the smaller ones look more attractive to the children. I use the silicon muffin trays with deeper pits for savoury muffins which I feel are a mini meal in themselves.      

          Now this set of tins  is what I use for making  sponge cakes for swiss roles , grilling chicken and potatoes and making cookies.

        The following are the other regular tins and among them are the loose bottomed tins that I use for my quiche.

            I bake cakes in loaf tins which I want to gift to friends because I feel a loaf of any cake looks better especially if it has to to be gifted.  The banana bread turns out best in a loaf tin .The loaf tin on the left is a regular non stick one and the silicon  one in the center is a recent purchase , I have yet to bake a cake in it and the right loaf tin is again a Tefal product . This one I generally use for a one kilo whole wheat bread loaf I bake at home .

         What would I do without you... dear egg beater. Versatile and value for money , a good egg beater or a hand mixer as some would like to call it ,mixes your cake batter in seconds and also  whips up the cream for the icing and the eggs to many times in volume for your souffles etc. I would tell you to just go ahead and buy one. In the Indian market I would personally recommend a Philips brand . My mother has a Philips egg beater and we have used it like crazy for the last twenty  years and though the old chap has become a little sluggish and makes a disgruntled sound on being used , it still whips up the cake batter quite well. Their are many brands in the market , right now I am using a Braun which has a blender and chopper attachment, I am happy with this fellow too. I guess this one is  one of the best in the market. I also have a food processor by the same company and I don't know what I would have done without it.

               These are a few glass bake and serve dishes I find very useful. Well regarding baking cakes in them I feel that the cakes turn out better in aluminium tins than glass though I do not have a scientific explaination to justify my claim.  Borosil has such interesting and varied  designs that I feel like buying all of them , especially the cute small ones which can be used for reheating leftovers , are the best thing to have and they go with all kinds of crockery too. I have used the glass loaf tin for my fish slices as you must have seen and the others would be soon be used and presented before you all to justify my purchasing so many sizes.

 This is the OTG and the LG convection oven in which all the magic of baking takes place.

         With that we come to an end of our journey into the world of baking items. I hope you all can benefit from the knowledge that I have shared with you , that I have gained in so many years of experimenting  with the different techniques of  baking. 

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review.The opinions about the products are purely mine , after years of using them.

articles· baking aids· cooking aids

 Baking equipments

Technically  speaking, Baking is defined as cooking cakes, bread , vegetables etc by using dry heat in an oven.

       But for me,  Baking means a process of blending  the simplest and easily available ingredients in the  correct order and proportion   followed by placing the dish in the oven and watching the magic  happen, beginning with the delicious aroma of food filling  up a home and of course resulting into  the beautiful  sight of scrumptious oven baked dish of whatever it may be a cake ,cookies ,baked vegetables, stuffed chicken , fish etc etc. I just love the idea of doing part of the work myself and then leaving it to the oven to complete the picture.
       There are a few basic cooking  equipments we need to assist us in cooking and also to ensure complete success in our baking endeavours. Besides the correct proportion of the ingredients , we need the following to get  the right texture.

         We will begin with the measuring cups and the other tools we require to fix a good bake. I have tried and put as many baking things in the pictures as possible...in case I miss out anything please feel free to write a comment.
         The black measuring cups are the Amercan measuring cups....as you all must have noticed that I have mentioned always which measuring cups I am using in my recipes.
     Now the difference between the Indian and the American meauring cups is the quantity measured , I mean the Indian measuring cup measures 200 ml and the American measures 250 ml. Now that might not make a big difference sometimes, but if you are not getting the best results with your cakes or cookies, I would say use the correct measuring cup and  then see the result.
      The red and the steel ones are the Indian measuring cups.The measuring spoons are all the same , its just that you  should always take a level spoon measurement because that is the most accurate.
         I have shown whisks , silicon spautula , a bread knife , cookie cutters and the rest of the things that I feel one must have in a kitchen to make baking an easy and quick experience.
         In the background I have a wire rack to cool the cakes or the cookies . Now it is very important to bring the baked items to room temperature before storing them. Incase you are living in coastal areas you just can not afford to skip this part. Your cakes will catch fungus and your cookies will get damp if you do not cool them on a wire rack .
       Now another useful thing is to have a measuring scale . Mine is a very basic model, there are these real smart electronic ones available in the market these days. Well if you are really serious about baking then go ahead and buy one. If you are going to buy the one which I have, then purchase the measuring scale upto just one kilogram, that would give you the accurate measurement to the last gram.

           Baking dishes....you can never have enough of them. The day you decide that you are not going to invest in any more shapes and sizes , the very next day you will come across a real sweet looking size or shape in some remote corner of the shop and no matter how much you resolve not to look that side ...you will end up buying it without even  checking the price. Thats what happens to me every time. So I have found a solution to the problem...I just go ahead and buy what I like without feeling guilty about it.  The result is this awesome collection of baking tins which occupy two big shelves in my kitchen closet.
         It is very important to use the correct size of the baking tin . If you use an incorrect size, like a bigger one will make your cake dry and flat and a smaller one would result in the cake batter over flowing and remaining raw from the center .The cake batter should come half way or just a little more of your baking tin and it goes without saying that if you are using the regular aluminium tins you have to dust them with a little oil and flour to avoid the cake from sticking to the tin.   
           Lets start with the first picture of ringed tins. What I like about cakes baked in a ring tin is that they never fail and the pieces have such a traditional shape and so easy to slice that its a treat just to look at the cake. The red cake tin is a Tefal tin for kugelhopf but I have used it for the regular cakes of slighlty larger amount and got brilliant results of the same .

       Now we come to the muffin tins . Well I personally like using the smaller aluminium muffin cups lined with  paper muffin cases because my one batch of recipe fits entirely into about  fourteen of these and the smaller ones look more attractive to the children. I use the silicon muffin trays with deeper pits for savoury muffins which I feel are a mini meal in themselves.      

          Now this set of tins  is what I use for making  sponge cakes for swiss roles , grilling chicken and potatoes and making cookies.

        The following are the other regular tins and among them are the loose bottomed tins that I use for my quiche.

            I bake cakes in loaf tins which I want to gift to friends because I feel a loaf of any cake looks better especially if it has to to be gifted.  The banana bread turns out best in a loaf tin .The loaf tin on the left is a regular non stick one and the silicon  one in the center is a recent purchase , I have yet to bake a cake in it and the right loaf tin is again a Tefal product . This one I generally use for a one kilo whole wheat bread loaf I bake at home .

         What would I do without you... dear egg beater. Versatile and value for money , a good egg beater or a hand mixer as some would like to call it ,mixes your cake batter in seconds and also  whips up the cream for the icing and the eggs to many times in volume for your souffles etc. I would tell you to just go ahead and buy one. In the Indian market I would personally recommend a Philips brand . My mother has a Philips egg beater and we have used it like crazy for the last twenty  years and though the old chap has become a little sluggish and makes a disgruntled sound on being used , it still whips up the cake batter quite well. Their are many brands in the market , right now I am using a Braun which has a blender and chopper attachment, I am happy with this fellow too. I guess this one is  one of the best in the market. I also have a food processor by the same company and I don't know what I would have done without it.

               These are a few glass bake and serve dishes I find very useful. Well regarding baking cakes in them I feel that the cakes turn out better in aluminium tins than glass though I do not have a scientific explaination to justify my claim.  Borosil has such interesting and varied  designs that I feel like buying all of them , especially the cute small ones which can be used for reheating leftovers , are the best thing to have and they go with all kinds of crockery too. I have used the glass loaf tin for my fish slices as you must have seen and the others would be soon be used and presented before you all to justify my purchasing so many sizes.

 This is the OTG and the LG convection oven in which all the magic of baking takes place.

         With that we come to an end of our journey into the world of baking items. I hope you all can benefit from the knowledge that I have shared with you , that I have gained in so many years of experimenting  with the different techniques of  baking. 

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review.The opinions about the products are purely mine , after years of using them.