Super quick cauliflower with cheese sauce

Total time: Less than 10 minutes


Ingredients:

Waitrose sweet sprouting cauliflower (1 pack for 1, 2 packs for 3 people)
If using regular gobhi, cut florets about the size of Ferrero Rochers. Quater gobhi enough for 1 to 2 people depending on the size of gobhi
Two tablespoons of any oil, a splash of water
Kraft Philadelphia cheese - 2 tablespoons (for 1 pack. 3 tablespoons for 2 packs)
A little milk to make the sauce
Salt, herbs, garlic powder, pepper to taste

Method:

This is a super quick preparation. Trim the cauliflower - slice the stems and add them back to the dish or cut them off and put them in the 'soup bin' (a plastic bag in the freezer to collect all these nutritious bits and bobs for later use).
Add the gobhi to a pan with the water and oil and bring to high heat. Toss a few times, taking care that the gobhi doesn't burn. After 2-3 minutes, making sure there is a film of water in the pan, turn off the heat. Leave the pan on the hob. Checking and turning once in a while. If using gobhi, it might need 4-5 minutes on high heat.
In advance, or when you have turned off the heat, put the Kraft Philadelphia cheese in a cup/bowl/small jug. Mix with a fork adding a bit of milk at a time. When it reaches pouring consistency, add the seasoning and mix some more. If you add warm milk, it mixes faster. Quantities for the sauce are approximate in this recipe. If you like cheese sauce make more - but don't drown the gobhi!
Pour over the sauce over the cauliflower and coat well. Sprinkle some coarsely ground black pepper on top for a beautiful flavour and look. Ready to serve!

Weekend cooking: Chicken couscous

Please welcome our first guest contributor - Bhagyata Kinger. Bhagyata loves food but rarely has time to cook elaborate dishes so experiments with quick flavourful options where she can!

Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast, diced (v easy to do with scissors)
• half an onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• a handful of parsley, chopped
• 1 tomato chopped/ 2tbsp tomato paste 
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp couscous
• dried herbs
• vegetable/ chicken stock cube - depending on flavouring choice, can add any of the following: tahini (more Arab), harissa (some spice), aioli (more garlic)
• Lemon

In a pan, on medium heat, add the olive oil. Once it is warm, add the dried herbs and a sprinkling of pepper and the garlic. If you like chilli, can also add some chilli flakes here but be sure to add them just before the chicken in step 2!

Add in the chicken breast, allowing it to cook, stirring frequently for 7-10 minutes allowing it to soften. in the meantime put the couscous in a bowl and add boiling water to it that covers it and cover for approximately 5 minutes. 

Add the onions and sauté for 3-5 minutes

Add the tomatoes and some salt to taste (if you’re using a stock cube for the flavouring, remember these contain salt already so you don’t need to add more!), simmer the heat and let it cook for 3/4 minutes

Now add the couscous to the pan, 2bsp of water and 1tbsp the flavouring of your choice

Keep stirring until dry and then add the parsley, turning off the heat

Squeeze in some lemon for an extra tang (A tsp of shop-bought lemon juice works great)

Serve with yoghurt! Enjoy! 

Punjabi 'Locki'/Doodhi

Total time: less than 10 minutes (with a pressure cooker)

Ingredients

Two handfuls of Waitrose frozen chopped onions (or one medium brown/white onion chopped)
A splash from a tin of tomatoes (or one fresh tomato chopped)
Salt, haldi, red chilli powder
1 small/medium sized doodhi (easily available at Tesco & Asda as well as any desi shop)
Veg oil

Method

Heat about 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Add onions and stir on medium heat till they are soft.
Add the tomato, haldi (quarter teaspoon) salt and chilli powder to taste. Continue to stir on medium heat.

While the 'masala' is cooking, peel and chop the doodhi. It gets a little slimy as you peel it so be careful! Wash once after peeling. It improves traction and allows you to cut more easily. If you are not comfortable doing both simultaneously, cut the doodhi first and attend to the masala separately. That way you can make the masala on high heat, saving time.

As soon as the doodhi is cut and you see the oil has separated from the 'masala' add the doodhi to the cooker and stir well. Add a splash of water so the doodhi doesn't stick or burn. Back home we don't add water since the doodhi is water rich. But in the UK I find it is necessary to add a bit.

Cook on high heat for one-two pressure whistles - then turn off the heat and leave the cooker on the hob till the steam subsides. (Remember, cookers are dangerous if you don't know how to use them.)

If you don't have a cooker use a saucepan or pot - slice the doodhi very thin. It will cook faster. Roughly, one pressure whistle is equal to about 20 minutes of boiling on high heat.

Check that the doodhi is soft to bite into. Adjust the masala for seasoning and gravy.

Tender stem Broccoli inspired by Kashmiri haakh

Total time - Under 10 minutes

Ingredients

Tender stem broccoli (1 pack enough for 2 as a side dish; 2 packs for 3 people etc.)
A jolly dollop of Mustard oil (if you don't have any just use a neutral veg oil, but in lesser quantity. Maybe two tablespoons for 1 pack)
Saunf (aniseed) powder - half to 1 teaspoon depending on how many packets you are using
Heeng (asafoetida) powder - half to 1 teaspoon depending on how many packets you are using
Saunth (dried ginger powder) quarter to half a spoon
Salt and red chilli flakes as per taste


Trim the stems and put them aside for the soup bin (i.e. freeze for later use).  No waste, no loss of nutritional value and a ready supply to cheer up a daal or make soup later.

Toss the broccoli with the spices and the oil well. Bring to high heat adding about two tablespoons of water so the veg doesn't burn. Cook for 1 minute, tossing a couple of times.

Turn off the heat and cover the dish. Let is stand on the hob for about 4-5 minutes. Check if the stems are tender enough for you. Remember every time you reheat it'll cook more. So if serving immediately cook for another minute if you want more tenderness. If serving later, then leave the stems quite firm to accommodate additional cooking when you re-heat. 

Nutritious & light daal/veg broth

Remember the 'soup bin' I asked you to start in the freezer? Here's an example of how you can not waste and make delicious, quick food at the same time.

Presenting the 'Jagmaan Broth' - so-called because it is made when he comes home unexpectedly! Nothing to look at, but a full and good meal nevertheless. No oil except what you'll get from the pickle masala.

Total time - Under 10 minutes (using a pressure cooker)
Serves 2

Ingredients:

Frozen trimmed stalks of broccoli or  cauliflower (a generous handful)
Frozen chopped greens from spring onions (a generous handful)
Three cupped handfuls of Pink Masoor daal
Optional: a chopped tomato, a chopped carrot
Salt &chilli powder to taste
Quarter spoon haldi
Ghee - half to one teaspoon if you are so inclined

Method:

Wash daal twice or three times till water is clear
Throw in all the veg and haldi
Cover with water till it the water is just one pip of your index finger above the daal level. Less is more in the case of water. It's only 2 pressure whistles and you can always add more later if you need to - but you can't take it out...
Pressure cook for 2 whistles. Leave on the hob for another 3-4 minutes, then remove.
Open pressure cooker lid after checking there is no steam in it still. There should be no hiss when you lift the weight (here I must add - if you don't know how to use a cooker, please learn at the earliest - or don't use a cooker. It can be dangerous if you open it before time.)
Add salt and chilli to taste and/or
Flavour with the masala of any pickle you have at home. I use Anand Adyar Bhavan rice pastes - curry leaves in this case. So if anyone is going to India - persuade them to get a few for you. Or get some on your next trip. I'm not sure if they sell overseas.

Serve with Steamed Basmati Rice. Tilda do a great steamed rice which you have to just microwave or stir fry. I prefer boiling it for 2 minutes. Makes the rice wonderfully soft. One pack serves one hungry beta :-) So get two!

Time to stock up the kitchen!

To follow the recipes on this blog, you'll need a fairly well-stocked spice rack as well as fresh and frozen ingredients (and a couple of tinned things as well...Oy!) Everything can be bought in a packet, but nothing is as good as grinding masala yourself from scratch. Invest in a good dry grinder. A coffee bean grinder will do - under 20 quid on Amazon. If you buy in the UK, East End, TRS, Natco - all equally good brands. Laziza and Shan for tandoori mixes. Try and grind at least the dhania, jeera and saunf at home yourself. As well as garam masala. (Separate blog on garam masala to come.) I get my mixes from Roopak Stores in Karol Bagh. If you go to Delhi or have a friend willing to make the trek to KB, give it a 'dekko'. The list may look long, but a single trip to a desi shop will get you everything in under 20 quid. If you don't have requisite storage jars/bottles, get some IKEA clips to seal the packets after use.

Must have:

Coriander seeds (dhania)
Ground coriander
Cumin seeds (jeera)
Ground cumin
Roasted ground cumin
Aniseed (saunf) seeds
Ground aniseed
Dried ginger powder (saunth)
Dried mango powder (amchoor)
Garam Masala (Schwartz do a grinder with whole spices)
Heeng - asafoetida powder
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Black pepper mill
Garlic Powder (I like Schwartz, but any supermarket brand will do)
Green cardamom (hari elaichi)
Black cardamom (badi elaichi)
Cloves (laung)
Cinamon sticks (dalchini)
Fried/Dried onions - available at any desi shop

If possible also stock:
Brown mustard seeds - large (rai)
Bay leaves (tej patta)
Fresh curry patta - freeze as soon as you get home. It keeps really well in the freezer
Desiccated coconut (coarse).
Tamarind paste

If you like daal:
Pink Masoor daal
Yellow Moong daal
(Both cook quickly and don't cause erm... 'bloating')
Small pack of Channa daal

Stock up on Waitrose chopped frozen onions. Other stores have them too, but the Waitrose ones are finely chopped, and brown evenly. You'll never be put off cooking again. Chopping onions can be a real pain, I know.

Always have in your freezer frozen ginger/garlic cubes. Available in any large store (Any desi shop, Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda etc. Try not to buy bottled ginger/garlic - or at least check that they don't have preservatives in them.) Of course fresh is best, but if you had the time for that, you wouldn't be reading this blog!

Always have at home:
Napolina chopped tomatoes (tins). Italian plum tomatoes are sweeter than Indian/desi tomatoes. Use less than any (external to this blog) recipe asks. Add a bit of lime/lemon to get the tartness you are used to at home.
Napolina chickpeas (channa)
Napolina red kidney beans (rajma)
And if you like them:
East End Kala channa
East end Black eyed beans (Punjabi=raungi)

I'll keep updating this post when I find useful ingredients for 'Under 10 minutes' full of flavour and taste cooking.

Cauliflower with ginger

Total time - under 10 minutes

Ingredients

Waitrose No1 Sweet sprouting cauliflower (2 packs for 3 people)

Fresh ginger

Haldi, salt, red chilli flakes to garnish

Method

Wash the florets and trim the stems

Peel and julienne the ginger (or chop fine) 

Heat a tablespoon of oil, add a quarter teaspoon of haldi

When it bubbles, add the cauliflower and ginger on high heat and add about two tablespoons of water - no more.

Toss for a minute. 

Turn the heat down low. 

If the water has evaporated, add another tablespoon or two.

Cover and cook on low heat for 2-3 mins. Toss once.

Season with salt and chilli flakes.

Mix gently but well. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the hob (if electric).

If using regular gobhi, please cut it into little florets - about the size of Ferrero Rochers. The smaller the floret, the quicker it will cook.
Regarding what to do to the trimmed stem of the sprouting cauliflower - it really depends on how middle class your upbringing is. I cannot throw them away. I slice them into half and add them back, as you can see from the picture. It does double the prep time, so depends on how precious your time is. Alternatively, start a 'soup bin' in your freezer. A freezer bag, for instance. Keep putting all the trimmed bits into it - they'll stay fresh. You can add any veg to it (like the greens of spring onions) - and the day you want to have soup, just boil the mixed veg, and look for the recipe on the blog!