Indian Kitchen Tips To Cook Indian Food Faster
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It is a common belief that Indian cooking is time- consuming. But did you know that 95% of Indians cook an Indian meal everyday in less than an hour. This post shares some easy Indian kitchen tips used by cooks that helps reduce the time to cook Indian food.Â
Most people are of the opinion that cooking Indian food at home requires time, deterring them to cook an Indian meal on weeknights.
I wont completely rebut the thought, however like any other kitchen hacks that help save time, there are some lesser known Indian cooking tips and tricks that help you cook an Indian meal in less than an hour or even 40 minutes depending on the recipe.
Busy lives have changed the way we cook every day. This holds true for Indian cooking as well. Although everyday Indian meals are mostly traditional Indian foods, the mantra of modern-day Indian Kitchen is convenient, quick and easy!Â
If you have been following my blog or on social media, you may have noticed that I call myself a ‘lazy cook’.
I love to cook but hate to slog in the kitchen.
I am always looking for quick easy Indian recipes and shortcuts to lengthy cooking processes which my mother does not really approve of much :-). You see I do not have the luxury of having a kitchen help to do the grinding tasks like most households in India.
Even with using cooking shortcuts, I take pride in serving different meals in our house (if I plan on cooking every day that is).
You can download the free guide on the tactic I use to cook a range of ethnic meals within 40 minutes by submitting your email address below.
In this post I share how to cook indian food fast by following some useful Indian food cooking tips that helps me close the kitchen down by 7:30 pm (unless I sneak in for a cheeky chocolate/cake treat) squeeze in cuddles and giggles with my kids before bedtime and finally enjoy some ‘ME’ time !
What Is Everyday Indian Cooking
One of the key deterrents for not cooking Indian food on a weekday is because it is considered time-consuming, complex and strenuous with all the chopping, mincing, stirring and waiting time required to cook a good Indian meal.
So, how to Indians cook Indian food faster?
A normal Indian household in India cook meals three times a day. Not all the meals are extravagant.
The dishes prepared are easy quick Indian recipes using simple spices and specific method of Indian cooking.
Cooking any meal requires a degree of preparation. Sometimes finding useful kitchen hacks and shortcuts requires creative thinking and a certain knowledge of ingredients. Experienced homecooks like our moms and grand parents have lots up their sleeve with a bank of secrets of Indian cooking which you get to learn by observing them.
Being creative with cooking hacks is not something that comes naturally if you happen to be a beginner cook.
This is where these culinary shortcuts and handy cooking tips helps make cooking Indian food easier. I share many such tips in my live interactive online cooking sessions.
There are many assumptions surrounding Indian cuisine and Indian food. One of them being eating Indian food everyday can be unhealthy.
This is certainly untrue as Indian cuisine is based on the ancient science of Ayurveda that promotes cooking habits that retain the natural goodness of foods.
Indian Kitchen Tips To Cook Quick Indian Dinner
Here are some Indian cooking tips and tricks that have been used by our grandmothers and mums to help make cooking Indian food simple and faster. The new age kitchen inventions have surely added to the concept of convenience cooking which I whole heartily recommend to use if given an option.
1. Choose The Right Kitchen Gadgets That Makes Cooking Easy
During my early days of kitchen ventures, I used to spend a considerable amount of time prepping, ie. chopping, grinding, slicing.
Of course I still need to do the basic, but the modern-day kitchen utility gadgets have taken away some of the stress and reduce cooking time!
Few of my kitchen must have gadgets especially for cooking Indian food that I absolutely recommend are:
A Good Food Processor or Blender
Investing in a good processor is perhaps one of the best time-saving kitchen tip.
A food processor for me is not a luxury but a necessity just like having a car!
You have flexibility, you save -time and you can do more than one thing at a time.
A food processor not only makes Indian cooking easy, but it can also be used for many other purposes apart from blending or juicing.
You can use a food processor for making sauces, chutneys, pastes, mincing, grating and also grinding spices.
A processor with multiple attachments such as this one from BERG comes with a 4L Bowl, Splash Guard, Dough Hook, Whisk, Beater, Juicer, Blender, Food Processor, Meat Grinder and Coffee/spice Mill.
This one gadget is great for making bread doughs, getting that perfectly sliced cabbage, onions, carrots or any vegetable that you find difficult and time-consuming to chop and slice.
The slicing tool helps me quickly put together salads for a crowd or just for family. ( I HATE slicing or chopping large quantities like any sensible person)
If you live outside Europe then this KitchenAid Food Processor with ExactSlice System comes as a recommended all-purpose food blender.
It has the first ever externally adjustable slicing system that gives you precise slicing and accuracy for all kinds of food—hard or soft, large or small.
As I make many spice blends and mixes at home, a spice grinder is where all my thinking comes to a stop.
You don’t need to have a large food processor as the one above.
I have been using the nifty little magic bullet for years before I moved to the big one. (As I had a bigger Kitchen and more storage)
It’s great for blending spices, making spice pastes, sauces other than smoothies.
The only problem I had with it was that it made a lot of noise and you had to ensure that the blades and the motor are stored dry and not used if damp. ( I was pathetic with it, had to replace one every 2 years)
You can choose any food processor that fits your purpose and your household need. If you are not much into fancy chopping and slicing then a basic hand blender like this 3 in 1 Hand Blender by Russell Hobbs works equally well.
You will find few more suggested food processors that come recommended depending on where you live on the shopping for ingredients section.
The idea behind buying a food processor or a hand blender is to make tasks such as mincing, grating or chopping easy.
This addresses one of the pain points of cooking Indian food, that is the tedious task of mincing, chopping and grating aromates such as ginger, garlic and onions.
Trust me when I say that having one of the gadgets above will instantaneously reduce prep time by half!
2. Use Simple Fresh Spices
Spices are in the realm of Indian cuisine. Refer to this list of the Indian spices for a rough idea of spices used in Indian cuisine.
To reduce complexity and time, I would recommend choosing easy recipes and making dishes that use basic Indian spices.
This spicy potatoes and dill stir fry or Indian green beans dish breaks the myth that all Indian food is complicated and time consuming as these recipes use minimal spices and can be made in under 40 minutes or less.
Using fresh spices also play an important role in bringing the optimum flavours. Ensure that the spices are within the expiry date and use them up as soon as you can.
If you have spices and are unsure of how long to keep them for, this list will help you identify if the spices have gone stale or are still fresh to use.
3. Have a Spice Grinder to Make Fresh Spice Blends and Mixes
If you wish to further cut down on using and mixing individual spices then you can pre-blend different types of spices and keep them handy for when you wish to cook an Indian dish.
Having a spice grinder will help you make your own blends with your chosen spices that suit your individual and household taste.
Most Indian households will have some kind of equipment for grinding spices.
With a homemade blend, you don’t have to solely rely on the shop bought mix which has a standard set of ingredients and may not be suitable for all tastes.
So for example, if your kids or partner are not into hot spices then you can choose not to grind chillies or peppers for making a curry powder at home.
Or if someone does not like strong cinnamony flavours then simply cut down on them and make your own Garam Masala Powder.
It gives you so much flexibility, use and ease of making quick meals without the need to measure each time.
A spice grinder can be in the form of an extra spice grinding attachment like the one I showed in the multi-use food processor, a separate nut/spice/coffee grinder like this electric spice and nut grinder from Cuisinart
Or a more traditional mortal and pestle.
Freshly ground spices bring out so much flavour to your dishes.
Pre-blended spice mixes takes away the complexity as you can make easy flavourful meals without the need to mix individual spices everytime.
So no more ‘Where do I start with spices?’
Click here for few more recommended spice grinders in your country
4. Buy, Make and Store Common Spice Blends
If the above idea of making your own spice blends is not something for you, then buying good quality shop-bought common blends also helps.
Few of the blends that I have all the time are
2) Curry Powder
Here is a recipe to make an easy homemade curry powder and make this 30 minutes chicken curry with just 7 ingredients.
3) Homemade roasted cumin-coriander spice mix.
4) Any homemade spice mix made with your chosen spices.
One of my recommended spice stores is The Spice House to buy spices online.
The ease of using these pre-blended spice mixes is astonishing.
All you need to do is simply add it to stir-fried vegetables or meat dish, top up with a bit of stock/ water/ coconut milk/ beaten yoghurt or tomato puree, cover until the veges/meat is cooked and you have an Indian meal ready!
You can also use these pre-blended spices to make Indian meals in the slow cooker as well!
Using a Slow cooker makes cooking an Indian dish even more effortless. This easy Slow cooker Lamb Roganjosh recipe is a classic example.
5. Use a Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot if Possible
Do you know how Indians manage to make almost 3 meals every day!?
Because they use a pressure cooker!
If you do not know what a pressure cooker is, its a closed airtight vessel for quick cooking or preserving of foods by means of high-temperature steam under pressure.
The modern-day pressure cookers are absolutely safe to use without the fear of an eruption in your kitchen!
This Pressure cooker from Tower is reasonably priced for beginners and user-friendly too!
You do need to get used to it and get familiar with the settings before making meals in it.
Pressure cooker comes handy to cook rice, lentils and meat dishes within 20-30 minutes.
All you need to do in saute the aromates, add your chosen spice mix, add your chosen protein, veg or legume, top with some sort of liquid preferably water, broth or tomato puree, cover and bring to full pressure.
Once it reaches full pressure reduce heat or remove from heat depending on the time it takes to cook the raw ingredients used.
Here are few tips on using a pressure cooker.
6. Keep Minced Ginger and Garlic Handy
Many Indian dishes require the use of ginger and garlic. While binging of a Netflix series I get comfy in front of the tele with a large batch of garlic and ginger peeling them while watching the Good Doctor perform his miracle remedies.
Once peeled I simply use one of the trusty handy kichen gadgets mentioned above to mince them, freeze them in ice-cubes ready to be used when needed, cutting out on at least 5-10 minutes of prep time.
7. Skip Using Onions
This is perhaps one of the best tips, when it comes to cooking Indian food at home I share with everyone!
When you fancy Indian flavours but want to avoid the lengthy task of standing over the kitchen counter following each cooking process, then simply skip using onions in the dish!
I say this because most Indian dishes require onions to be cooked untill brown which can take anything between 8 – 12 minutes.
By skipping this process you can instantly save 10 minutes of cooking time.
If you must, then replace onions with either the lesser own Indian spice called Asafoedita, leeks or use pre-fried onions that you get for burgers.
I am happy with using garlic or ginger which takes just about a minute in hot oil to cook and bring out the flavour.
8. Make Base Sauce In Bulk
This Indian cooking tip is for when you do have time. You will notice that there is a standard or a basic base sauce that is used in many Indian dishes.
The sauce is made by cooking onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes with spices. This is a standard Indian cooking pattern followed in almost 85% of Indian dishes.
Making the base sauce is perhaps the most time consuming part as you need to allow the time to cook the onions and other raw aromates. This can take anything between 15- 30 minutes depending on the bulk you are cooking.
Imagine the time you would save if you made this basic Indian base gravy in bulk when you have time ready to be used on days then you fancy a quick Indian weeknight dinner.
8. Always Cook Extra
One thing great about Indian food especially those that are gravy based or in some sort of a sauce is that they can be easily frozen or eaten the next day as leftovers.
Whenever I cook a Indian dish which I know is a family favourite or is gravy based like chicken curry, daal, paneer etc, I always cook enough to make at least 2 to 3 meals.
Keep the extra in a zip lock bag or container, label it and voila you are sorted for another Kitchen-free, no- cooking day!
Recap Of Tips That Help Reduce Time To Cook Indian Food
Here a recap of what I do to make Indian cooking easy and cook Indian meals in minutes:
- Get a good food processor or hand blender to help you with chopping, mincing, slicing and grinding. This will save time chopping as well as make quick sauce base for easy sauteing.
- Having a spice grinder gives you the flexibility to make your own homemade blends and keep pre-blended spices ready to use without the need to measure and mix.
- If grinding spices is not your thing then buy readily prepared spice mixes and use them for making quick Indian meals. You will not need to buy different spices and yet have easy meals to cook.
- Use a pressure cooker for cooking hard, time-consuming ingredients such as meats, lentils, legumes. They help retain flavour while reduce cooking time by half.
- Using onions to make an Indian curry is optional (although not for traditional Indian recipes). You can replace it with leeks, pre-fried onions or asafoetida for added taste.
- Chop or mince ginger and garlic in bulk and freeze them for ready use.
- If possible and when you have time, make a base gravy in bulk and freeze it for later use.
- Try to cook an Indian dish in larger quantities so that you can freeze them and eat another day.
Link to 10 Easy Indian Recipes
I have recommend few dishes that use minimal ingredients and can be made within 30 minutes.
Apart from those mentioned above , here is a link to 10 east Indian recipes that I could say is a great staring point for making quick Indian dinner and also for beginners.
Your thoughts
Will you be trying any of the tips shared above to see if it helps reduce your cooking time?
If yes, then do share your experience and other tips you may have up your sleeve.
And as always if you think this article will help others solve their Indian cooking phobia then please share and make Indian cooking easy:-)!
Thankful for every click to share:
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i like it can you send me somem vedio on how to cook india food
I would be happy to teach you the process and failproof cooking pattern via an online cooking session if you wish. https://shop.spiceitupp.com/product-category/online-indian-cooking-classes/
I LOVE Indian food, I traveled in NZ for a full year and ate mostly indian, for some reason it was very common there, chicken curry is soo good, I love the colors of the food as well. Great post
Thanks so much for your comments. Glad you hear that you enjoyed Indian food.
Thank you so much for these wonderful tips! I have been making a few Indian recipes over the last year and would love to try more! I’m embracing all the wonderful spices!
Hi Jen! So glad that you are enjoying the Indian food experience. Do check the recipes on this site which are all child friendly and yet with an option to increase the heat!
This sounds super yummy. I should give this a try!