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Express Cooking for Summer
August 6, 2007 | 45 Comments
You’re hungry and in no mood to sweat it out in a sweltering kitchen. You need to fix a meal in a jiffy.
Most of our weeknight meals are created under 30 minutes. For a meal to be called ‘express’ in our book, it needs to meet three criteria:
1. It should be ready in 10 minutes or less, preferably five.
2. It should not involve use of the stove.
3. It should involve minimal clean-up.
SOME TIPS AND ASSUMPTIONS
Always have atleast one type of carb in the refrigerator – rice/bread/whole wheat tortillas/pitas/boiled potatoes.
When we pressure cook some rice, we always make extra. Plus throw in a container of dal (lentils). Just stick the cooked dal in the freezer.
Readymade pizza dough is great. Look for the wholewheat variety. Homemade is easy to prepare. Make an extra batch and freeze. In a pinch, use a pita round as a pizza base. Or a halved English muffin for a mini pizza.
Wholewheat couscous is the best. Some hot water, bouillon flavouring, a can of drained chickpeas, some veggies and flavourings, and you’re in business.
We cannot live without our pressure cooker, microwave, and electric kettle. These are time savers and fuel savers.
Sprout your beans (Except kidney beans. They turn toxic when sprouted.) They cook in a jiffy, and don’t need chopping or peeling, unlike many veggies.
Clean and prep your produce and herbs when you bring them home.
Toast nuts in a 375 F oven for 8 minutes and store them in the freezer.
If we make spice pastes for any dish, we try and double or triple the quantity and freeze the rest. Right now, in the freezer we have veg makhani paste, Thai green, red, yellow and massaman pastes, and caramelised onions. We freeze them in meal-sized portions so that we don’t have to thaw the entire batch when we want to use it.
Keep a garbage bowl next to you – just any large bowl. Keep dumping peels and things you intend to compost/throw away. At the end, just dispose off the contents of the bowl.
Always spread a double sheet of newspaper on the kitchen counter when you are working. When you are done, fold up the newspaper and chuck it. You will be left with a clean counter.
While opening cans, etc, do it in the sink. If liquid spills off the cans, you won’t have a messy counter.
Keep chopped up fruit, berries, and dairy icecubes in the freezer.
Keep a squirt bottle with your fav salad dressing in the refrigerator.
If you buy a chunk of cheese, grate it and divide it into three or four portions. Put one portion in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.
Buy a bag of limes, squeeze the juice and put it in squirt bottles – one in the freezer and one in the fridge.
Coconut milk powder is your friend. Add it to curries. 1/3 cup of coconut milk powder = 1 cup coconut milk. Use 1/2 cup if you want it really thick. You don’t need to add water to it if your curry already has liquid. Look for it at South Asian/Thai/Vietnamese/Carribean or Indian grocers.
Canned tomatoes, canned beans, roasted red peppers in a jar, and frozen veggies are your friends.
EXPRESS MEAL #1 : Chickpea and Spinach Pockets
(serves 6)
With a little help, even a child can put these together.
Ingredients
3 pita breads, sliced in half
1.5 cups canned chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
2 cups baby spinach leaves, washed
1 cup chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped
3/4 cup grated cheese (any kind. we used gruyere)
¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
¼ teaspoon cumin powder
¼ teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon chaat masala (or lemon pepper)
2 tsps lime juice
salt to taste
Method
Put wet spinach leaves in bowl, cover, and microwave on high (about three minutes). Let the leaves cool, squeeze the water out, and then chop up the spinach.
Combine garbanzo beans, spinach, spices, salt, and cheese. Microwave on high for one minute until the cheese starts to melt.
Add the tomato, limejuice, and coriander leaves. Mix gently.
Spoon into pita pockets and top with ketchup, salsa or dip of your choice.
Serve on its own, or with a green salad.
Also @ The Daily Tiffin
EXPRESS MEAL #2 : Thai Red Curry with Brown Rice and Bean and Nut Salad
If you have leftover rice, this meal will take five to six minutes to put together. If you don’t, it will take about eight or nine minutes if you use Uncle Ben’s instant rice.
Ingredients for THAI RED CURRY IN A HURRY
We love savoury dishes with fruit. This curry is sweet and hot. If pineapple in a curry bothers you, use tofu or veggie of your choice.
You need:
A 20-oz. can of pineapple chunks with juice
A 15-oz can of cut baby corn
An eight-ounce can of water chestnuts
2 ounces of red or panang curry paste (homemade, or from a can)
1/3 cup coconut milk powder (or 1 cup canned coconut milk)
For garnish:
spring onion greens
toasted cashews/peanuts
We toast the nuts in the oven as soon as we buy them, and store them in the freezer. Else, microwave the nuts for for 20-25 seconds. While this is happening, take a microwave-safe bowl with a lid. Place it over the sink. Open the cans one after other and dunk the contents in one by one. Do not discard the pineapple juice. Add that as well. Drain the water chestnuts and baby corn into a mesh strainer and dunk them in the container. Run water over inverted mesh strainer for 10 seconds.
If using canned red curry paste, you need half a tiny can. If using homemade paste, add salt. If using canned, it has enough salt. Add more curry paste if you want it spicier. We like it wimpy.
Add the coconut milk powder or coconut milk. (Use less pineapple juice if using coconut milk to avoid the gravy being too runny, or blend up some of the pienapple cubes and add) We always use coconut milk powder. Stir. Put it all in the microwave and heat on HIGH for 3 minutes. Collect the cans in the garbage bowl for recycling.
Add the cashews. Snip the spring onions greens into the curry using kitchen scissors.
We make this often for parties, and add shrimp (we buy the pre-cooked variety) for our non-vegetarian guests. We often get asked for the recipe for this sweet and hot curry. If you are too embarrassed to tell them how easy it was, look at the floor and say, “It’s a very long-winded recipe. I will send you the details by e-mail”.
Take as much as you want for your meal, put the lid on the bowl, and refrigerate the rest. Clean-up? Zero.
BROWN RICE
You have some leftover rice in the fridge right? Heat up individual portions in two plates and microwave each plate for 40 seconds. You don’t have cooked rice? We give up.
Perhaps, Uncle Ben’s 90-second brown rice can save you.
If you need to cook the rice, do it before putting the Thai curry in the microwave.
While that’s cooking, prepare the salad.
BEAN AND NUT SALAD
This adds the protein component. Just chop, open cans, and get just enough salad on the table for the number of portions you need. Salad for two took us two and a half minutes.
Spread newspaper under your cutting board.
We used canned cannelini beans (white kidney beans). Open the can into a mesh strainer in the sink, and rinse under the tap. While you are grating or chopping something else, let it drain.
We added half a grated carrot, some chopped cucumber, chopped red bell pepper, torn basil leaves, toasted walnuts and red grapes.
The dressing was rice wine vinegar with a dash of salt.
Rinse the cutting board, and knife, put the can opener in the dishwasher, throw away the newspaper, and cleanup’s done.
Express DESSERT Tips
Before dinner:
Take berries/chunked fruit from your freezer – about 2 cups. Add sweetener of choice and a dash of lemon juice. If you have a Vitamix, there’s no need to thaw them first. If you don’t, you should leave them on the countertop for 10-15 minutes before putting them in the food processor. Blend and put in a shallowish container, with the puree having a thickness of between 2 and 3 inches. Cover and freeze again. Then put some water and a drop (not more) of dish soap in your food processor jar and run for 10 seconds. Throw the water away. Turn it over a dish rack to dry.
Strawberry-Banana Sorbet
Apricot-Orange Sorbet
If you want something milky, try the Instant Raspberry Icecream, or the Instant Ras Malai.
Finish your dinner, then reach for dessert in the freezer. Usually, the sorbet sets within 15 minutes. If it gets too hard, thaw it outside for a few minutes, or microwave for 10-15 seconds before scooping.
Sending our two express meals to Mallugirl for her Express Cooking Event @ Malabar Spices.
Filed Under: Beans-(Dried), brown-rice, Cashew, cheese, chickpea-and-spinach-pockets, Coconut, Corn, Dairy/Cheese, express-cooking, instant-sorbet, Pineapple, pita-bread, Spinach, summer, Thai-red-curry, Thailand, under-ten-minutes, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes, Walnut, Water Chestnut
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45 Comments
:yes: the thai curry is awesome! I get super hungry at 3 am in the middle of writing stuff…going to make this one of these nights! The pita pockets are gorgeous too…Do you have a brand of Pita bread you prefer or recommend..I’ve had too may bad experiences with wet cardboard like stuff
we uniformly hate all brands of pita. homemade is awesome. there’s a recipe we posted sometime ago. if you do buy storebought, get wholewheat (i find pita with refined flour flavourless) and make sure it’s HOT when you eat it. cold pita is like cardboard. – b.
Hey Jai & Bee,
Been a silent fan for a long time now!
Enjoy reading your blog and love your recipes and the pictures are just amazing…
good luck to u both!
Gauri
thanks, gauri. – b.
wow thats an excellent summary of tips for quick meals! the thai curry is really very good
That’s a whirlwind of activity Bee! Wonderful tips put down together too- i do the newspaper thingie when I’m making phulkas, that was I don’t get counter top dusted with aata all over – anyway the huge bunch of supplements that we get with TOI nowadays is just worth that
Loved the colourful arrangements!
i wish TOI would make their supplements less glossy and more absorbent. people could use it as toilet paper. – b.
:bow: Just felt like adding this on second thought, for coming up with great express meals :secret:
Very useful tips. I do the newspaper thing always! The red-curry looks awesome. :dance:
:horn:U GUYS ARE GREAT.!now i know how u have so much time left to blog! The recipes are truly inspired and u are right.. with some cans, microwave and cooker and cocnut milk powder, cooking CAN be done in a jiffy.thanks a ton.
Those are awesome tips Bee
I have only now just started the freezing food method. Burgers, fruits and dal now find a place in the freezer at all times. Will put the rest of your tips to work now. And I am definitely going to try the Thai curry, I love them. Are the store bought curry pastes veggie ?? I checked a few labels and found anchovie paste in them 
Could you give me the name of the brand you guys use ?
we either use homemade, or a brand named ‘maesri’. we prefer the panang to the red. they are different, but very slightly. – b.
great tips bee…way to go…
Srivalli
http://www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com
Very impressive, Bee!
But 5 minn! It takes longer to brew my tea (even in the summer, when the tap water is warmer) :bow:
Brilliant! The Thai curry is incredible. I really should try out using more of the “convenience” from the convenience food!
I’m amazed, Bee! Looks like most of your kitchen resides in the fridge! The newspaper can be used to collect the garbage also, saves cleaning one more bowl
Most of your ideas are great, though I don’t agree about extra rice and dals lying in the fridge!! Each to his own.
I totally agree with the minimal clean-up point!
and a big YES to pressure cooker and microwave
good line-up, folks!
I’m tired just reading about your whirling away in the kitchen! Love this! Although I am big on s-l-o-w food. ;;)
Very nice and useful tips…
Delicious looking thai curry, and chickpea pockets!!!
Did you take the cooking tips from me?? Since 90% is what I follow. :tongue:
I didn’t know you had posted a pita recipe… I am going to hunt that now! :yes:
And guess what! I installed these smileys but it corrupts a lot of other things in mine!
i love using pitas, wide buns, even rotis of a pizza base…
love all yur tips… and yur stuffed pitas look great… yah where is this pita recipe….lemme go find it too…i looove the salad bowl pic… very nice ..any express dessert ideas during winter or when its cold??
btw, is this smily doing balle balle??? !! :dance: heeee
:hammer: i see its express cooking for summer ;;)
Lovely entries bee and the photos are great. Viji
That’s a very useful ready reckoner, Bee!
:love: Loved both the entries and the wonderful tips :yes:. Nice presentation :horn: :shh: :bow:
Expect Thai red curry ,kids won’t eat the the other two! Aren’t you glad you don’t have kids?!(YET!:D)
They all look yummy,I would eat them happily.Now I know why and how you guys manage to blog everyday! Hahaha!!
Hey that “hurry curry” you do it in the microwave ? Thats a great idea.
The pita pockets look gorgeous
Wow some really fabulous entries
Now this is called the real express cooking :yes:
Been a long time reader of your blog and everytime I try one of your recipes, it turns out unbelievably good. You guys rock :yes:
I like the thai curry and salad the most! Yummy!
Those are some great tips, Bee!
I need to start toasting & freezing my nuts and cleaning/prepping my produce/herbs.
I pretty much have always been doing everything else you have mentioned
Thai red curry looks really good. I am going to bookmark this one and make it when I get a chance. I love hot and sweet combos in dishes.And absolutely love these cute smileys! :yes:
Awesome is an understatement
You guys could give Rachel Ray a run for her money. And her recipes suck (I think). Her dishes look like piles of mess on a plate. And I am sick of her “samis”
Question: If I use coconut milk, doesn’t adding in all of the pineapple juice make the curry extra watery? Maybe use half of the juice? But I think the sweetness it brings to the curry would be key..what do you think?
yeah, that’s why we always use coconut milk powder. if you use coconut milk, add the pineapple juice little by little until you get the desired thickness, or use crushed pineapple instead of chunks . that way you taste more pineapple in the sauce. or puree a few of the chunks in. – b.
great tips and awesome recipes!!will try some of these next time I have someone over for dinner :bow:
i recently got the coco pwd, gotta’ start using it now
you guys seem to freeze a lot of stuff, does the dal retain it’s taste? do u thaw it in m/c ?
if i freeze something i tend to forget @ it
chutnies & daiwada are my most frozen items.
does the dal retain it’s taste? dunno ‘cos we don’t remember what the original tastes like
we thaw it in the m/w and use it for kootu/sambar/rasam. if your fridge is empty, you will go looking for things in the freezer. then you won’t forget. – b.
Hi B and J,
Thanks so much for the tips. Can you tell me what brand of coconut milk powder you use and where can I find? All what I find in Asian grocery store / TJ is the liquid version and all are super fatty (even the reduced fat version is not less than 4g of Sat Fat in a tbl spn!).
Regards….S
there are several brands. one is called ‘real’ – available in thai stores. our indian store too carries a brand – forget the name. most thai and vietname stores carry it. it may be hidden in some aisle. you need to ask for it. or ask your indian grocer to procure it for you. – b.
Bee and Jai-
That is so awesome… except that I am always worried about freezing/refrigerating cooked food. Say for cooked rice, how many days can you refrigerate it? The same goes for dal too….
-Mythili
4 days in the fridge and dal lasts for months in the freezer. – b.
Brilliant!!!Handy tips and Amazing recipes!!!definitely to be book marked..Thanx for sharing..:)..You simply Rock!!
Wow what an express meal…I love thai red curry so much…and as always great pics…I love them so much :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes:
Great tips and wonderful, flavourful meals.
My comment got lost
Great recipe and I do many of the things you’ve suggested to save time. Else with what may be a 3.5 hour commute on some days, I am just too tired to start a new project.
J&B,
I love your blog so much. I am addicted to it!
Great ideas, that red curry is really amazing.
Kanch
[...] Halwa, Lotus Root Chips, Thai Curry [...]
[...] is quite like the Thai red curry in a hurry we make in under five minutes in terms of ingredients. However, it’s got to have been way [...]
hi guys…
Looking for some thai recipies and this one caught my eye. Which ready made thai paste do you recommend ? I have tried a couple before but none to my satisfaction.
thanks
sowmya
maesri brand.