Save Your Time By Putting These Kitchen Hacks To Use!

The thought of entering the kitchen and slogging it out for 2 hours just for a 15 minute meal is so annoying! . Peeling, chopping, mixing, blending, stirring, frying - all this after a grueling, long day at work and an even annoying traffic jam can be a nightmare for many.

And so, to ease your troubles, here are a few tricks that’ll help save a lot of your time!

Plan your menu-

1) Divide your meals into courses. First and last course should always include soups, salads and fruit salads.

2) Timesaver tip: Cook meals which can be made in a microwave oven. Simply pour olive oil, some herbs, seasoning on veggies like brinjal or mushrooms or and bake until crispy.

Think smart-                           

Come up with your own quick and favorite breakfast idea. It will set your mood for the entire day, I bet!

1) Dishes like Poha, upma, sheera, sabudana make for a light and healthy breakfast and cook in minutes.

2) Breads with leftover curries or cereals and museli with cold milk and fruits are also a good option. Timesaver? Yes.

3) Try cheese slices with garlic bread seasoning on toast. Salami with cheese or humus with chapatis are great options too!

Purchase smart-

1) Although a lot of people disagree, I find cut vegetable packets, a God sent. They are great for soups, one pot meals, or simple salads.

2) Maggi cubes, pickled veggies and canned foods like tuna or baked beans can help in saving a lot of your time.

3) If you’re buying grocery for the entire week, buy a mix of lentils and vegetables as a lot of it might go bad midweek through.

4)Invest in the right kitchen devices like slicer-dicer, pressure cookers, grill cum toaster, microwave cum oven and mini hand blenders.

Stock up-

Essentials like salt, pepper, spices, grains, oils, veggies and meat make up your core kitchen ingredients. Thanks to technology, and especially a smart basket feature, you can now  re-order the usual staples. Better yet, I find the local kirana wala on speed dial a better option - probably because it guarantees delivery on time. Also, ensure you have a good range of storage boxes of all sizes, preferably with color-coded lids.

Condiments to spice it up!-

1) Try chutneys, mayo and cheese dips to flavor your food up

2) Condiments like Italian or guacamole dressing are a great way to make those HEALTHY salads a little more appetizing.

3) Sauces can add a little zing to your plain dishes. You can always experiment with combinations like sweet passion fruit sauce or jalapeno mint and be a little ingenious maybe?

4) Want to make those mundane dishes a little piquant? Try dried herbs like oregano or parsley. They’re game changers. Or dish changers.

Make your own pastes!

1) Make homemade tamarind, onion, garlic or garlic pastes. Saves a little money.

2) Find innovative combinations of dips like humus with mint and relish it with sliced raw carrots or cucumber. Your snack on the go!

Freeze stuff-

1) Store grated coconut or sprouted beans in airtight containers and put them in the freezer. It’ll last for upto a week.

2) Frozen peas, corn and sausages will add a great variety to any dish.

3) Frozen paranthas are life savers. Trust me.

Cook One pot meals-

Wondering what one-pot meals are?

It’s just pressure cooking all ingredients together but ensuring that there’s a great variety in terms of colors, textures, veggies, and meat. Boil items like corn separately to garnish when done.

Last tip: Always cook a little extra food - if you're going through all the effort, you should have some  left overs for another meal. Also, ensure that others help you out with the dishes. ‘Cause Ethics.

Do you have some tricks to share? Let us know in the comments section below!