how to cook for bachelor men with no cooking experience

Easy way to cook a few simple Indian dishes for bachelor men with absolutely no cooking experience.

1. All of these are simple dishes I've learned through trial and error. I like to keep my cooking simple, minimal, fast and efficient. I am stuck without a kitchen and can't stop fantasizing about experimenting with cooking, so I thought I'd just teach what I already know instead. Some of you might benefit.
2. I'll try to start with the very basics. If you have any doubts, ask me. I'll try to answer.
3. Most of these are veg/egg, as I'm not very good at cooking non-veg.

UTENSILS:
To cook a variety of dishes, you'll need a variety of utensils. But the most basic and important ones are:

1. a WOK to make gravies and fry veggies
2. a PAN to make rotis, dosas and omlettes
3. a LADDLEs - a scoopy one and a flat one. Don't know what to call these.
4. a POT to boil stuff

Pressure cooker, blender, mixie and all these things you can use later. Not necessary at first.

BASIC INGREDIENTS:
Keep a stock of these at all times in your kitchen.

1. Curry leaves
2. Coriander
3. Pepper
4. Salt
5. Sugar
6. Mustard seeds
7. Turmeric powder
8. Flavouring masalas as per your taste - garam masala and chicken gravy masalas are very popular, but there are many more. You can use any masala for anything. Don't believe the labels.
9. Chilli powder
10. Asafotedia
11. Jeera
12. Toor dal or other dals of similar consistency.
13. Ginger and garlic if you are old school or ginger-garlic paste if you are convenience junkie

BASIC METHODS
a) BASIC FRIED VEGGIE
This works for most veggies and eggs too.

1. Pour some oil in your wok and heat it in high flame for 2 - 3 mins. How much oil is something you'll learn. Just go with your intuition and adjust as per experience. No hard and fast rule. Rule of thumb, to serve 1 person - 2 - 3 spoons of oil should be good in a non-stick wok. In not non stick, add a spoon more.
2. Bring flame down to medium and then add: mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, maybe some diced onions and some toor dal as well.
3. Once the mustard seeds have started to pop, add your previously cut veggies (potato, carrot, gobi, boiled peas, egg (without shell), brinjal, cabbage, mushrooms, bindi, soaked channa etc...).
4. Once you've added your veggie, add some jeera, salt and chilli powder / masala flavouring. Remember, jeera burns easily so add with adding masala - that is to say - don't add in the oil.
5. Now, cover the wok with a lid or plate and leave in low flame. Check once a couple of mins for veggies (poke with laddle / spoon to make sure it's boiled).
6. If cooking eggs, don't do step 5, just keep stirring after you pour the egg in. Eggs cook damn fast.
7. Stir from time to time and make sure your masala is ever. If you are going with pepper, always add pepper in the end. When done, eat.

b) BASIC GRAVY

1. Pour some oil in your wok and heat it in high flame for 2 - 3 mins. How much oil is something you'll learn. Just go with your intuition and adjust as per experience. No hard and fast rule. Rule of thumb, to serve 1 person - 2 - 3 spoons of oil should be good in a non-stick wok. In not non stick, add a spoon more.
2. Bring flame down to medium and then add: mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, maybe some diced onions and some toor dal as well.
3. Add cut tomatoes, diced ginger and garlic / ginger-garlic paste, stir well. Close the lid in medium flame and wait for 3 - 5 mins. The idea is that the tomatoes get squished in the heat and become pulp.
4. Once your tomato has pulped, you've got your basic gravy base. If you are making thick kind of gravy without any veggies, add boiled pulses (with minimum water) at this stage. If you are making a veggie / egg gravy, add your veggies (potato, carrot, gobi, boiled peas, egg (without shell), cabbage, soaked channa etc...). Also add jeera, masala power/chilli powder, salt and asofotedia.
5. Add a little bit more water than you need for the gravy. Cover your wok and let it boil. Stir from time to time and check if the veggies are cooked.
6. Once it's done, add pepper if you want, add some chopped coriander / pudhina and you are set.

c) HOW TO BOIL RICE

1. Wash rice, put in pot with 1.5 - 2 times more water (use same cup to measure rice and water)
2. Boil in a pot with closed lid / plate on low heat for 10 - 15 mins.
3. If you burn your pot and rice gets stuck, don't worry, just add some milk and let it soak for 10 - 15 mins and then washing will be easy.

Notes:

1. Some veggies should always be cooked in oil. The list includes anything that is squishy. Mushrooms, bindi, brinjal etc.
2. Eat a lot of spinach. They are really easy to cook (use the fried veggie instructions with little oil) and are tasty (eat for three days and you'll love them), just need salt to taste good and are bloody nutritious.
3. Wash your dishes after cooking and before eating. It's better than washing them before cooking or after eating.

This is by no means comprehensive. It's just an introduction to Indian cooking. Every district in the country and every state has it's own variations and cuisines. Once you have a handle on the basics you can always make something simple to eat. These basics will also give you the necessary skills to understand how to cook everything else. All cooking is just variations of boiling and frying - that's it. this is what i have learned from last 5-6 months.
Good luck, eat healthy and stop making maggi at the fucking time you nitwit.

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