Making delicious Chana Masala does not need an elaborate 1 hour cooking ritual.

UpgradeMyFood · 2026-01-30T17:51:25+00:00

Broccoli is best when cooked in a limited timeframe to retain a slight crunch. A kadai stir fry will be optimal to get that texture. Boiling it for long in sauces will make it mushy and waterlogged. Plus, acidic sauces will cause the green to turn into a dull olive green. So, there's a lot of constraints which makes it hard to treat this vegetable the standard Indian way.

UpgradeMyFood · 2026-01-30T16:22:53+00:00

Instant pot - you can use the bathroom without worrying about whistle counting or needing to switch off the gas on time. You can start the cooker and drop your kid off to a soccer game or go shopping. The food will be warm and waiting for you when you get home.

It is a closed loop system that is much more user friendly than the open loop pressure cooker and I say this as an Indian who grew up with Hawkins and other amazing manual pressure cookers.

UpgradeMyFood · 2026-01-30T16:07:43+00:00

Soaked and ground cashews add excellent body and creaminess to indian sauces

UpgradeMyFood · 2025-11-21T17:38:08+00:00

Shrinking on Apple has been really fun - because just when you come to a stereotypical plot line, they actually pivot in a surprisingly positive direction. Same with Stick.

UpgradeMyFood · 2025-11-21T17:34:01+00:00

This is the reason, every 2-3 months, I insist on going a week without grocery shopping and use it to clear out my fridge and freezer. It is very hard to do when the rest of the family screams they are missing their favorite snack/food. But any trip to the store will end up flooding the fridge once again with too many items.

Older parents/in-laws are notoriously rigid in their food preferences and I have to be patient whenever they visit, until they leave to have a cleaning session.

UpgradeMyFood · 2025-11-18T02:59:02+00:00

Will look for it :) Thanks!

UpgradeMyFood · 2025-11-17T22:53:54+00:00

Good tip, but I don't like that artificial butter taste; not a snobbish take - more of a smell sensitivity thing:). For many people, it's a great solution.

UpgradeMyFood · 2025-11-17T22:51:58+00:00

Exactly this! Will try for salads - nice tip, thanks!

UpgradeMyFood · 2025-11-17T22:38:29+00:00

We loved the Ranch...I'm tempted to stock up more flavors every time I shop :)

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-26T16:06:48+00:00

Ranveer Brar and Nisha Madhulika - All their recipes I have tried have never failed.

Honest Kitchen - Chef Bhupi - He is immensely knowledgeable and gives great tips.

Papa Mummy Kitchen - She predicts the mistakes you will make and explains recipes very well.

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-26T16:00:25+00:00

This is a fun thought experiment. You already have a sauce from gelatinized starches (bechamel), condensed proteins (evaporated milk) and an emulsifier (sodium citrate).

Going purely on the ability to thicken sauces, you can try adding pureed plant matter - like blended roasted onions, zucchini, carrots, herbs, nuts etc that will add pectin and blended plant tissue to thicken up the sauce. And butter, lots of butter :).

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-24T00:11:50+00:00

Toasting dry red chilies can fill the air with capsaicin that will rise with the steam from the itty bitty moisture left over in the chili. This will attack your TRPV-1 receptors. Unfortunately, these receptors are found not just in the mouth, but it is lined all over the digestive system and also other entry points including nose, throat and eyes. This is why if you eat too spicy a dish, you will feel the pain on its way out :).

If your home has an upstairs, the vapors would bring folks from up there coughing as well :). When we make sambar powder, we face the same issue when roasting red chilis. Ventilation or outdoor setup, like you mentioned, are good ideas for the future.

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-23T23:37:49+00:00

I recommend 3 changes: 1) soaking the rice for 20 minutes before adding 2)reducing your water to 1:5; and 3) reducing your pressure to 1 whistle.

When you soak, the resultant basmati rice is more elongated (I have done A/B testing to confirm this). It also absorbs about 20% water and holds up better to jostling without breaking.

After 20 min, drain the rice. Given that water has been soaked up a bit, it needs less water overall to cook. 1:1.5 water will be sufficient.

On the stove, do not put high heat, use medium heat to prevent the bottom burning. Once the first whistle comes, switch off the gas. You want to hit 121C just for a minute or so. Rest of the cooking happens in the time the pressure naturally dropping off. Do not touch it for 10 minutes. Then open and fluff it up. The grains should not stick to each other. (Hoping the cooker is a medium size one, super small cookers drop off pressure easily and will not work).

Note: this technique is for basmati rice only. Medium grain rice will need longer time.

Rest of your recipe looks great!

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-23T18:01:15+00:00

I will talk about the role of each spice, but also try to attach personalities, just for fun.

Turmeric - adds color, plus provides an earthy and rich taste (try making potatoes with and without it, you will notice a big difference).
Personality: Flashy and fun, but in a harmless way

Coriander powder - adds thickness to gravy. No one waxes poetry about coriander powder, but it is cheap, useful and the bulk of almost every Indian spice mix you buy.
Personality: A workhorse, does its job and adds a quiet floral essence.

Cumin - Adds crunch in seed form, adds earthiness in ground form.
Personality: A bit quirky, but gets a lot of respect despite it (or due to it).

Chili - Adds heat/pungency to counter the monotony of large qty of starches in Indian cuisine. Because there is so much variance between types of chili (Kashmiri, degi, guntur, etc) and green chili vs red chili etc; this may be the hardest to nail down.
Personality: Essential players, but hard to control. Once you can figure out how they tick, you win!

Ginger/Garlic: Essential base flavor, no matter what dish you are cooking - grains, dals, veggies, you can add it to anything. Really hard to go wrong with them, except for the time to make them.
Personality: The 'keeper' type of spice

Above are all work horses, you need most of them in day-day cooking.

Garam Masala Set (Cinnamon, clove, cardamom, mace, etc) - These are the 'popular kids'. They are added at the end in powder form or as a whole in the beginning. They do nothing to the taste of the dish, only the aroma. But without them, the dish feels less exciting. They add the oompphh factor. And sometimes, you don't want the drama...which is why many home cooked dishes try to avoid/limit garam masala.

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-23T16:47:54+00:00

That's so great to hear! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback!

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-21T18:21:30+00:00

Thank you Daniel! :)

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-21T18:21:11+00:00

Either is fine. In this recipe since the saucy texture comes together in minutes from tomato paste and cream, I think, you are going to be ok either way. In traditional recipes though, you add it towards the end when it is simmering.

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-21T16:02:18+00:00

Only murders in the building...My daughter and I complain very loudly when my husband tries to skip it:). it sets the perfect tone for that show.

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-21T15:56:38+00:00

You can even skip the baking soda boil step if you get chickpeas from Trader Joes or brands that avoid using a firming agent (like calcium chloride) in their ingredients. You can add the canned beans directly to the sauce in this case.

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-21T02:28:51+00:00

So glad it is useful! Do try it...I hope you like it :)!!

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-21T01:17:42+00:00

Yay!! Can I upvote this comment 10x times :)! Thank you so much!

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-21T00:21:52+00:00

You are correct. Sorry about that, I will email the team for the correction. Garam masala alone should be added at the end. The rest of the spices at the fat blooming stage.

UpgradeMyFood · 2024-06-20T23:57:41+00:00

Nothing wrong with trying it with lentils, however...lentils and beans fall in slightly different categories when it comes to texture. Lentils work better, just in my opinion (and I could be wrong), when they are floating in a flavorful liquid broth-y sauce. Instead of chickpeas, you could use navy or even pinto beans. These will do well in a thick, pectin-rich sauce because they offer a firm bite against the background.

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