Guides for homes with a cook

Working with your cook

What to say, when to say it, and how to keep the person who cooks for you happy.

• What to tell your cook every morning: a 2-minute routineTell your cook three things: today's dish for each meal, what has run out, and any change. Decide the night before and it takes two minutes.

Weekly menus

Menus your cook can follow, by region and by household.

• Weekly veg menu for North Indian homes (Mon–Sat, lunch and dinner)A Mon–Sat North Indian veg weekly menu for lunch and dinner: one dal and one sabzi a meal, soaking planned the evening before, and a grocery split.

Groceries

What to keep at home, and how to buy only what has run out.

The first guides here are on the way.

Dish know-how

Soaking times, cooker whistles and the small details that decide how a dish turns out.

• How long to soak rajma (and how many whistles)Soak rajma 8 to 12 hours in three times its volume of water. Short on time? Boil 2 minutes, then soak 1 hour. Cooker times and a doneness test inside.