Being a 20-something working professional with a full-time job and other co-curriculars taking up a major chunk of the day, I know how difficult it is to make the time for making three square meals a day and eating out constantly or paying for take-away isn’t cost-effective or even good for your health.
Ever since I got my hands on the Nutri-Pot Electric Pressure Cooker with 7-in-1 functions, cooking one pot meals has been revolutionized for somebody with a busy schedule like mine. All I have to do is prep my ingredients, plug in and tap a button and it does everything else! Can you imagine the time I save? I grew up eating a lot of slow-cooked meat dishes that my mother would painstakingly make which has now become that much easier, while maintaining the softness and succulence of the meat. How many of us have suffered when the veggies we’re making or the meat doesn’t cook evenly? The hard-anodized aluminium inner pot makes sure the heat is distributed evenly and the delay timer even allows me to run a quick laundry cycle between meals and still ensures I get fresh food during meal-time. It has 18 pre-set dishes and I was even able to customize recipes according to what I wanted through the manual mode. Heaven sent for somebody who’s both busy and lazy!
Down below are some insanely easy one-pot meals which are perfect for hectic weeknights and lazy weekends. Tasty, low on mess and ready in 30 minutes or less; these recipes prove a quick dinner never has to be a dull dinner.
One-pot Italian Chicken
With a prep time of 25 minutes, this is a delicious meal made even easier with the Nutri-pot.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 20g butter
- 4 small chicken breasts fillets
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 80g (1/2 cup) sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
- 80ml (1/3 cup) white wine
- 250ml (1 cup) thickened cream
- 125ml (1/2 cup) Massel chicken style liquid stock
- 60g pkt baby spinach
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- Crusty bread, to serve
Steps
- Heat some olive oil and butter in the pot until the butter is thick and foamy.
- Season the chicken and add it to the pan. Select ‘Steam’ from the pre-set menu until it’s cooked on both sides and the meat is succulent and juicy. Take chicken out and cover it with foil to keep it warm.
- Put the chopped garlic in, follow it up with tomatoes, add the wine and cook for 1 minute or until reduced. Add the cream and stock. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced. Steam the spinach leaves until wilted. Season and sprinkle with the basil leaves. Serve with crusty bread
Mushroom Soup
This tasty, one-pot meal is the perfect appetizer on chilly evenings or the days you feel like a warm hug in the form of a soup
Ingredients
- 400 grams fresh button mushrooms, chopped
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 5 cups skimmed milk
- Salt to taste
- White pepper powder to taste
Steps
- Pre-heat Wonderchef Nutri-Pot by pressing the Sauté button.
- Add the olive oil and once it’s hot, add the onions and mushrooms, and stir till they soften.
- Add milk, salt and white pepper powder and mix well.
- Press cancel, cover with the lid and cook on soup mode (i.e. for 10 minutes).
- Once 10 minutes are over, Nutri-Pot will go on “Keep Warm” mode, press “Cancel” and let the pressure settle down, open the lid.
- Remove the pot and transfer the mixture in a bowl and blend into fine puree with the help of a hand blender.
- Transfer into serving bowls and serve piping hot.
Author : Alina Gufran, writer and film-maker, who loves the outdoors and reading.
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