Leftovers Biryani

February 10, 2026

Unfussy biryani made from leftover salan, on the stove top or the Instant Pot. Use any shorba or qorma wala salan that has a tomato onion masala base. See Notes section for a “salan” hack if you don’t have any on hand.

Credits

Recipe adapted from Mirchi Tales.

Ingredients

amount	ingredient
500g	rice, basmati
1 tsp	salt
as needed / 675g	water (stove top vs instant pot)
28g / 2 T	oil
1	onion, medium, sliced thin
1	potato, gold, large, chopped
1	tomato, medium, chopped
2 cups	leftover salan
~2-3 T	Shan Special Bombay Biryani masala
2 T	yogurt
1	jalapeño, sliced
¼ cup	cilantro, fresh, chopped
2 T	mint, fresh, finely chopped

process

Stove top

The stove top version is unfussy from using leftover salan and also from only making 1 layer, in a wide, shallow paella pan (if you have one). If you don’t have such a pan, use whatever pot you have, and you can do multiple layers if you want.

wash rice thoroughly 4-5 times, and set to boil with 1 tsp salt in medium sized pot; cook until 80-90% done
heat a large, wide paella pan, add oil until shimmering, add onions to brown along with the potatoes
add tomatoes and cook until they start to break down
add half the jalapeño and all the Shan masala, sauté a few minutes to infuse oil with flavor and mix thoroughly
add salan, mix thoroughly
add yogurt; mix
cook gravy down until mostly “dry” and oil starts to separate, reduce heat to minimal
- gravy should taste a little too salty and overspiced at this stage
spread gravy out in an even layer
strain rice (should be about 85% done, but it’s not that deep), spread evenly on top of the gravy in a single layer
sprinkle cilantro, mint, and the rest of the jalapeño on top; cover with a tight-fitting lid, set to steam for ~15 minutes at lowest heat setting
fluff up and serve

Instant Pot

The instant pot version is even more unfussy, because there’s no layering whatsoever, it’s all cooked together, pulao style, and made in just one pot. No futzing about with getting the rice to 85% done, etc. Down side is that the rice will all be one color, not variegated like when it’s layered.

mode: sauté
temp: medium

wash rice thoroughly 4-5 times, set aside to soak for 30-60 minutes
when IP is hot, add oil, onions, salt; cook until onions start to brown
add tomatoes, potatoes, half the jalapeños, cook until they start to break down
add Shan masala, mix thoroughly and cook for 1-2 minutes
add salan, mix and cook down
add yogurt; mix
cook gravy down until mostly “dry” and oil starts to separate; turn off sauté mode
drain rice and add to instant pot, along with 675g water
- use your judgement; if your gravy is a bit wet (maybe you had to periodically deglaze with water), use slightly less water
sprinkle cilantro, mint, and remainder of the jalapeño on top, close the lid

pressure: high
time: 4 minutes
release: 5 minute natural release

open lid and fluff rice;
- if it looks a little wet, leave the lid off and let the rice air out after fluffing, periodically fluff again so the rice on the bottom has a chance to air out as well

notes

The Sukhi’s brand chicken curries from Costco make a great base here; mango coconut curry flavor works better than the tikka masala, as it’s more mildly spiced. One pouch is enough for this recipe (the Costco pack contains 2 pouches).
Any tomato-based salan will probably work; I’ve even made leftover biryani from an Italian chicken dish I’d made, so don’t be shy to experiment. The biryani masala is quite strong and will overpower most existing flavors.
can be made vegetarian easily
can also add goodies like dried plums when making the gravy

Biryani Masalay

There are other biryani mixes available, even from the same brand, and I’ve used several when making this recipe—but none of them give the perfect biryani flavor that I get from the Shan Special Bombay Biryani mix, so I stick with it.

If you have others on hand, use them at your own risk. Here are some of my notes below:

Shan regular biryani mix is…fine, but nothing really to write home about, it’s missing whatever gives the Special Bombay Biryani its chatpata zing
National brand is ok but heavier on the laal mirch, so use a more sparing hand
Lazizah was basically all mirch, so use a very light hand; also, very few other notes could be detected; do not recommend

See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.

better than takeout ○ chicken ○ comfort food ○ desi ○ freezer friendly ○ meat ○ pakistani ○ photo ○ rice ○ vegetarian

Biryani Pasta (Instant Pot)

February 9, 2026

This version contains the measurements and ingredients necessary to make biryani pasta in a 6qt or larger instant pot. These measurements (especially timing and water amounts) will not work for the stove top, although using common sense, you could easily adapt the recipe for stove top cooking.

Recipe tested in a 6qt standard and 7qt Rio Wide Instant Pot.

Ingredients

amount	ingredient
1 lb / 500g	dry pasta
1 lb / 500g	chicken breast, raw, thin sliced^* (optional)
~1-2 T	olive oil
1	onion, medium, sliced
~2 T	Shan Special Bombay Biryani masala
~24oz	tomato sauce
36oz	water
to taste	salt; use more if using chicken
to taste	cheese, shredded
to taste	cilantro, chopped

^*see notes for how to add chicken

Process

mode: sauté
heat: medium

when IP is heated up on sauté mode, add olive oil and wait for it to heat up
add sliced onions and sauté until transluscent; no need to brown
add Shan masala and toast in oil for ~1-2 minutes, making sure there are no dry bits of masala and also that the masala doesn’t burn
if using raw chicken, add it now and mix well
add tomato or marinara sauce and mix well
IMPORTANT: pasta is not eaten like biryani, where the whole spices are expected to be picked out, so after the flavors of the spices have infused the tomato sauce mixture well, fish out as many of the whole spices as you can find.
- at this stage, mixture should taste over-spiced and salted
- add salt or more Shan masala conservatively, per taste; remember there’s salt in the Shan mix, too
add pasta
- if using spaghetti or other long shapes, break in half and layer in criss-cross pattern to fit in 6qt pot
add water; scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking that will burn later

pressure: high
time: 8 minutes
release: manual

once pressure drops, open lid and add cheese and cilantro, stir to melt and combine
- can also add cheese individually in plates when serving

Notes

any pasta shape will work, I’ve used spaghetti, farfalle, rotini, penne, etc.
there are other biryani mixes available, even from the same brand, but I don’t find the perfect biryani flavor in any of them but the one I linked, so use others at your own risk (some are much heavier on the spice or salt, some lack the proper floral notes, etc.)
if using cooked chicken, shred and add it at the end, along with the cheese in step 9 to avoid overcooking
suggest experimenting with a lower cook time and longer natural release to leverage passive cooking…something like 3 minutes high pressure, 5 minutes natural release (untested)

cheeses

Any melting cheese will work well here. I have used/tried and enjoyed:

mozzarella, shredded
provolone
pepperjack
jalapeno havarti slices
shredded pizza cheese blend

You can also sandwich a slice of cheese between layers of portioned pasta (the cheese pull in the picture is from a slice of provolone layered between pasta in the bowl)

See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.

Instant Pot // Mains // Recipe

better than takeout ○ chicken ○ desi ○ freezer friendly ○ fusion ○ italian ○ meat ○ one pot pan or bowl ○ pakistani ○ photo

Alfredo Sauce

April 27, 2025

Ingredients

amount	ingredient
2 T	butter
1 clove or ¼ tsp	garlic or garlic powder
1 cup	heavy cream
1 cup	Parmigiano-Reggiano, blended or shredded
to taste	salt
to taste	black pepper
to taste	red pepper flakes^*
1 handful	arugula or spinach, chopped^*
5	sundried tomatoes, chopped^*
1	lemon juice, fresh^*

^*optional

Process

in a saucepot on the stove, gently melt butter and add garlic; cook until fragrant, a minute or two
add heavy cream and parm
add salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes; simmer gently as sauce thickens
add greens and sundried tomatoes
when sauce thickens to desired consistency, turn off heat, add lemon juice and stir

If adding to pasta, set pasta to boil before starting the sauce and add it to the saucepot along with a little bit of pasta water once done. Stir to coat thoroughly and serve.

Notes

if the sauce is too thick, thin with milk or water (whatever you have on hand)
can also use milk or half and half if you don’t have cream, but may have to cook down longer to thicken

optional add-ins

Add whatever you have on hand, like:

parsley (fresh or dried)
white pepper
arugula
spinach
kale, finely chopped
sundried tomatoes

Base Ingredient // Recipe // Stovetop

better than takeout ○ freezer friendly ○ italian ○ one pot pan or bowl ○ photo ○ quick ○ sauce ○ vegetarian

Asian Chicken Marinade

April 26, 2025
Credits

Recipe adapted from RecipeTinEats.

Ingredients

amount ingredient
3 lbs chicken breast
2 T ginger garlic paste
3 T soy sauce
2 T ketchup
1 T orange chicken sauce^*
3 T Sriracha
1 tsp oil^*
^* see notes

Process
1. thin the chicken breasts either by pounding with a meat mallet or slicing; your butcher may also be able to do it for you when buying
2. mix marinade ingredients together in a bowl (or zip top bag) and add chicken, mix until the chicken is completely coated
3. if using a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap is actually touching the chicken so it doesn’t dry out; if using zip top bag, push excess air out and seal
4. let chicken marinate in fridge for ~1 hour and up to overnight
Cooking the chicken

Stovetop
1. set dry pan over medium heat; once hot, add a thin layer of oil
2. gently lay chicken into the oiled pan in a single layer; do not flip chicken until a nice crust forms on the first side down
  - do not overlap chicken
  - do not overcrowd pan; you will have to do multiple batches
3. flip when chicken releases easily from the pan and the first side is mostly cooked through, shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes, and may take less
4. cook the other side for a few minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken is no longer pink
5. remove from pan and place in serving plate; cover with aluminum foil to keep warm as you cook the rest of the chicken
bake in the oven
```
preheat oven: 450º F
```
1. line baking pans or sheet with aluminum foil and place chicken breasts on it in a single layer
  - do not overlap chicken
  - make sure to shake off excess marinade so chicken isn’t “wet” going into the oven
2. Bake chicken in oven for ~8-15 minutes; check at the earlier time so as not to overcook; assess done-ness by slicing into the thickest part to make sure it’s cooked through
Because this is a wet marinade, the chicken will kind of steam in the oven a bit. Still delicious, but you don’t get much of a maillard reaction. You could try broiling it instead, but I haven’t tried this and am not sure how well it would cook the chicken all the way through (probably be fine though).

The major benefit of baking vs other methods is its pretty hands off, despite the large amount of chicken, so you’re not tied to the stove. It’s also less messy, with easier clean up since there’s no oil splatters or smoke.

grill
1. fire up the grill and heat to medium
2. oil the grates and place chicken breasts over indirect heat, cook until one side is mostly cooked through and gets nice grill marks
3. flip and cook the other side just until cooked through
Sous vide
1. preheat sous vide bath to 150-155º F (or whatever your preference for chicken breast))
2. shake off excess marinade from chicken and place in a silicone or zip top bag in a single layer
3. submerge in bath for ~1 hour
Notes
- orange chicken sauce: I just pulled whatever “Asian” sauce was in the fridge…if I was in my own kitchen, I would probably use oyster, fish, or hoisin sauce; maybe a combination
  - don’t think too hard about this one and use whatever you have on hand
- sesame oil is best, but I only had olive oil on hand so that’s what I ended up using
- chicken breast is easy to overcook, especially when thin-sliced, so keep a close eye on cook times (sous vide is the most forgiving)
  - err on the side of less cook time
  - you can remove chicken from the heat just when cooked and cover with foil so that the carry-over heat will gently finish it perfectly
Freezing tips

The marinade itself can be frozen in ice cubes, or you can freeze the chicken after covering it in the marinade. This is especially useful if you’ll be sous viding it afterwards, since you can take it from the freezer directly into the water bath.

See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.

Suggested uses
- on salads (especially with an Asian sauce like a Thai peanut dressing and fried noodle croutons)
- in sandwiches
- on pastas and noodle bowls
- eat it alone for a great, protein-rich snack
- shred it in tacos or burritos
Grill // Mains // Oven // Recipe // Sous Vide // Stovetop

asian ○ chicken ○ freezer friendly ○ marinade ○ meat

amount	ingredient
3 lbs	chicken breast
2 T	ginger garlic paste
3 T	soy sauce
2 T	ketchup
1 T	orange chicken sauce^*
3 T	Sriracha
1 tsp	oil^*

Chana Pulao

July 5, 2024

Credits

Recipe adapted from Tea for Turmeric.

ingredients

amount	ingredient
300g	rice, basmati
2 cups	water
40g // 3 T	oil
1	onion, medium, sliced
1	tomato, small, quartered (optional)
2½ tsp	salt, divided
3 cloves	garlic, minced
⅓ piece	ginger, minced
2	bay leaves, small
½ tsp	black peppercorns, whole
1″	cinnamon stick
1	cardamom, black, small
5	cloves, whole
1 tsp	cumin seeds
½ tsp	black pepper
15oz	chickpeas, cooked (chanay)

process

wash rice, set aside to soak 30 minutes

mode: sauté
heat: high

add oil, onions, bay leaves and 1 tsp of the salt; brown the onions
add ginger, garlic; sauté 2 minutes until fragrant (deglaze with a splash of water, as needed)
add tomato, removing skins as they come loose (optional)
add whole spices along with the rest of the salt, mix well; add chickpeas
drain rice, add to instant pot along with the 2 cups of water

pressure: high
time: 5 minutes
release: 5 minutes natural release

open pot, fluff rice; serve

notes

optional additions / changes

can add peeled and chopped potatoes at the same time as the chickpeas
can add ½-1 green chili like Serrano, slit several times
can use 15 oz of cooked and frozen chickpeas, or a 15oz can, drained

See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.

Instant Pot // Mains // Recipe

better than takeout ○ desi ○ freezer friendly ○ one pot pan or bowl ○ pakistani ○ rice ○ vegetarian

Spicy Southwest Chicken Soup

May 17, 2024

This is a more “from-scratch” and meat-inclusive version of my quicker, spicy southwest veggie soup.

Ingredients

amount	ingredient
50g	black beans, dry
50g	white beans, dry
100g	kidney beans, dry
1 lb	chicken breast
24g	oil
160g	onion, diced
150g	bell pepper, diced
28 oz	tomatoes, diced
28 oz	water
15g	Better Than Bouillon
12 oz	corn, frozen
1 oz	jalapenos
2 T	cumin
1 T	chili powder
1 tsp	salt
to taste	black pepper
½ tsp	garlic powder
½ tsp	MSG
¼-½ cup	cilantro, chopped, fresh or frozen
1	lime, fresh, juice of (optional)

Process

Instant Pot

add all dried beans to Instant Pot and cover with ~1″ of water

pressure: high
time: 15 minutes
release: 10 minute natural

drain beans, set aside

sauté: high

add oil and chicken, sear until chicken is no longer pink; set aside
add onions and bell peppers, cook until translucent
add all other ingredients, including chicken, to pressure cooker

pressure: high
time: 4 minutes
release: 15 minute natural

remove chicken breast and set aside to cool enough to handle
blend soup sporadically with immersion blender until desired consistency reached (optional)
dice chicken into bite-sized pieces, or shred and return to pot
add cilantro and fresh lime juice, mix well and serve immediately

Stovetop

I’ve never bothered to make beans on the stovetop and wouldn’t recommend it to others. If you already have beans (canned, frozen, or just extra lying around, proceed with the below. Otherwise, just submerge dry beans in water and cook them forever.

in heavy-bottom pot, add oil and sear chicken until no longer pink; set aside
add onions and bell peppers, cook until translucent
add the rest of the ingredients, including chicken; simmer until chicken is cooked through and all other components have meshed together
remove chicken and allow to cool enough to handle
blend soup sporadically with immersion blender until desired consistency reached (optional)
dice chicken into bite-sized pieces, or shred, and return to pot
add cilantro and fresh lime juice, mix well and serve immediately

Notes

This soup goes great with:

a dollop of sour cream
corn tortilla strips, chips, or broken up tostada/tortilla shells
shredded cheese of choice
avocado
fresh jalapeno coins
a dash of hot sauce
crusty bread

Picture shows soup made with 3-4 T of heavy cream, and 2 cans of tomato sauce instead of the diced tomatoes, since that’s what I had on hand. I had already copied my before small and uniform, and with no large tomato chunks, I didn’t bother to blend. Extra lime juice and pepper jack cheese added to serve.

See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.

Instant Pot // Recipe // Soup // Stovetop

american ○ better than takeout ○ chicken ○ comfort food ○ freezer friendly ○ fusion ○ meat ○ mexican ○ one pot pan or bowl ○ photo

Lahori Chole

March 10, 2024

Also known as “chikad chole” or “chikar chole” which translates to “muddled chick peas”.

Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. If you cook desi food often, you likely already have them all on hand. I’ve broken the process down into its simple, individual components for the sake of clarity.

Because this is a recipe that uses interesting techniques, I highly recommend reading through the whole post before getting started.

Credits

Recipe adapted from Flavour of Desi Food. Watch the video linked to see the process and also if you’re confused on any particulars (like, “how much is 3 pieces of cinnamon?”). I’ve adapted the recipe from her, so there are some small changes, but the video is an excellent resource regardless.

Shoutout to user farzadalirdofficerscci4689 who dropped the written recipe in the comments. You a real one.

ingredients

amount	ingredient
500g	chickpeas, dry
1 tsp	baking soda
1 tsp	salt^*
110g	oil
1 T	ginger garlic paste
1 small	onion
1 tsp	salt^*
1 tsp	cayenne
1 tsp	chili flakes
1 tsp	turmeric
1 tsp	black pepper
1 small	potato
~½ cup	water
3 pieces	cinnamon
3	black cardamom
1 tsp	cumin powder
1 tsp	coriander powder
1 tsp	chole powder^**
1	chicken bouillon cube
1 tsp	amchur powder
115g	yogurt, whole milk (dahi)
3 cups	chickpea cooking liquid (aqafaba)^**
1 tsp	dried fenugreek (kasuri methi)
1	jalapeño, thin sliced
to taste	cilantro, fresh

^*salt is listed twice, as it’s used in 2 places
^**see notes

Onion paste

Making the onion paste is easy: just blend 1 small onion into a smooth paste. I used a mini food processor that came with my stick blender, but you could use a stick blender, regular blender, or even a spice grinder.

I used a mix of red and yellow onions, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.

Thickening paste

Boil the small potato until fork tender. Since this will be blended up, I did not bother to peel the potato (and I like potato peels, anyhow, so why do more work?). I just cut out any suspicious areas or eyes in it and set it to boil. Once done, let cool. You can cut it into a few pieces to help speed up the process.

To the potato, add a ½ cup of cooked chickpeas, and the ~½ cup of water. Blend until a smooth paste forms. I used the same mini food processor from the onion paste.

Naturally, because it uses some of the cooked chickpeas, this thickening paste must be made after the chickpeas are cooked, so it can’t be prepared ahead of time.

Spices

Everything was made easier by portioning out my spices ahead of time since the flavors are layered in different stages. I prepped as many things ahead as I could, particularly the dry ingredients so that I wasn’t worried about measuring or missing something during the cook.

I combine anything that’s going in together in the same bowl, no need for individual ramekins for each spice.

bowl 1	bowl 2	bowl 3
salt	cumin powder	chicken cube
cayenne	coriander powder	amchur powder
chili flakes	chole powder
turmeric
black pepper

I also took out and set aside the cinnamon and black cardamom.

Process

This recipe requires a bit of planning ahead, but does offer some downtime in which to multitask and prep ingredients (see previous section). I’ve listed the processes below with this in mind to help streamline everything.

Overnight soak

Add dry chickpeas and baking soda to a large mixing bowl and fill it with water. Yes, fill it—the chickpeas will expand considerably and drink up most of it. Cover the bowl with a dinner plate / tea towel / aluminum foil (whatever you have on hand) and let soak for 12 hours.

Cooking the chickpeas

After 12 hours, drain the chickpeas and rinse them under cold water. Add them to the Instant Pot along with 1 tsp of salt, then cover with water. There should be enough water in the pot to cover the chickpeas with and an additional 2″ of water on top of that.

pressure: high
time: 14-16 minutes
release: 20 minutes natural release

When done, DO NOT DRAIN!

This is a good place to make the thickening paste using ½ cup of the cooked chickpeas.

If you’re using your IP for the rest of the cook, then transfer the chickpeas with their cooking liquid back to the mixing bowl (you washed it, right?), cover, and set aside. Wash the IP insert and move onto making the base gravy.

Base Gravy

add oil + ginger garlic paste to Instant Pot

sauté: medium

spread paste around evenly and cook gently until fragrant, ~30 seconds
add onion paste and cook, stirring periodically, until it changes color to an even, toasty brown and most of the water has evaporated

sauté: low

add the first round of spices (bowl 1) and sauté for 1 minute; the heat is reduced so that the spices don’t burn

sauté: medium

add the thickening paste and sauté well until everything is nicely incorporated; this may take several minutes
- if the potato mixture is quite thick, it may stick to the pan; if this happens, add water as needed (a few tablespoons at a time) and scrape the bottom frequently so nothing burns
add cinnamon and black cardamom, cook for 2-3 minutes
add the next round of spices (bowl 2) and mix thoroughly
crumble up the chicken cube and add it to the gravy along with the amchur powder (bowl 3); mix

Bring It All Together

add cooked chickpeas and yogurt; mix mix mix
add the aquafaba and stir to combine everything; it will be pretty soupy at this point
cook uncovered for ~20 minutes until the salan reduces to your desired consistency
- stir regularly and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking
- as you stir, crush the chickpeas against the sides of the pot to muddle everything together, make it thicker and give it the signature look

Finishing

Add all the fenugreek and half the cilantro + jalapeño slices (reserve the other half for garnish); mix thoroughly and cook for ~3 minutes.

Notes

be generous with the ginger garlic paste; I use a heaping tablespoonful
the original recipe listed “garam masala” but I dislike it a lot, so I substituted with a boxed mix (Shan or other brand) of generic “chole masala”…you could probably get away with using any sort of box mix spice blend here. Or use garam masala if that’s your thing. If you have none of those, skip it.
aquafaba is the sometimes foamy, cloudy liquid leftover from cooking chickpeas, which we’ll hold onto and won’t discard in this recipe; this is NOT the soaking water that the chickpeas sat in overnight (which had baking soda added to it)

I made this entire recipe in my Instant Pot (first cooking the chickpeas, and then the whole dish in it), but you could make it on the stove top just as easily. I do recommend using the IP or another pressure cooker to cook the actual chickpeas themselves because that will take a lot longer any other way. But apart from that, you can proceed with the rest using any pot you prefer.

See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.

Instant Pot // Mains // Recipe // Stovetop

better than takeout ○ breakfast ○ desi ○ freezer friendly ○ pakistani ○ photo ○ vegetarian

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

January 26, 2024

Credits

Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction. She has lots of incredibly helpful information so I encourage reading through her post.

Ingredients

amount	ingredient
250g	flour, all-purpose
60g	cocoa powder (not* dutch processed)*
2 tsp	baking soda
½ tsp	baking powder
1 tsp	espresso powder (optional)
½ tsp	salt
125g	oil
90g	applesauce, unsweetened
250g	sugar
15g	molasses
4	eggs
80g	sour cream
360g	zucchini, shredded
180g	chocolate chips

See notes for helpful ingredient information

Process

preheat oven: 350°

in medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour through salt in the list); mix thoroughly
in a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients (from oil through chocolate chips)
add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined
spray muffin tins with spray oil (or use cupcake liners), then divide the batter into the tins, almost filling each cavity

bake: ~22 minutes

let cupcakes cool for ~10 minutes on the counter, then remove from tray

nutrition

whole recipe: 1,495g = 4,517 calories
1 cupcake = 238 calories

notes

substitutions & replacement

because of the science involved, the cocoa powder can’t be replaced with dutch-processed cocoa powder; read the original recipe post for more details (see Credits section above)
if you do not have applesauce, you can just use oil; you can replace some of the oil in most baked goods with applesauce
espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavor, without giving any coffee flavor in this amount; use it if you have it, skip it if you don’t
if you don’t have molasses, use 100g of regular sugar and 150g of brown sugar

other

all ingredients should be at room temp; if you’re like me, just heat a cup of water in the microwave to generate heat and steam, then put the sour cream and eggs in the TURNED OFF microwave to warm up before you start
oil the tray really well as they will stick to dry spots easily

See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.

Oven // Recipe // Sweets

american ○ baking ○ better than takeout ○ calories calculated ○ cupcakes ○ freezer friendly ○ photo ○ vegetarian

Mac & Cheese

October 30, 2023

credits

Recipe adapted from The Salty Marshmallow.

ingredients

in the pressure cooker

Amount	Ingredient
1 lb // 16oz // 453g	dry pasta (medium size)
4 cups	water
32g	no-chicken base
2 T	butter
1 T	hot sauce
1 T	red pepper flakes
1 tsp	garlic powder
1 tsp	black pepper
½ tsp	salt

for stir-in

Amount	Ingredient
½ cup / 120g	milk
½ cup / 116g	heavy cream
240g	cheddar, preferably sharp
120g	cheese 2^*
60g	parmigiana reggiano, shredded (or blended)
2 tsp	mustard, stone ground
1 tsp	mustard, hot honey (Inglehoffer)

^*see notes

process

add all ingredients under “in the pressure cooker” to pressure cooker

Pressure: High
Time: 5 minutes
Release: 5 minutes natural, then quick release

add milk, heavy cream, and both mustards, mix thoroughly
add handfuls of cheese, stirring in between until melted, until all cheese is done

notes

any medium size pasta shape will work fine; my favorite is cavatappi
any combination of cheeses can be used, but classic mac and cheese flavor relies on a cheddar-forward profile, the sharper the better (or per preference)
can replace the milk and heavy cream with 1 cup of milk instead (tested)

cheese 2

The original recipe used mozzarella for all 120g of cheese 2, but that was a bit “meh.” This slot is a good place to experiment. The picture below used half Jarlsberg and half shredded Mexican blend. The Jarlsberg adds a really nutty flavor and amazing cheese pull. Also makes a great grilled cheese.

See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.

Instant Pot // Mains // Recipe

american ○ better than takeout ○ dump and go ○ freezer friendly ○ low effort ○ one pot pan or bowl ○ photo ○ quick ○ vegetarian

Marinara Sauce

August 5, 2023
Credits

Recipe adapted from Budget Bytes.

Ingredients

makes 4 32oz jars

106 oz tomatoes, whole, peeled
300g onion, yellow, diced
110g butter
2 T garlic
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T sugar
2 T basil, dried
1 T oregano, dried
1 T crushed red pepper
to taste black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tsp MSG

Process
1. add all ingredients to pressure cooker
2. mash everything up roughly with potato masher, or crush up tomatoes with hands
```
Pressure: low
Time: 30 minutes
Release: natural
```
1. blitz with immersion blender to desired consistency
Notes
- 106oz of whole, peeled tomatoes = 1 giant 10# can from Costco
- can also add negligible amount of baking soda to cut acidity instead of sugar (untested)
- can also slow cook for ~8 hours on low
  - after slow cooking, onions don’t necessarily become translucent, still have some raw bite; consider:
    
    running on high for 4 hours instead (untested)
    
    pressure cooking as above in addition to slow cook
    
    sauteing onions in butter and maybe some olive oil briefly before step 1 (untested)
See the freezing guide for tips and information on freezer-safe food storage.
Base Ingredient // Instant Pot // Recipe

better than takeout ○ dump and go ○ freezer friendly ○ italian ○ one pot pan or bowl ○ photo ○ sauce ○ vegetarian

Credits

Ingredients

process

Stove top

Instant Pot

notes

Biryani Masalay

Ingredients

Process

Notes

cheeses

Ingredients

Process

Notes

optional add-ins

Credits

Ingredients

Process

Cooking the chicken

Stovetop

bake in the oven

grill

Sous vide

Notes

Freezing tips

Suggested uses

Credits

ingredients

process

notes

optional additions / changes

Ingredients

Process

Instant Pot

Stovetop

Notes

Credits

ingredients

Onion paste

Thickening paste

Spices

Process

Overnight soak

Cooking the chickpeas

Base Gravy

Bring It All Together

Finishing

Notes

Credits

Ingredients

Process

nutrition

notes

substitutions & replacement

other

credits

ingredients

in the pressure cooker

for stir-in

process

notes

cheese 2

Credits

Ingredients

Process

Notes