Low Oil Cooking - Tips and Tricks

When we were first told that we would have to cook an entire day's meal with 5 teaspoons of oil, we were taken aback. Though our family never had very oily, spicy food and the amount of oil used was always limited, we never measured it and it was surely more than 5 teaspoons.Now, I can confidently cook a delicious meal with less than  2 teaspoons of oil. We were sure of the fact that adding generous amounts of oil never enhances the taste. I make it a point not to compromise on taste because you can only make healthy food a way of life when you like eating it. I have always been finicky about food and I would never have tasteless food. Then, how can I expect others to have it every single day ? Now, even our guests are treated to food cooked with minimum oil.

It's not that difficult actually. You just need to remember a few tricks and you will be able to cook a healthy yet fulfilling meal for your family :)

Here it goes :

1. Use nonstick cookware : Invest in some nonstick cookware. It will go a long long way ensuring a healthy life for your family. Sprinkle just about a teaspoon to 2 teaspoons of oil. A quality nonstick vessel ensures that the oil doesn't stick to the pan and hence you can cook in very little oil.

Healthy Chciken Rezala - Low Oil Cooking

2. Use yoghurt to cook meat gravy : You don't need too much oil to cook meat.After frying the onions, add the meat along with yoghurt. The meat will cook in the juices coming out of the yoghurt. Cook the meal on medium heat and avoid high heat. You will be surprised to see how yoghurt adds a great flavour to your dish and how the meat turns out to be soft. For cuisines like chilli chicken, boil the chicken first or stir fry the chicken pieces with cornflour.

Homemade Chicken Biriyani with very little oil

3. Do not dry roast the masalas : When we use less oil, it's important to add a little water along with the masalas so that it cooks properly. Cook on medium heat and cover the vessel till you get the desired consistency of the gravy.

4. Pan grill your chicken or fish instead of frying: Bongs swear by their fish curries.For me, it's important to have the fish well cooked before it's added to the gravy. But I do not use buckets of oil to deep fry my fish. Instead, I grill them. You get the best results when you marinate the fish/chicken overnight and pan grill the fish with about one teaspoon of oil in a nonstick pan. But usually, I do not have that much time. I usually marinate for an hour. The results are good enough. 

Palak Chicken that uses very little oil

You just need to give it a shot and keep experimenting. You will be surprised with what you can do with just about a little oil. More importantly, it will give you the satisfaction of cooking a healthy meal for the family. 😊

I would love to hear your tips for low oil cooking ! 😗

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