Here’s how to cook onions perfectly

"So many recipes include slow cooking and caramelising onions. It is worth noting that the colour and flavour is what yields itself in the resultant gravy. So give your onions time while cooking if the recipe requires it," said Chef Maunika Gowardhan.

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Are you cooking your onions perfectly? (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)

A lot of us took to cooking during the lockdown and were introduced to the infinite ways one can prepare a dish. But it is not only elaborate dishes, even simple vegetables can be made in several different ways, one of which is the all-time favourite onion or kaanda or pyaaz. Wondering what we are talking about? Check out chef Maunika Gowardhan‘s Instagram post below.

In the post, she mentions the different ways in which one can use the staple vegetable, which she describes as “the holy grail of Indian curries”.

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ONIONS Let’s talk about the holy grail of Indian curries! So many recipes include slow cooking and caramelising onions. It is worth noting the colour and flavour is what yields itself in the resultant gravy. So give your onions time while cooking if the recipe requires it. A few things to keep in mind while cooking- – Begin with enough oil in you’re pan – make sure the heat is on a medium so the onions sizzle once they hit the oil – as they begin to soften they will go light brown and then start to caramelise and glisten in the oil – the pan above has around 300gms of onions and will take atleast 25 minutes to get to this stage – stir often so they colour evenly – you can add a pinch of salt to assist while they brown Lots of my recipes give a longer cooking time and many of you ask why it takes so long. But remember if the ingredients list 300gms or 400gms of onions they will need specified time to cook all the way through. Also not every Indian recipe or curry requires this process some are fairly quicker and just need you to cook it for 7-10 minutes but will soften them if that’s all the recipe needs.

A post shared by Maunika Gowardhan (@cookinacurry) on Jun 16, 2020 at 6:19am PDT

“So many recipes include slow cooking and caramelising onions. It is worth noting (that) the colour and flavour is what yields itself in the resultant gravy. So give your onions time while cooking if the recipe requires it,” she said.

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Here’s what you need to keep in mind.

*Begin with enough oil in your pan.
*Make sure the heat is on medium, so the onions sizzle once they hit the oil.
*As they begin to soften, they will go light brown and then start to caramelise and glisten in the oil.
*Stir often so they colour evenly.
*You can add a pinch of salt to assist while they brown.

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While Gowardhan‘s recipe had around 300gms of onions which would take at least 25 minutes to caramelise, lots of her other recipes give a longer cooking time, she mentioned. If you wondered why it takes so long, she explained, “If the ingredients list 300or 400g of onions, they will need specified time to cook all the way through. Also not every Indian recipe or curry requires this process, some are fairly quicker and just need you to cook it for 7-10 minutes but will soften them if that’s all the recipe needs.”

Helpful, right?

First uploaded on: 24-06-2020 at 11:40 IST

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