No time to cook? PR veteran, Veena Gidwani has the solution

PR, like journalism, is a 24x7 job. And the first casualty of a schedule filled with pissed off hacks, angry clients and stressful pitches is food. PR veteran, Veena Gidwani, former CEO of Madison PR understands the demands on busy PR professionals.  And to help them and other super –busy people out, she has put together a collection of her quick recipes, in a cookbook titled The “‘I've No Time To Cook” Book, hoping to inspire young men and women to attempt cooking and eat healthy:

For the chilly winter days ahead, after a long day at work, reach for this soup instead of a dripping with oil pakoda:

Pumpkin soup

Serves 3- 4

Get Set
½ kg pumpkin (yellow)
3-4 spring onions
6-8 flakes of garlic (preferably fresh green garlic)
½ inch piece ginger
1 tsp butter (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
A few coriander or mint leaves for garnish
1-2 tbsps. lemon juice

Here’s How
Peel and cut pumpkin into one inch pieces. Chop onion, ginger and garlic into tiny pieces. Put all ingredients in a pressure cooker. Add 2 cups of water. Pressure cook for 7-8 minutes after first whistle. When cool, transfer contents to a blender and blend for a minute or two. Heat a pan, add butter, let it melt.

Tip: For a stronger garlic flavour, once ready you can give the soup a tadka of finely chopped garlic sautéed in a tablespoon of hot melted butter.

The book published by Half Baked Beans, contains sections on setting up your kitchen, understanding the basics of cooking, recipes (vegetarian and non vegetarian) for every meal of the day and also a section on making leftover food interesting. The book is available online.