Do Marinate: I often whip meat up with some yoghurt, ginger and garlic in the morning before rushing out to work. Covered and stored in the fridge while you resolve the latest work crisis, the marinade will slowly seep into the meat, giving you an altogether more tender and tasty result when you are ready for dinner in the evening.

Don't pre-cook: The logic is this. If you pre-cook vegetables or meats before adding them to the pan, they don't need that much time with the masalas or other ingredients already in there. This, in turn, means they don’t get enough time to absorb all the lovely flavours in the pan. And this unfortunately means a real missed opportunity for your vegetables or meats. If time is of the essence, use a pressure cooker – a much better way to be cooking for flavour.

Do cook for later: Let's admit it. Food always tastes better the next day. Especially Indian food. All those aromatic and gorgeous spices really get a chance to work their magic when they’ve been left to themselves for a day. I always cook extra, so that I can come home from work and smile smugly at the plate of leftover food, before I shove it in the microwave for two minutes on high. Pure genius.

Don't overuse chillies: When used carefully, chillies can add heat and flavour. But when chilli sauce/chilli powder/chilli flakes is added to everything, you get the flavour of, well, chilli. Or chilli sauce. Not great for flavour and weapons of mass destruction as far as taste buds go.

Do experiment: So here's the deal. There are a lot of other ingredients you could use to jazz up bland meals. A splash of leftover red or white wine when frying onions for pasta sauce. A drizzle of fresh lemon on chicken or vegetables before cooking them as per instructions. Two drops of Worcestershire sauce in the pan. Half a teaspoon of mustard sauce. Even ketchup.

Trust me! It works every time…

Author: Mallika Basu

(The author writes an Indian cooking blog titled www.quickindiancooking.com for busy food lovers around the world. Born and brought up in Kolkata, India, she lives and works by day as a public relations consultant in London.)