大象传媒

How to eat well for about 拢1 per portion with Dr Rupy

Dr Rupy Aujla with Jack Monroe
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Dr Rupy Aujla (right) with Jack Monroe (left) in the 大象传媒鈥檚 Thrifty Cooking in the Doctor鈥檚 Kitchen

Dr Rupy Aujla, a.k.a , is back on the 大象传媒 with a new series on delicious, healthy, affordable and simple cooking. In Thrifty Cooking in the Doctor鈥檚 Kitchen, he teams up with foodie friends, including storecupboard cooking queen Jack Monroe, roasting-tin meals star Rukmini Iyer and vegan sensations BOSH, to offer tips and tricks to make cooking healthy dishes easier and cheaper. Dr Rupy cooks up a storm, with easy veg-packed meals 鈥 and at around 拢1 per portion, they鈥檙e a steal!

鈥淭hese are the recipes I make for myself鈥, he says. 鈥淟ike many people, I鈥檓 short on time, so meals need to be quick as well as healthy, thrifty and delicious.鈥 With 20 recipes, you鈥檙e set for almost three weeks鈥 worth of new dishes, but they鈥檙e so simple you can make them again and again!

Tricks to make healthy dishes taste luxurious

You won鈥檛 miss the meat with Rupy鈥檚 filling mushroom and chickpea curry

Dr Rupy has clever ways to make healthy dishes taste luxurious. 鈥淭he creamy mushroom pasta (拢1.36 per portion) might be my favourite鈥, he says 鈥 it has a surprising healthy ingredient that gives it 10/10 on the creamy scale. The Afghani-style bolani vegetarian stuffed baked or fried flatbreads (72p per portion) will also feel like a treat. And you won鈥檛 miss the meat in chunky vegan meatballs (74p per portion) and filling chickpea curry (78p per portion).

Surprising reasons why these meals are so cheap

Rupy鈥檚 spiced baked rice
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At 68p per portion, Rupy鈥檚 spiced baked rice is a steal

鈥淭he cheapest ingredients are often the most nutrient-dense鈥, says Rupy. Tinned and dried beans, legumes, grains, and frozen and many fresh veg are all low cost. He has tricks to 鈥渂ring the best鈥 out of humble produce, caramelising onions and mushrooms to coax out their sweet, rich flavours, frying spices to release their aromas, and using dried herbs to flavour dishes. Melissa Hemsley joins Rupy with suggestions for making the most of food waste to save cash too. Whether you鈥檙e 鈥渟aving for a holiday or just realising how much you spend on food鈥, everyone can use these tips to make budget-friendly meals.

Try the cheapest recipes of the series:

It鈥檚 all about the toppings

Teriyaki sauce
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Teriyaki sauce makes all the difference to Rupy鈥檚 root vegetable salad

A sauce or dip can turn a good dish into a great one. It鈥檚 worth learning a few recipes and keeping a couple of these finishing touches in the fridge to add to your dishes during the week.

Sweet teriyaki dressing and zingy zhoug taste as good as they sound drizzled over Rupy鈥檚 root vegetable salads (拢1.15 per portion) and roast vegetable hummus bowl (拢1.01 per portion). 鈥淚 put tzatziki on everything鈥, he says, it鈥檚 鈥済reat in sandwiches鈥, and on his vegetable and halloumi traybake (拢1.14 per portion). There鈥檚 also a bonus recipe for fridge-raid pesto 鈥 perfect on pasta, salads, sandwiches, fish and chicken.

It鈥檚 great to make (or buy) a pickles to add to your dishes too. A quick pickled onion lifts almost any meal. Try it in Rupy鈥檚 aubergine and black bean bowl (拢1.04 per portion) 鈥 don鈥檛 forget the tortilla chips!.

TGIF recipes

Rupy鈥檚 Singapore noodles spice up Friday nights
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Rupy鈥檚 Singapore noodles spice up Friday nights

Eating well doesn鈥檛 mean you have to miss out on your favourite Friday-night or weekend dinner traditions. Swap the takeaway for a homemade fakeaway. Rupy鈥檚 Singapore noodles (92p per portion) and chilli bean stir-fry (拢1.03 per portion) are super-quick to make, and at a fraction of the cost of a typical takeaway, you can鈥檛 afford not to.

Many of us love a Sunday roast, and Dr Rupy is no different. To make things easier, change up the traditional Sunday lunch for roast chicken with veg (拢1.27 per portion) cooked in just one pot. Using the juices released from the chicken to their full potential, the vegetables and pearl barley are deliciously seasoned. A vegetarian option that truly holds its own at a Sunday lunch is Rupy鈥檚 green vegetable and feta filo pie (拢1.17 per portion). It鈥檚 crispy, crunchy and super satisfying!

Start and end the day right

Rupy鈥檚 healthy granola is equally good with breakfast or dessert
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Rupy鈥檚 healthy granola is equally good with breakfast or dessert

Eating healthily is important, but you can 鈥渉ave your cake and eat it鈥, according to Dr Rupy. He proves this with tasty recipes that work equally well for breakfast or dessert, including spiced granola with berry compote (73p per portion). Even Jack Monroe 鈥 the queen of tin can cooking, who admits she has a super-sweet tooth 鈥 stamps his healthy pear, apple and ginger oaty crumble with sweet yoghurt (56p per portion) with her impressive seal of approval.

Watch Thrifty Cooking in the Doctor鈥檚 Kitchen on iPlayer and get all of the recipes on 大象传媒 Food.

Recipes were costed in December 2020 across multiple supermarkets. The costings assume basic store cupboard ingredients. Ingredients costs are calculated according to the relative quantity of the ingredient used, not the cost of a full packet. We have tried to ensure that the number of different ingredients is minimised while also promoting a diverse, healthy diet.