Spiced Chickpeas with Yogurt

Garlic is added in small pieces so it spreads through the dish. It burns in seconds, which turns it bitter, so it usually goes in after the onion, not before.

1. Pull one clove off the bulb. Trim off the hard little root end.
2. Lay the flat of your knife on the clove and press down firmly with the heel of your hand. The skin splits and slips off.
3. Slice it thinly, then rock the knife back and forth over the slices until the pieces are tiny. Or push the peeled clove through a garlic crusher.
4. In the pan it needs about 30 seconds to a minute, stirring, until it smells strong — then add the next ingredient.

Ready when: In the pan: fragrant and pale gold. Brown means it has gone too far.

The heat is mostly in the seeds and the pale inner ribs. Take them out for less heat.

1. Cut off the stalk, halve it lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a teaspoon.
2. Slice or chop finely.
3. Wash your hands straight away with soap — and don't touch your eyes until you have.

A big pan of boiling water is the most dangerous thing in most home kitchens. Go slowly.

1. Put a colander in the sink BEFORE you pick up the pan.
2. Use oven gloves or a thick tea towel on both handles. Tip the pan away from you so the steam rises away from your face.
3. For pasta, scoop out a mugful of the cooking water first — its starch helps the sauce stick.
4. For tins, press the lid against the food and tip the liquid out over the sink, or use a sieve.

Frying is cooking in a thin layer of hot fat. A stir fry is the fast, hot version where you keep everything moving.

1. Have everything chopped and ready BEFORE the pan goes on — there is no time once it starts.
2. Heat the oil first (see above), then add the food in a single layer. If it doesn't fit in one layer, cook it in two batches.
3. Let pieces sit for a minute to colour before you turn them; stir-fries get stirred or tossed every 20–30 seconds.
4. Hardest things go in first (carrot, pepper), soft things last (spinach, spring onion).

A huge pile of raw spinach shrinks to a few spoonfuls in under a minute of heat.

1. Add the leaves on top of the hot food right at the end — it will look like far too much.
2. Stir and turn them for 30–60 seconds until they go dark green and floppy.
3. Take it off the heat straight away. Overcooked spinach turns slimy and grey.