Simple culinary lessons to master the kitchen fundamentals

The morning my parents dropped me off in London to start my new life as a university student, we shared an ostrich egg for breakfast, the equivalent of 24 eggs, scrambled on toast. It might have set me up for the day, but this was the last extravagant meal I would have for months.

The kitchen at my new halls was so small that I had to balance the chopping board on the bin. I ate very simple things such as pasta and pesto (from a jar) and cheese toasties. But it wasn’t just the kitchen that was small: my ambition was, too. I didn’t know how to cook back then, and it would be at least another year before I learned to cook by my mother’s side.

If I could go back in time to give my younger self some help, I would start by giving her skills and techniques for the basics, to act as building blocks. First, a good basic tomato sauce (pictured top): I’d start with Rachel Roddy’s or Ed Smith’s. Once you’ve got that, you can make several meals, from shakshuka to pizza.

Next up, eggs. Here’s how to poach, fry and scramble them (although I disagree that cream is necessary) and how to make an omelette. The omelette can be fashioned into a meal in so many ways: add some spices to transform it into a masala omelette (pictured above; eat that with ketchup between buttered toast) or try an egg foo yung over rice, or a multi-vegetable frittata. If you’re vegan, try my spiced scrambled tofu or Anna Jones’s chickpea crepes instead.

Rice is a fantastic vehicle to throw any vegetable into. For a basic risotto, try Felicity Cloake’s recipe from her How to cook the perfect … series. For a vegan alternative, use non-dairy butter and sub the parmesan for nutritional yeast (stir in a couple of tablespoons at the end). The easiest rice to cook is jasmine, boiled, but here’s how to make perfect basmati, using a mug, which is a skill you can take anywhere in the world. Once you’ve mastered that, try this vegetable pulao.

Pulses are delicious, a good source of protein and will save you money, too. Try your hand at a simple bung-it-in-a-pot dal (pictured above) or two. I have an easy bean stew, while Yotam Ottolenghi’s chickpeas and chard looks good.

Now, let’s talk about cooking for a crowd. I like to traybake things to take the pressure off hosting. Rukmini Iyer has a few great dishes in this regard, such as her traybaked gnocchi or these recipes, which could be scaled up easily. There’s also my cauliflower orzo.

And, finally, hangovers. Every student needs something to cook for a hangover. In my case, that nearly always means noodles or curry, and Nigella has your back with her drunken noodles or try my Chinese takeaway-style curry. Remember to drink lots of water and you’ll live to fight another day.

Home comforts | I’ve been on my own while the rest of the family is in France. Left to my own devices, I cooked myself a small portion of Rachel Roddy’s frying-pan courgette parmigiana (which was delicious) and some adai dosa using my friend Mitra’s mum’s expertly fermented dosa batter.

Best meal out | I’m obsessed with Malaysian food at the moment, and recently ate at Dapur in London’s Holborn. I particularly enjoyed some home-style aubergines cooked in chilli sauce and a gentle coconut, vegetable and tofu curry called sayur lemak.

What I’ve been reading | I’ve been listening to the audiobook of Caroline Eden’s Cold Kitchen, which is so intimately written, and with such a precise sense of place, that it has me stroking her beagle, Darwin, in her Edinburgh kitchen and eating piroshki with her on a train in Russia.

Meera Sodha’s new book, Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the Most Important Meal of the Day, is out now, published by Ebury at £27. To order a copy for £22.95, go to guardianbookshop.com