Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to nation-wide lockdown, leaving people puzzled in many ways. Yet, the biggest concerns remain in kitchen-What to cook? With very limited stock in pantry, and closure of all favourite food stalls, a delightful dish remains a dream for many.
Whether you are craving for street food or something healthy, we have it all for you! Cooking these lockdown recipes won’t just satisfy your tummy but also overcome your boredom and utilize this time.
Street Food
Street-food has become a part of our lives. If you are missing road-side stalls, you need not to worry because you can cook your favourites own your own.
1. Veg Momos
Making this Chinese snack isn’t as complicated as it seems. With this recipe you can steam it even without steamer.
Ingredients: 1 cup All-purpose flour (Maida), Veggies- half each (onion, capsicum, carrot and cabbage), Dried red chillies and tomatoes, Ginger garlic paste, Sauces (soya, chilli and tomato).
Method:
STEP 1- Take all purpose flour in a plate and add some salt and 2tbsp oil to it. Using water, knead the dough. Once it is done, keep it aside.
STEP 2- For the stuffing, chop onion and capsicum finely, and grate cabbage and carrot. Take a pan and add little bit of oil to it. Add chopped onion and ginger garlic paste to it (or if you have garlic cloves). Now add the other veggies and give it a good toss on high flame. Add salt as per your taste. In the end, add all three sauces 1 tbsp each. Mix well, and your stuffing is ready.
STEP 3- For chutney, Take 3 red chillies and 3 tomatoes. Chop it into medium-sized pieces and put them into a jar to blend.
STEP 4– Once it achieves a fine consistency, take it out into a pan. Keep it on low-medium flame and add salt, sugar and soya sauce as per your taste. (You can also add garlic) and cook it until it becomes little thick.
STEP 5- For momos, take the dough and divide into little pieces. Roll it like a puri or chapati and fill 1-1.5 tbsp of stuffing. Now bring the outer corners inwards and join the pleats with each other or in any shape you like. Do the same with all your momos.
STEP 6- For steaming, if you have idli maker, Grease its bowls with oil. Fill a big vessel with water, close the lid and let it boil. Once done, keep momos in each bowl and let it steam for 15-20 mins on medium flame. Take it out and enjoy with chutney.
You can check out this video for reference:
2. Samosa
Samosa is a filling Indian tea – snack, loved by both kids and adults alike.
Ingredients: 200 gm All-purpose flour, Potatoes (4-5 medium sized) and Peas
Method:
STEP 1- To make the stuffing, boil 4-5 medium-sized potatoes and peas. Peel and chop potatoes into small pieces. Take little oil in a pan and add green chilies (optional)
STEP 2– Now add the boiled potatoes and peas into it. And add salt, pepper, chat masala, garam masala as per your taste. Your filling is ready.
STEP 3– Knead a soft dough by adding salt and carrom seeds (ajwain). Taking a small portion of it, roll the dough in a circular or oval shape. Cut it half into two.
STEP 4– Take one of the two rolled pieces and join both of its ends. Form it into a triangle and fill it with the stuffing. Seal the top part with water (to keep it intact).
STEP 5– Now take oil in a vessel or kadhai and let it get warm. Add your samosas to it and fry them on low-medium flame for 15-20 minutes until they turn out golden. Enjoy with sauce or chutney.
3. Potato Onion Pakoras
Pakora is another tea-snack which we Indians love to have. This recipe is simple and requires basic ingredients.
Ingredients: 2 Onion, 2 Potatoes, 1 cup gram flour (Besan), coriander(optional)
Method:
STEP 1- Chop potatoes into thin square or rectangular pieces. Chop onion into thin slices or small pieces.
STEP 2- Take gram flour and add the chopped pieces into it. Add spices like salt, pepper, chat masala, coriander leaves or powder and any other spice if you like.
STEP 3– Mix it well and add little bit of water and again mix. Add water in small quantities until the veggies are coated well.
STEP 4- Now put oil in a utensil and keep it on high flame. Once hot, add small portions of the mixture and let it fry for 3-5 minutes. Serve hot with sauce and enjoy with tea.
Café recipes
If you miss those Italian meals in café, which you used to have with your school or college friends, you don’t need to wait until lockdown ends.
4. Pizza without Cheese
Yes, you read it right. Pizza without cheese! Because, it’s not easy to get cheese from the market these days. This is the easiest pizza recipe without oven/cheese/yeast, but tastes almost the same as your café pizza.
Ingredients: All purpose flour, 1 onion, 1 capsicum or any topping of your choice, pizza sauce 4tbsp cup curd., ¼ baking soda butter, milk.
Method:
STEP 1– Instead of cheese, we are making white sauce for this recipe. Take a pan on flame and add 2-3 tbsp butter to it. Now add 1-2 tbsp flour and roast it until it turns little dark. Add 1-1.5 cup of milk and stir it well to avoid sticking it from surface. Soon the sauce will thicken. (You can add mayonnaise to it if you have).
Alternatively, you can make cheese by grinding paneer and adding oil and salt to it as shown in video.
STEP 2- Now take 1 cup flour, ¼ tsp soda and add little salt and oil to it. Knead it using curd. Divide the dough into two. Roll one part, keeping it a little thick.
STEP 3- Spread some pizza sauce onto it. Also spread the white sauce or cheese spread you made in step 1. Keep your toppings on it and decorate as you like.
STEP 4- Take a vessel or kadhai and put some salt or sand to it. Keep a stand or bowl inverted. Close the lid and let it heat for 15 minutes.
STEP 5- Place your pizza in a plate and plate over the stand and let it bake for 20 minutes on medium flame. Sprinkle some chili flakes or seasoning and enjoy your no-cheese hot pizza!
5. French Fries
Who doesn’t love fries with cold drink? And that too, when it’s so easy to bake.
Ingredients: 3-4 Potatoes, rice flour
Method:
STEP 1- Peel potatoes and cut them into long rectangular slices.
STEP 2- Boil the potatoes in water for 3-4 minutes and take them out.
STEP 3- Now sprinkle 1-2 spoons of rice flour and coat them well to make it crispy.
STEP 4- Keep oil in a vessel and wait until it turns hot, then deep fry it on medium-high flame for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and serve with ketchup.
6. Indian-Style Pasta (Macaroni)
Pasta is a famous Italian cuisine which we usually consume in Cafes. We all love white sauce pasta or Red Sauce pasta. Let us cook something different this time: Indian-style Pasta.
Ingredients: Onion, tomato, capsicum, sweet corns any other veggie as per taste (1/2 each), 1 ½ cup pasta
Method:
STEP 1- Partly fill a vessel with water and add salt and 1 spoon oil to it. Let it boil. Now add pasta to it and cook it for 10 minutes or until it softens.
STEP 2- Once done, take it out and pour some cold water to prevent it from sticking and further cooking.
STEP 3- For masala, take a pan, add some oil and cumin seeds (or jeera). Add chopped onion and let it fry for 1-2 minutes. Now add all other chopped veggies and add little bit of water to allow cooking. Sprinkle salt, red pepper, turmeric, coriander powder, garam masala to it. You can also add sauces of your choice to give it a creamy texture.
STEP 4- Once it’s almost cooked, add boiled pasta and finally butter (if you like to).
Healthy recipes
If you are health conscious and still craving for something different this lockdown, we have some really easy and healthy options for you.
7. Rava Idli
Idli is a common South-Indian dish consumed as breakfast. However, not everyone is able to put the required time and efforts. So, here’s your instant rava idli recipe.
Ingredients: 2 cup Rava (or sooji), 1 cup curd, baking soda and Eno, idli maker, and tomato and onion for chutney
Method:
STEP 1- Take two cups of sooji , 1 cup of curd, salt as per taste and 2 cups of water. Mix it well and leave it to rest for 15-20 minutes.
STEP 2- Keep a large vessel on high flame with little water filled. Let it pre-heat.
STEP 3- Grease the idli moulds with oil.
STEP 4- Now take the batter and add 1 spoon Eno to it and ½ spoon baking soda. Keep the batter thick. And mix it in one direction only.
STEP 5- Now fill all the greased bowls partly with batter.
STEP 6- Keep the idli stand in vessel and let it steam for 10-15 minutes.
STEP 7- For chutney, blend tomatoes, potatoes and red chilly together. Add salt as per taste. And temper in rai or sarso seeds.
8. Whole Wheat Sandwich
Yes, sandwich can be healthy with right ingredients!
Ingredients: Whole wheat bread, tomato, onion, carrot, cucumber, capsicum, cabbage, broccoli or any of these as per availability, cheese(optional)
Method:
STEP 1- Chop all the available veggies and toss them on medium flame for 2 minutes. Add all your favourite spices. You can also add fresh cream in small amount. Alternatively, you can keep them raw and use directly.
STEP 2- Now spread ketchup or chutney on your bread and this mixture. Cover it with other bread.
STEP 3- Toast it on a non-stick pan until it turns golden-brown. Serve with chutney.
9. Besan Chilla
Chilla is a healthy and super easy recipe, which you can make within minutes and eat as brunch.
Ingredients: Gram flour (or Besan ), onion, capsicum
Method:
STEP 1- Take 1-2 cups of gram flour and add water to it. Make it like a thin batter.
STEP 2- Now add chopped onion, capsicum or any veggie like beans, cauliflower into it. Add salt, pepper and other spices.
STEP 3- Take a non-stick tawa or pan and let it heat. Sprinkle little bit of oil and spread the batter in a circular motion. Keep it thicker than dosa.
STEP 4- Once it’s cooked from one side, flip it over onto other and do the same by applying little oil or ghee. Serve hot with chutney.
Dessert
Do you have a sweet tooth and always crave for dessert? Or are you upset for not being able to celebrate this birthday with cake? Well, you don’t need to be!
10. Oreo cake
Baking a cake isn’t an easy task. But there are some really simple and easy recipes too. And, we have shared one of those with you!
Ingredients: Oreo or any chocolate biscuits (1 big packs), 1 cup milk, ½ tbsp baking soda, coco powder/all purpose flour (optional)
Method:
STEP 1- Crush biscuits and blend them altogether in a mixer. Once you get a powdery texture, add ½ spoon soda and 1 ½ cup of milk gradually. Your mixture should be smooth.
STEP 2- Now take a pressure cooker or kadhai and add some salt to it. Place a stand and let it pre-heat for 10 minutes.
STEP 3- Take a round tin and grease with butter or oil, or place a butter paper if available. Now pour the mixture onto it and ensure there are no bubbles.
STEP 4- Put the tin on stand once it’s preheated. Take out whistle and rubber from cooker and let the cake bake on medium flame for around 25-30 minutes.
STEP 5- Check the cake after 25 minutes by inserting a toothpick. Cook it until it comes out clean.
STEP 6- When your cake cools down, take it out with care. Let it cool. You can enjoy it as it is.
STEP 7- If you have coco powder and all purpose flour, mix it well and add milk, keep it on low flame and cook until it becomes like a chocolate ganache. Spread the ganache and decorate your cake with gems or chocolate chips.
We hope you are safe and healthy! Do try out these recipes and let us know how it turned out.
