1. Make a meal plan for the week’Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, Food consultant and blogger, MumbaiWe have made it a rule to have two home-cooked meals every day in our house. And one, a simple dal-chawal-sabzi combination. I have seen a lot of people cooking rich, oily food online, but it is not sustainable in the long run, nor healthy when you are just sitting indoors.With veggies in short supply, cook those that spoil first. Leafy greens on Day 1, beans and ladies’ finger (Day 2), cauliflower or cabbage (Day 3). Potatoes and onions keep the longest..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}2. Invest in onion powder or tomato puree’Deepti Kochhar, Food blogger, DelhiMany Indian recipes revolve around onions and tomatoes. But if supply is limited, then tomato puree packs are a good substitute. Or you can store tomatoes by drying them in the sun with a little bit of salt. Onions can be bought and stored for a long period, but a good substitute is onion powder or dry fried onions, which can last even up to a year.If storing veggies in the fridge, wash and wipe them first. Then store them in vacuum bags for 9-12 days. 3. Don’t overboil noodles or forget to soak the rajma’Kalyan Karmakar, Author of The Travelling Belly, MumbaiIn lockdown, many people will have to rely on their own skills to cook and manage food supplies at home. I would recommend one start off learning how to cook rice, noodles, pasta or a simple dal. Noodles cook much faster than pasta. And one should actually take them out and rinse them under cold water when they are still slightly firm. Since you will later toss them again with oil and vegetables or meat, they will cook further.People also sometimes forget to soak big pulses like rajma or chana.Invest in a heatproof brush to spread oil evenly on your pan and try to cook on low flame as much as possible, this saves food from burning.Freeze bread, then bring it to room temperature and toast it. It lasts longer.4. Quick Vegetable PulaoVernika Awal, Founder, Delectable Reveries, Delhi In a kadhai, add 2 tbsp of ghee, then jeera and, as it begins to crackle, add a bay leaf and onions. Cook till the onions turn translucent. Add vegetables of your choice. I add potatoes, carrots and peas. Add 1 tsp coriander powder; 1 tsp chilli powder; ½ tsp garam masala powder. Finally, add 1 cup rice (enough for 2 people), 2 cups of water and cook. Serve with chilled curd or raita.5. Readymade mixes for the WFH forceSenguttuvan Subburathina, Food blogger and photographer, Chennai People are still working even if it is from home, and many won’t have the time to learn to cook or even cook if they already know how to. Readymade packs of Indian food might be a good option then, rotis, paranthas, bread, upma, pongal, lemon rice mix, puliyogare mix, tomato thokku. For most of these, all you will need are a few utensils and water.Eggs are a good source of protein, have them boiled, fried or make an omelette6. Things to buy and keep in the Indian kitchenDivya Kudua, Food blogger and home baker, Chennai My list includes rice, dal (tur, moong, chana, rajma, masoor, lobia), idli batter, rava, poha, aata, vermicelli, and then fresh produce such as potato, onion, yam, sweet potato, cauliflower, which stay even without a fridge in spring. Produce for the fridge includes protein, carrot, beans, cabbage, frozen peas and corn, tomato, pumpkin, ash and bitter gourds.Do check the expiry dates of packaged food before purchasing.Published By: Iram Ara IbrahimPublished On: Mar 27, 2020--- ENDS ---
