For all those bachelors and working couples out there who think they only have the option of eating out or ordering on Swiggy, here are some useful cooking tips that you can incorporate despite having no time (seemingly) to cook. Eating outside is getting expensive, besides, it will never be a healthy option.
So it makes sense to know the basics of cooking.
Easy to Learn Basic Cooking
Cooking today does not have to be just a hobby, but can be a life skill for today’s youngsters. The good thing is that the current generation is often conscious in the kitchen, and many are open to learn cooking.
Everyone, from a student, travelling abroad, newly wedded couple or even housewives need to learn the art of simple cooking of everyday food, due to its health benefits.
However, it’s easy to learn Basic Cookery right from scratch. You can learn to make dough, set the perfect curd, kitchen management tips, and more.
The internet offers tips that make it easy to cook not just everyday staples but also breakfast, snacks and wholesome meal varieties.
For long, Maggi was the go to option for most Indian bachelors and working couples. While it continues to be an option, here are some more options that are easy to make use these cooking tips. Its easier than what you think.
You Can’t go Wrong With Eggs
Most men learn to make eggs before they learn to make tea or coffee.
Cooking an egg is super-easy, especially recipes like fried eggs, bhurji (scrambled) or boiled eggs. Eat them with brown bread, or buns, put some veggies and it becomes sort of a full meal.
Make instant Noodles Healthier
Maggi may be out currently in India, but most other brands of noodles still exist, and we know that its not easy to give up insta-noodles, especially when you’re living alone. But you need to make it healthy, and its much easier than what you think. You can add lots of veggies – tomatoes, onions, peas, mushrooms, or even meat to the noodles. You may add your meat/ veggies while your noodles cook or grill and boil these separately to add them later.
Buy Chopped Vegetables / Fruits
You can save time by buying chopped veggies or fruits from the grocery store or even your veggie seller. Yes, that’s possible in most cities in India now, so give the knife a miss. Don’t be stingy, because the chopped veggies cost a few rupees more. Remember, it saves time and you get to eat healthy food.
Invest In A Blender/ Mixer
This is the most useful kitchen tool you will own, as a bachelor. Doesn’t cost much, and you can prepare exceptional smoothies and shakes in minutes. The blender does most of the slicing/cutting job. Remember to keep milk and yoghurt handy in your refrigerator, that you can blend with the fruits/veggies to make them into yummy smoothies.
Use Spare Time to Blend a Smoothie/Shake
Now that you have a blender, here’s a bonus tip. While you’re in the kitchen, and you have a couple of minutes to spare (waiting for something to boil or heat up….especially while cooking noodles), don’t just stand there admiring your dish. Use those extra minutes to quickly blend a smoothie or a shake.
Reinvent Leftovers
Have some leftovers? Here are some ideas to make them tastier. 1. Leftover butter chicken + toss with freshly boiled spaghetti = Lunch is ready. 2. Leftover chopped pizza + beat 4/5 eggs + chopped spinach and mushrooms + seasoning + dry herbs. Mix all in a bowl, add cheese and bake 10 minutes at 180 C. 3. Make a noodles toastie from leftover noodles. Spread schezwan sauce on the bread, and you’re good to go! 4. Toss leftover rice with curd to make curd rice. Or with veggies to make fried rice. Or with readymade soups for a bowl meal. Or with a tempering to make tawa or masala pulao.
Stock It Up In Your Freezer
If you know how to cook basic curries or gravies, cook in bulk and freeze it in the freezer, in small sized pouches or even into ice cube trays. This way, you can use the gravy whenever you need. Frozen gravies can stay perfect for a month or so, assuming you don’t turn off the refrigerator.
Fruits – The Healthier Snack
We all know that fruits (and even nuts) is the ultimate snack. Its’ just that most men and women find it too boring to eat (unless they’re trying to get fit). Having said that, eating fruits will always be an option. Buy fruits whenever you see them, though in small quantities. Here’s an instant recipe that is perfect for snacking. Chop your fruits, add crushed nuts and potato chips and chaat masala to them with nimbu (lemon) as the ultimate sitcom/ cricket match snack!
Invest In The Basics
Invest in a quality nonstick pan, sharp knives, and cutting board. Most of your cooking will be in this pan…be it is eggs, or tossing pasta and vegetables. Buying a better quality pan means its better at handling heat and food, which reduces your chances of failure. Be careful with the knives though.
Use The Internet for More Ideas
Once you’ve really started enjoying cooking and are happy now that you’ve acquired a new skill (even though it might be just the basics), its time to expand your skills further. And internet is the best place for that. Today, easy recipes are available dime-a-dozen online, with several free in-depth demos that show you step-by-step instructions. Do take advantage of these free cooking resources!
Closing Thoughts
Cooking has always been a popular subject and you can see so many recipe books and websites that are dedicated to the art of cooking; the Internet is full of recipes & tips for those who love cooking.
When you are cooking for yourself, you can cook more quantity but then make sure you can keep it in the refrigerator. You can always cook more so that you can eat it multiple times, thus saving you time. This also means you can do it once in a while which means you’ll be more enthusiastic about doing it.
No matter what your situation is, you can always enjoy a fabulous meal, with a glass of wine and great music, doesn’t matter whether its for one person or for a couple.
This is one of the ways to add some excitement and spice to your life. While we should not live to eat, we should also not limit ourselves to eating to live all the time. You can find some excellent recipes and cookbooks (online as well as offline) that focus on cooking for a single person.
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