.png)
It is definitely not easy to think of new recipes to cook every day, especially during the lockdown when you have no choice of ordering something from restaurants. But no worries as we bring you a daily menu of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner that you can cook easily at home without creating a fuss.
Breakfast Meal - Uttapam
Uttapam is a healthy South Indian breakfast dish which is prepared using a batter consisting of common rice and urad dal. This batter can also be used to make idli or dosa. Uttapam is topped with several veggies such as onion, tomato, capsicum, carrot, green chilli, sweet corn and others for a healthier twist to the dish.
Uttapam Recipe:
Preparation time: 8 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS NEEDED:
- Idli Batter or Dosa Batter (homemade or readymade): 2 cups
- Onion, finely chopped: 1
- Capsicum, finely chopped: 1/2 cup
- Tomato, finely chopped: 1/3 cup
- Green chillies, finely chopped: 2-3
- Oil for shallow frying
- Salt to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
- You can either prepare the batter at home or buy the readymade batter. Add salt and water to the batter and mix well. The consistency of the batter should be slightly thick.
- Heat the Tawa over medium flame. Add some drops of oil on it and spread it. Repeat this process before making each uttapam.
- Pour one ladle of batter on the tawa and spread it by rotating the ladle in a circular direction. Ensure that the batter spread is a little thicker than the spread for Dosa.
- Sprinkle a little bit of the chopped onion and capsicum on it. Add the tomato as well as the chopped green chillies over it. Press the veggies gently using a spatula.
- Drizzle 1 tsp of oil around the edges of the uttapam.
- Cook for about 2 or 3 minutes until the bottom surface is light golden in colour.
- Flip the uttapam and cook the other side for about a minute or until the bottom surface is cooked.
- Transfer the uttapam to a plate. Make the rest of the Uttapams in the same way.
- Serve it along with coconut chutney or tomato onion chutney.
Lunch Meal - Dal Baati
Dal Baati is a traditional Rajasthani dish made from dal, baati or wheat rolls and churma. It is mostly served for lunch or dinner. The dal is mixed with the crushed baati and ghee is put on top of it.
Dal Baati Recipe:
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS NEEDED:
For Preparing Baati:
- Wheat flour: 2 cup
- Salt: ¼ tsp
- Baking powder: ¼ tsp
- Ghee: ¼ cup
- Water (to knead)
For Preparing Churma:
- Ghee: 2 tbsp
- Powdered sugar: 3 tbsp
- Chopped cashew & almond: 2 tbsp
- Cardamom powder: ¼ tsp
For Preparing Dal:
- Moong dal: ½ cup
- Masoor dal: ¼ cup
- Chana dal (soaked for 30 minutes): ¼ cup
- Water: 3 cups
- Ghee: 3 tsp
- Mustard: 1 tsp
- Cumin/jeera: 1 tsp
- A pinch of Hing/asafoetida
- Onion, finely chopped: 1
- Ginger garlic paste: 1 tsp
- Green chilli, slit: 1
- Tomato, finely chopped: 1
- Turmeric: ¼ tsp
- Kashmiri red chilli powder: ½ tsp
- Garam masala: ¼ tsp
- Salt: 1 tsp
- Water: 1 cup
- Coriander, finely chopped: 2 tbsp
INSTRUCTIONS:
To make the Baatis:
- Take 2 cups of wheat flour, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp baking powder and ¼ cup ghee in a large bowl.
- Mix it while making sure that the dough is moist. Add water as needed and knead.
- Pinch a small ball of dough and roll it with the x impression.
- Place the rolled baatis in each mould of the appe pan and cover it.
- Cook on low flame for about 30 minutes. Make sure that all sides are cooked.
- Dip the baati in a little ghee for the softness of the baati from inside.
To make the churma:
- Take 3 baatis and break them. Put them in a mixer and make a coarse powder.
- Heat the tawa and put 2 tbsp of ghee on it and roast the powdered baatis.
- Roast it on low flame for about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Cool it. Add 3 tbsp of powdered sugar, 2 tbsp chopped almonds-cashew and ¼ tsp cardamom powder. Mix Well.
To make the Dal:
- Take ½ cup moong dal, ¼ cup masoor dal and ¼ cup chana dal in a pressure cooker.
- Pressure cook for about 4 whistles with 1 tsp ghee and 3 cups of water.
- Take a Kadai and heat 2 tsp ghee and put 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp cumin and hing until it splatters.
- Then, add 1 onion, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and 1 green chilli. Saute it. Then add 1 tomato.
- Add ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp chilli powder, ¼ tsp garam masala and 1 tsp salt. Saute well. And finally, add the cooked dal and a cup of water.
- Mix well and let it simmer and boil for about 5 minutes. Add the coriander leaves and mix.
Dinner Meal - Soya Chunks Curry and Chapattis
Soya Chunks are one of the healthiest foods. It is rich in protein and can be cooked in several ways. They are mostly added to curries and pulav.
Soya Chunks Curry Recipe:
Preparation time: 7 minutes
Cooking time: 18 minutes
INGREDIENTS NEEDED:
- Soya chunks: 1 1/4 cup
- Onions, finely chopped: 2
- Curry leaves or bay leaf: 1 sprig
- Mustard: 1 pinch
- Cumin or jeera: 1/2 tsp
- Green chilli slit: 1
- Ginger Garlic Paste: 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder: ³/⁴ to 1 tsp
- Garam Masala: ³/⁴ to 1 tsp
- Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp
- Coriander leaves, finely chopped: 2 tbsp
- Oil: 1 ¹/² tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Pinch asafoetida or hing
To grind
- Tomatoes: 2
- Coconut: 3 tbsp
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Boil 3 cups water and switch off the flame.
- Add soya chunks and leave it in hot water until they are soft.
- Discard the water and squeeze the water out from the chunks.
- Rinse them in cold water and squeeze out the excess. Put it aside.
- Make a smooth paste by Grinding the tomatoes and coconut.
- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard and cumin. Cook till they splutter. Then add hing, curry leaves, onions and
green chillies to it.
- After the onions turn golden brown, add the ginger-garlic paste to it and fry.
- Then add the tomatoes paste and keep frying till the mixture begins to leave sides of the pan.
- Add masala including red chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder, and
salt to it and keep frying for 3-4 minutes.
- Put the soya chunks and stir for 3 minutes. Pour water as per requirement.
- Boil the water and then cover it. Cook for 5 minutes on a low flame or until the oil is floating on top.
- Garnish using coriander leaves.
