5 Easiest Quarantine Foods You Can Make

Is it just us or has peeking-into-the-fridge-constantly become the new checking your phone every five minutes? This lockdown has got us bored, and that boredom has got us hungry.

Now, we know it’s tempting to munch down bags of chips and eat instant noodles 3 days in a row. But this is also the time to be most careful about our health.

So, for all you lazy people who don’t want to do much, but need to start prioritising nutrition, here are 5 easy and healthy dishes you can make in a jiffy.

Best Quarantine Recipes

5 best quarantine recipes are:

• Veggie-Bowl
• Summer Fruit-Mix
• Lemon Rice
• Mushroom curry
• Suji-e-Halwa

Veggie-Bowl

Now, now, don’t make that face. A raw vegetable salad is super easy to make, and chopping vegetables is super therapeutic (Psychologist approved!). All you need is a large salad bowl and a bunch of seasonal vegetables.

To start with:

1 Cucumber

1-2 Tomatoes

1 Carrot

1 Capsicum (add other bell peppers if you’d like)

10-12 Green Beans

1 Shredded Beetroot

Handful of peas

A handful of Coriander & Mint and Salad leaves

(You could go on and on. The limit of vegetables is up to you.)

+ Add crushed almonds, walnuts, peanuts, grams and squeezed lemon as garnishing. Use mustard oil or any other salad dressing to give it a Subway salad taste!

+Want to make it heavy but don’t have enough vegetables? Add a cup of puffed rice or your favorite namkeen or chips to the mix!

Summer Fruit-Mix

For those who are still not convinced about that veggie bowl, here’s a fruit version.

To start with:

1-2 Mangoes

1-2 Apples

1-2 Pears

1-2 Bananas

1 Plum

1 Peach

Handful of Litchis

Add chopped Papaya, Muskmelon, Watermelon, Pineapples

(Or as many fruits as you can stuff in that bowl)

+ Add crushed almonds, raisins, cinnamon powder, pumpkin seeds as garnishing. Drizzle some maple syrup/honey/caramel/chocolate syrup on top for some sugary delight and, more importantly, an Insta-worthy photograph.

+ Want to add a little crunch? Cornflakes/muesli/granola is your best friend.

Lemon Rice

Now, who doesn’t love some tasty Lemon rice? It takes 15 minutes to make and a few seconds to gulp down.

Instructions

1. In a pressure cooker, add some oil/ghee, cumin and mustard seeds
2. Add a few Curry leaves and Bay leaves

(You can add Chana Daal if you’d like)

3. Add a bowl of washed rice and add water 2 bowls of water (Note: Water is always double the amount of rice)
4. Add Turmeric, Coriander, Jeera, Chaat masala and Aamchoor powder

(there’s room for some Garam Masala and Red Chilli Powder too if you like things a little spicy)

5. TWIST: Add Maggi masala or Sambhar/Rasam masala to get a delightful taste
6. Wait for one whistle. Serve hot with squeezed lemon juice as dressing

 + Use desiccated coconut powder and coriander leaves as garnishing

+ Have more space in your belly than usual? Add curd to the mix and turn it into Lemon Curd Rice for a more filling meal.

Mushroom curry

So your mom doesn’t think much of your skills in the kitchen? Make some Mushroom curry and give her a tangy surprise.

Instructions

1. In an open cook pot, add oil and diced garlic, ginger & onions (Alternatively, you can use garlic-ginger paste.)
2. Add one tetra pack of store-bought Tomato Puree and let it cook
3. Add about 200 grams of whole or chopped mushrooms 
4. Add 1 teaspoon of cider/vinegar and 1 teaspoon of soya sauce (don’t worry if you have neither, lemon juice will come to the rescue.)
5. Cook for 5 minutes
6. Serve hot as soup or with rice/noodles/chapatis

+ Garnish it with some fresh cream and coriander leaves

+ Add some chopped baby corn if you don’t have enough mushrooms or just any other fast-cooking vegetable if you’re feeling experimental

Suji-e-Halwa

Sweet tooth causing some serious cravings? Worry not, we’ve got the easiest halwa recipe ever.

Instructions

1. Take a cup of suji
2. Add to open frying pan and roast with ghee for about 5 minutes until colour changes
3. Add sugar as per taste
4. Add hot water and stir until you get a halwa consistency

+ Use Cinnamon, Raisons, Cardamom and crushed almonds/cashews as garnishing. Let the sugar rush commence!

Bonus: Homemade Iced tea

What’s the best accompaniment to a hot and humid day? An icy, refreshing drink.

Instructions

1. Add water, sugar, mint leaves, lemon juice to a juicer and mix
2. Use the tea-bag of your choice. Dip for a minute and remove.
3. Pour into a jug and refrigerate
4. Serve chilled with ice, rock salt!
5. Tastes best lying on the couch with a book in your hand. Cheers!

Checkout other Food Recipes:

Easy Maggi Recipes	Easy Snack Recipes
Quick and Healthy Recipes