Are you an Indian bachelor, culinary-challenged, and staying away from home? If yes, then waste no time and go through this (almost!) life-changing article.

Yes, we know you have mastered the art of cooking instant noodles, omelette, and sandwiches. We also appreciate that you have, smartly, saved the phone numbers of all nearby pizza shops and home delivery outlets. But we also know that you are longing for your mom’s Indian homemade food.

So, get ready to learn and cook these 5 tasty, easy-to-make, familiar Indian dishes to overcome your homesickness.

1. Moong Dal Khichdi

Photo by Devika, CC BY-SA 2.0

It is nutritious and easy to digest. You can eat it with pickle, chutney, paapad, or curry.

Ingredients:

• Rice- 1 cup
• Moong dal- 1 cup
• Cumin seed, black pepper- ½ tsp each
• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
• Capsicum, onion (chopped) -1 no. each
• Green chilies, potato (chopped) – 2 nos. each
• Any seasonal vegetable, green peas (optional)
• Ginger (grated) – 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves (chopped) – ¼ cup
• Salt, heeng, ghee, water

Method:

• Soak moong dal and rice in separate bowls for 15 minutes.
• Heat ½ tbsp ghee in a pan. Add heeng, cumin seeds, onion, green chilies, ginger, black pepper, and turmeric powder to it.
• Put this mixture, rice, and dal into the pressure cooker.
• Pour 6 cups of water in the cooker and add salt accordingly.
• Turn on the stove, closed the lid of pressure cooker.
• Cook the khichdi till 2 whistles and then lower the flame for 2 minutes.
• Open the lid after 5 minutes and garnish with coriander leaves.

2. Besan Ke Chille Or Gram-Flour Pancake

Photo by AlexanderVanLoon, CC BY-SA 3.0

It is also referred to as vegetarian omelette

Ingredients

• Besan- 4 tbsp
• Ajwain (carom seeds) – 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves (chopped) – ½ cup
• Tomato, onion, green chilies (chopped) – 2 each
• Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
• Water, salt, refined oil

Method

• Put the dry ingredients in a large bowl and add water to prepare medium-thin batter.
• Mix everything well to avoid making lumps.
• Pre-heat the frying pan, and put ½ tsp of oil on it.
• Pour 1 tbsp of the besan batter and spread it out on the pan in a circular motion.
• Put a little oil around the edges of the pancake.
• Flip the pancake to cook its other side till both its sides turn golden brown.
• Serve the pancake hot with chutney or ketchup of your choice.

3. Poha:

Photo by Manidis Roberts, CC BY-ND 2.0

This dish is quite nutritious and requires very little use of oil.

Ingredients

• Poha (flattened rice) – 2 cups
• Mustard seeds, turmeric powder- ½ tsp each
• Boiled potato (diced), onion (chopped), green chili (chopped) – 1 each
• Peanuts (roasted), coriander leaves (chopped) – ¼ cup each
• Lemon juice- 1 tsp
• Salt, water, refined oil

Method

• Soak poha in water in a bowl for 3 minutes and then strain it to remove water.
• Heat 1 tbsp of refined oil in a frying pan and put mustard seeds, salt, green chili, onion, turmeric powder, and potato to it.
• After roasting the masala, add the poha to the pan. Cook this mixture for another 2 minutes.
• Add lemon juice and peanuts to the poha and garnish with coriander leaves.

4. Rava Upma Or Sooji Upma

Photo by Devika, CC BY-SA 2.0

It is a popular south Indian dish and you can eat it with tomato ketchup, curd or various chutneys.

Ingredients:

• Sooji (semolina) – 1 cup
• Cumin and mustard seeds – ½ tsp each
• Coconut (grated), green peas (boiled) – ¼ cup each
• Peanuts (roasted), coriander leaves (chopped) – ¼ cup each
• Salt, refined oil, water

Method:

• Take sooji in a frying pan and roast it till its color turns light-brown.
• Turn off the flame and transfer the sooji to a dry plate.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same frying pan and add cumin along with mustard seeds to it.
• After 1 minute, add all the remaining dry ingredients to it (except sooji and peanuts).
• Pour 2 cups of water into this mixture and boil the content for 2-3 minutes.
• Now add sooji and stir the mixture till it gets thick.
• Garnish the upma with coriander leaves and peanuts and serve hot.

5. Basmati Rice Kheer

Photo by atlnav, CC BY-ND 2.0

You can prepare this tasty Indian dessert within 30-40 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Milk- 500 ml
• Basmati rice- 200gm
• Cardamom powder- ½ tsp
• Raisins, almonds (chopped) – 1 tsp each
• Sugar- 150gm or according to taste
• Water- 1 cup

Method

• Put milk, water, and sugar in the pressure cooker and boil the content for 7-10 minutes.
• Add Basmati rice and cardamom powder to this mixture and stir thoroughly.
• Close the pressure cooker’s lid and keep the flame medium-high.
• After 1 whistle, lower the flame and cook the contents for another 15 minutes.
• Turn off the stove and wait for 5 minutes before opening the lid.
• Add almonds and raisins to the kheer.

We hope you are now ready to face your inner kitchen demons when it comes to Indian cuisine. Now you can head to your kitchen, don your apron, and start using your newly-acquired culinary knowledge.

Wishing you a tension-free cooking and happy eating experience!