Being a busy student can make cooking homemade food seem impossible. But, it doesn’t have to be time-consuming or expensive to make tasty, healthy meals that can help you keep up your strength to do well in your courses.
With only the essentials, you can utilize your flat’s kitchen to make a variety of exciting and healthier foods (but of course, you can also treat yourself to dessert every so often too).
Why is Cooking Important for Students?
Cooking is an essential life skill. Whether you are a student or a working professional, at some point we all require cooking courses to learn how to cook. But, with online teaching platforms, learning how to cook has become an easier task for everyone.
All you need is to decide what type of dishes you would like to learn, from Indian to Italian, everything can be learned with private tutors these days.
Sure, it might seem better only to do the easy thing of ordering fast food and takeaway and cooking ready-made meals and Maggie. But, over time the low nutrients and highly processed nature of these foods can make you feel tired, and contribute to a lower quality of health overall.
Trading out healthy food for junky food too will often lead to health problems like dehydration, malnutrition (under and over-nutrition), fatigue, irritability, difficulty sleeping, poor skin, hair, and nails, dark circles under the eyes, and bruising all over the body. In severe cases, even worse effects can happen.
Though we have all heard it over and over, it is important to remember to eat well - really! Without proper food, it will be difficult to perform well in courses or be social with your peers. You may end up always feeling behind because of fatigue, and it can be hard to regain health, even after your university days are over.
Prevent all these problems easily by practicing cooking for yourself as much as possible.
7 Essential Cooking Tips For Indian Students Living Abroad
- Stock up on essentials: Keep a well-stocked pantry of staples like rice, lentils, spices, and ghee. This will make it easier to whip up a quick, familiar meal.
- Get creative with ingredients: Experiment with substituting ingredients that may be hard to find with similar ingredients that are more readily available.
- Learn to cook with a pressure cooker: A pressure cooker is a lifesaver for quick and easy cooking of Indian staples like rice, lentils, and vegetables.
- Make spice blends in bulk: Mix up large batches of your favorite spice blends and store in airtight containers. This will save you time and effort in the kitchen.
- Use a griddle or tawa: A griddle or tawa is an essential tool for making Indian flatbreads like roti, naan, and paratha.
- Use a blender: A blender is useful for making purées, chutneys, and spice pastes.
- Get a good non-stick pan: A good non-stick pan is essential for making Indian dishes like dosa and uttapam, which require a non-stick surface.
Step By Step: Learn How To Cook These Indian Dishes!
The key to a good recipe for students is:
- Few ingredients
- No/few specialized tools
- Fast prep and cooking time
- Easy instructions you don’t need to reread many times
Here is a collection of some best recipes for students. Enjoy!
2 Best Easy Breakfast Recipes
Besan Chilla
Using gram flour is an ultra-easy way to make a filling, protein and fiber-rich dish perfect for any time of day. Simply pair it with a side to make a more filling meal for lunch or dinner. You can even pre-make some chilla and save it for the next day!
Customize your chilla to your tastes by tweaking the masala and the veggies inside.
You’ll simply need:
- 1 c. Gram flour
- 2 tsp. Oil
- ⅔ c. to 1 c. Water
- Suggested spices: ajwain, ginger, turmeric or red chili powder, fresh coriander leaves, fresh green chili, a pinch of salt
- Suggested veggies: onions, tomatoes, spinach, carrots, capsicum
Simply mix all the dry ingredients, followed by the veggies. Add water a little at a time until you have a thick but pourable batter.
Oil the pan, let it heat and then pour in enough batter to make a pancake. Let it cook on one side before flipping over and finishing it off.
Poha
A breakfast staple (though you could get away with having it for lunch, too), poha offers a decent amount of nutrients and is filling enough to get you through the day.
Soak all together for 8-10 minutes:
- 1.5 c. thick poha
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric
For topping:
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp peanuts
Spices:
- Mustard, cumin, hing, curry leaves, turmeric, salt
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 2 chilli (finely chopped)
- 1 inch fresh ginger (finely chopped)
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander (chopped)
- ½ lemon
While the poha is soaking with its spices, heat the oil and peanuts together in a shallow pan. Allow the peanuts to roast, then transfer to another vessel and keep aside. In the still-hot pan, add all the other aromatics, plus the onion, chilli, and ginger. Sautee until the onions begin to soften, then add the poha to the pan and stir all together. Cover and simmer for about 3 minutes until poha is cooked well. Serve with coriander and squeezed lemon juice, and top with mixture if desired.
Best Easy Lunch & Dinner Recipes For Beginners
Tomato Rice
Tasty, flavorful, and filling, tomato rice is good for lunch or dinner. Serve with a salad, raita, or by itself!
Ingredients:
- 1.5 c. basmati rice (uncooked)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 1 green chilli (chopped)
- 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
- 1 cup tomatoes (chopped or pureed)
Spices:
- Salt to taste
- Garam masala or curry powder
- Red chili powder or paprika
- Turmeric
Whole spices:
- 1 bay leaf or curry leaves (optional)
- Cumin seeds (optional)
- 1 inch cinnamon (optional)
- 3 cardamoms (optional)
- 3 cloves (optional)
Topping:
- About 12 cashews (split if desired)
- Fresh coriander (chopped)
- Lemon juice
Rinse and soak the rice. Choose your favorite method of cooking rice (stove top pot, instant pot, or pressure cooker), and use that vessel to cook everything in. While soaking the rice, toast the cashews in oil, then set them aside.
Toast any whole spices you are using, then when they are activated add the onion and green chili.
Add the garlic ginger and sautee a bit more. Then add the tomatoes, salt, and turmeric. Cover and let the tomatoes break down, then add the garam masala and chili powder.
Add the rice, and cook as needed for the method you chose (ensure to add the proper amount of water). Serve with coriander, lemon, and topped with cashews.
Best Try At Home Recipe For You As A Student
Indian food is extremely easy to make, especially when you are at home. If you want to cook food like your mother, you need to first ensure you have every ingredient for the dish.
Our pick for the easiest dish you can make at home as a student is:
Aloo Mutter
Cheap and filling, serve with rice, roti, paratha, or bread. You can’t go wrong with this dish!
Ingredients:
- 3 medium potatoes (washed and cubed)
- ½ to ¾ cup green peas
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 3 medium tomatoes (chopped or puréed)
- Oil
- 1 green chili (chopped)
Spices:
- Cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
- Coriander powder
- Red chili powder
- Garam masala
- Salt
- Turmeric
- 1 tsp kasuri methi (optional)
- Fresh coriander (chopped)
Heat oil in a pan, and add the cumin seeds. When they are activated, add the onions and green chili and sautee.
Add ginger garlic paste, satuee more. Add tomatoes, and sautee and simmer
until tomatoes are squishy.
Add chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric, and salt. Cook all together for a few minutes then add the aloo and mutter.
Sautee together for 2 minutes before adding just enough water to cover the potatoes. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are soft.
Add kasuri methi if using, and add salt or spices as needed. Serve with your choice of starch and fresh coriander.
Join Online Cooking Classes To Learn More About Cooking!
With these basic recipes, you can make a variety of healthy, interesting foods to stay healthy and fed while balancing student life. But why stop there? If you are interested in learning even more techniques or becoming a better cook, you can easily find cooking classes with Superprof.
With the rise of online teaching platforms like Superprof, you can learn how to cook directly from a home tutor at home or online. Before you decide to learn, you must decide the type of dishes you can cook at home. The most important aspect of finding a teacher online is that you can learn at any given time.
In an online class, you can learn cooking with all different kinds of chefs who can teach a variety of skills. From how to chop, dice, and thinly slice, to how to decide what spices to use, you can learn what you need to know from your teacher.
Remember that learning to cook as a student is a skill that will serve you long after you receive your degree. Invest in your health and wealth with the knowledge you need to keep well!
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