How to make a simple home-cooked meal?

Kitchen

The climate of work in the world today means that more often than not, people will be living away from their families and homes. Yes, this might lead you to miss your family, but there are ways to be in touch with them. But there is one aspect that seems unattainable. Home-cooked food. After one point, you will crave for nothing more than this. No restaurant or food service, however homely they claim to be, will just not make the cut for you. So how do you satisfy this craving? It’s simple. Learn to cook! Here’s a small guide.

What are the staples?

If you are an Indian, no matter which part of India you are from, you will probably have similar, if not the same diets. This involves staples such as rice, a dry vegetable, a curry and some rotis to tie it all together. So this is what we will look at today. How to make a fulfilling meal involving all these components. We will also look at the preliminary preparations and some tips in this regard and then we will go over to how to actually prepare the stapes of a typical Indian diet. Let’s start with the preliminary preparation.

Equipment

The best thing about cooking a homely meal is that it does not need complex contraptions which may cost you a half year’s salary. You do not need a fancy knife set and a super antique wood-fired oven. But there are some basic items that you cannot do without. Things like a stove, a fridge, a microwave/oven and a sharp knife and some basic ladles and paraphernalia. You need to stock up on these. There’s also technology which can make your life easier. This involves things like Rotimatic, an electronic roti maker, which will save you time and energy.

Shop fresh

Restaurant food almost never tastes the same as home-cooked food as they stock food and use it when required. The same problem exists with all these pre-cooked meals which you can prepare in just a few minutes. These things are frozen and lose flavour over time. To avoid this, always shop as fresh as possible. Go to your local market and buy from direct dealers. Try to avoid supermarkets etc. where food might be artificially preserved. The same applies to dairy products such as milk ghee and cheese. This freshness will elevate your food and make it more homely.

Learn Basic skills

The reason the food made at home tastes so good is that it is made by people who have perfected the art of cooking over the years. They might not be able to make a wide variety of dishes, but whatever they do make, always tastes great as they have practised and perfected the basics. These basics involve measurements, timing and cutting among other things. If you understand these basic concepts, you will be able to make a wide variety of dishes and these dishes will always taste good as the basics are always taken care of perfectly. So master basics.

How to prepare rice?

There are many videos and blogs online that will teach you how to make these basic dishes. But there are some inherent things that make the preparation more homely. Let us look at what these tricks are. Firstly, always try to buy rice from the lowest rung in the supply chain. This is what usually what happens at home and food usually comes from markets. Avoid packed rice which will be filled with preservatives and other chemicals. But in any case, always make sure to wash your rice before you cook it to avoid diseases and poisoning due to chemicals.

Curry

Making curry is easier than you would think. Most people avoid making this and order it as they think it is complex. But ordering would never make you happy as restaurants make curry very differently from the way it is made at home. To make homely curry, use real dal or other natural alternatives as opposed to artificially enhanced and thickened alternatives. They are unhealthy and do not seem homely. Using fresh dal and vegetables can elevate both the taste and the nutritional value of these curries. Also try to avoid using many fancy spices. They make it unnatural.

Roti

Rotis are some of the healthiest foods. They are not too oily and are generally low in calories as long as they are made with flour. So that is the first thing to keep in mind. Do not use alternatives. Use real flour to keep rotis healthy. Beyond this, make sure you do not slather your rotis with butter as seen in hotels or on Instagram. Yet another skill you need to master in this regard is that of kneading. You need to know when to stop kneading, the technique of it and the ingredients, such as ratios of ingredients.

Roti Shortcuts

Rotis are the hardest to make as you have to spend a lot of time and energy kneading it and then some more to stand in front of the stove and flip it. This turns most people off. To avoid this, here’s a trick. Get an electronic roti maker like Rotimatic. This contraption does it all for you, from steps a to z. It will do the kneading for you and also prepare it perfectly. This will save you time which you can spend on other things in life after a hard day of work, making it a good investment. Wondering about what a roti maker can do for you here is the detailed Rotimatic review

Final words

Home-cooked food is the healthiest and if you are craving it as you are away from home, it is the most satisfying way of quelling your hunger as well. Most people shy away from making this food themselves as they think it is difficult and time-consuming. This article seeks to dispel that myth by not only showing how simple it is but buy also showing shortcuts you can use to save time and energy. So from now on, you can stop making excuses and start cooking food at home and living a healthier, happier lifestyle from now on.