Pandemic cooking: Tips to reduce kitchen time during lockdown
What's the story
To balance work from home while managing household chores is an art in itself. While cleaning can be put off for later, cooking should be done on time, that too regularly. And it especially becomes a challenge now, given the fact that there are restrictions on restaurants and takeaways. However, some tips will ease the tension and help you become more efficient at cooking.
Menu
Set the menu for the week based on available ingredients
An easy way for hassle-free cooking is to keep a food calendar for the entire week. By doing this, it is easier to plan your grocery and vegetable shopping in advance and also to use up all the food you have stored. Maintaining a food calendar also motivates you to keep track of your dietary intake and encourages healthy food planning.
Chop
Chop ingredients the night before to make mornings easier
Once you prepare the menu, make use of it to prepare the ingredients in advance. Chores like cleaning and chopping the veggies usually take up most of our kitchen time and it's best to do them the previous night and store them in the fridge for the next day's use. You can make this a fun activity by involving your family and kids.
Food base
Prepare food base in large quantities and refrigerate them
Curries are a huge part of Indian meals and almost every other curry uses the same gravy base while altering the main ingredient. A smart way to reduce the kitchen time is to prepare the gravy base in large quantities and store them for future use. Adding more cooking oil is an easy tip to improve the shelf life of the base.
Snacks
Choose filling options to curb craving for snacks
Given the heat, lockdown, and the work-from-home scenario, very few of us have the time (and patience) to make elaborate snacks but that doesn't stop our cravings. Snacking on dry fruits helps to keep hunger pangs at bay. You can also stock on protein bars during the grocery visits as they are not just filling but are super-tasty too.