There definitely comes a time in our life when we repent not wanting to learn the basics of cooking while our Mom was in the kitchen throughout. A repetitive episode for Bachelors, living away from Home when the hired-cook doesn’t turn up, or a difficult-surprise idea for the mother’s birthday- in either case, it is your cooking skills that need to be pepped up. And given the current situation, where you are the only one you can depend on, let’s just say it’s high time you put on those chef hats and charge!

To make your lives easier we have curated a list of recipes with easy Indian Cooking for Bachelors and men who wish to surprise their loved ones. Take a look at:

Indian Breakfast Recipes for Bachelors

1. Kanda Poha

In a pan, add 1 tbsp on vegetable oil. Once hot, add Cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, and 3-4 curry leaves (optional). Once they crackle add in a medium-sized chopped onion, and sauté. Add Turmeric and salt. Meanwhile, in a bowl, take Poha, rinse once, and keep aside. Do NOT soak it. Once the onions have stopped smelling raw, add in the rinsed poha and mix well. Turn off the burner. Top with roasted peanuts and serve.

2. Upma

In a Kadhai, heat 1 tbsp oil. For tempering, add a pinch of black mustard seeds, gram dal, and curry leaves, allow them to crackle. Add in chopped onion, bell pepper, French beans, green peas or a veggie of your choice and sauté. Once vegetables are half cooked, add in a bowl of rava/sooji and roast together only for a bit. The Rava need not change color. Add the same amount of water as the rava, cover lid and simmer on low flame for 5 mins. Serve.

3. Oats Upma

Oats upma is just a healthier version of the usual upma wherein fibre is the main constituent. The recipe for oats upma remains the same as Rava upma. Just replace Rava with rolled oats and skip the tempering part.

4. No-cook Oatmeal

In a Mason jar or a glass combine, a small cup of rolled oats with 2tbsp of Chia seeds (optional). Next, add 1 tbsp of Greek yogurt or vanilla extract. If neither is available, skip adding any flavours, just add the sweetener that you prefer- 2 tsps of honey or brown sugar. Add half cup of milk, and stir the mixture well to leave no lumps. Leave it for at least 2 hours or overnight. Top up with walnuts, banana or strawberry before serving.

5. No-cook Sandwich

This version of veg sandwich is a healthy option, perfect for a weight loss alternative for mayo sandwich. Take 2 tbsp of curd, add a pinch of black salt and ½ tsp of finely chopped garlic to it, whip well to dissolve any lump. Slice half a cucumber, half onion, and a small tomato. On a slice of bread spread the curd mixture, place a slice or two each of cucumber, onion and tomato, cover with the other slice of butter-smeared bread, put low pressure once the sandwich is ready so as to make the veggies stick to each other.

6. Pancakes

While there are a number of pancakes you could try, but we’ll keep it minimal with common ingredients that can be found in any Indian household.

Take a cup of whole wheat flour, add 1 tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of each of cinnamon powder and Baking powder (Baking powder helps it to be fluffy, skip if unavailable), whisk and keep aside.

In another bowl, take a cup (100 ml) of milk, add an egg, and ½ tsp of vanilla extract (optional). You may skip the egg, and add a pinch of Baking Soda in case you’re not fond of eggs.

Mix all wet ingredients with dry, whisk well. Smear butter on a pan, and pour a ladle of the whisked batter. Flip when one side turns brown. Serve with Bananas or Honey.

7. French Toast

Just another version of bread-omelette, French toast is an any day go-to option for egg lovers. Break two eggs in a dish, add salt, onion, black pepper powder, chopped green chillies and mix well. On a flat pan, drizzle some oil or butter and allow it to heat a bit. Meanwhile cut a bread slice into half and dip it in egg mixture. Put the dipped bread on the flat pan and let it cook for 2 minutes each on both sides. Serve with honey or Chocolate syrup.

There are a good number of recipes you could try at Home. All you need to do is to be aware of the ingredients and proportions. That being said, here are a few easy lunch recipes for Bachelors that you could try…

Indian Lunch recipes for Bachelors

1. Dal-Chawal

No matter which region of the country you belong to, this can easily be considered a staple anywhere in India.

For Rice: You can either cook it in a pressure cooker or by boil-drain method. To boil and drain: Boil 3 cups of water in a vessel. Meanwhile, rinse 1 cup of rice, and once the water has started to boil, add the rinsed rice to it. Add a tsp of oil or ghee, stir occasionally until rice is fully cooked. Cover, and drain the excess starch. 

Alternatively, you can also put 1 cup rinsed rice with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker and wait for 3 whistles on a high flame.

For Dal: Rinse a cup of Toor Dal, add to a pressure cooker. To the same, add 3 cups of water, a pinch of turmeric and salt. Cook till 4 whistles. Meanwhile, for tempering, in a pan add 2 tsps of ghee, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, a pinch of chilli powder or 1 whole red chilli, and chopped garlic. Once the steam from the cooker is released by itself, add the cooked dal to the tempering pan, stir and turn off.  Serve hot with rice, papad, and pickle.

Please note that the Dal used here is Toor or Arhar Dal. Not all lentils take the same time to cook.

2. Veg Pulao

Wash and soak a cup of Basmati Rice in 1.5 cups of water. Chop all the veggies you want in the pulao- Beans, carrot, Onions, Potato, Tomato, and green peas. Make a paste of 1 inch ginger and 3-4 garlic cloves.

In a pressure cooker, add 1 tbsp ghee, a pinch of Cumin seeds, whole garam masala spices of your choice, chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste and slit green chilli, and sauté. Next, throw in chopped tomatoes and stir till they become mushy. Next, add in your masalas- turmeric, Dhaniya powder, Red Chilli Powder, Biryani masala (in case you don’t have Biryani masala, add in a bit of Kitchen King powder), mix well and let the masalas cook, don’t burn them. Once the smell the aroma of masalas, add in the soaked rice with water and pressure cook on low flame for one whistle.

Finish with coriander or mint leaves, and serve with Boondi raita.

3. Roti-Paneer Bhurji

If you are someone who cannot do without rotis, well it’s high time you started practicing rolling out some for yourself. For dough: Take 2 cups of wheat flour, 1 cup of water, a tsp of ghee. In a large bowl, add the wheat flour and make some room to add the water in the centre. Pour just li’l water at a time, add the ghee, and start kneading the dough, crumbling it between your fingers. Well, you know how it is done, just that you are doing it yourself for the first time. Start rolling with light hands using the rolling pin, and roast on the Tava on both sides one by one. Your roti is ready. And please don’t worry about the shape as long as you don’t burn it.

Paneer Bhurji: Chop 1 onion, tomato, and 2 green chillies. In a pan, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil, and cumin seeds. Add in the chopped onion next, saute. Next goes tomato and green chillies, wait till the tomatoes have softened to put in the masalas: Turmeric, Jeera powder, Dhaniya powder, and salt. In the end, add crumbled paneer and mix the masalas well with the paneer. Your meal is ready to be served.

4. Tiffin-style Egg Parantha

Of all the parathas that Moms make, this has got to be the easiest as there is no stuffing required. Just make an egg mixture as you like in your omlette. Slice a green bell pepper, cucumber and oni0on. You may skip cucumber if unavailable. Roll the dough and start roasting it on the Tava. Smear some oil or ghee on one side and flip the side so the ghee-smeared part touches the pan. Pour 2 spoons of the prepared egg mixture on the paratha and flip again as you’d flip an omlette. Let the egg cook for a minute, and tadaa.. your egg paratha is ready. To serve… add the sliced onions, bell pepper and cucumber on the parathas. Sprinkle some chaat masala and Black pepper. Roll, serve with Ketchup.