Shortcut cooking

One of the things about living on your own, is cooking ! Its so much easier to just buy/order takeaway. The flip side the added pounds on the waist and then additional to be paid at the Gym for weight loss. Tsk tsk .
If you are anything like me, and look for shortcuts in the kitchen, then here are a few tips :

1. Have a good breakfast. I would recommend Oatmeal. Two tablespoons of Oatmeal, with a teaspoon of wheat bran and Wheat germ to be cooked. You can add, milk or yogurt as u please. I prefer drinking this off a glass. SO its less messy and feels very “on –the-go”. Research has proved that having a good and heavy breakfast(not just aloo paratha types) keeps hunger pangs at bay and avoids binge eating, therefore leading to weight loss!


2. Now some ready made foods : When you get home from work, put in some rice in the cooker. And pressure cook. There is a brand called 777 foods, who prepare some kickass home made Puliyodare mix, Vetha Kozahmbu, Pepper Rasam, Poondu(garlic) rasam, Tomato rice mix etc. EG. One teaspoon of Puliogare mix can be added to a cup of cooked rice to make yummy Tamarind Rice, similarly, one teaspoon of this rasam mix in a glass of hot water makes tasty home made style rasam. Their website is .http://www.sgr777foods.com/


3. If Idly batter is available in your local store buy and store for a week. Makes for healthy idli or homemade(non-stic tava, less oil) dosas. Healthy and soul food


4. Rice Sevai : MTR/ANIL/Dragon Sevai etc make good Rice Sevai.
   Lemon Sevai : Just take adequate quantity and boil in water. In the side, take a pan and sputter some mustard seeds in oil, add udad seeds, and hing. Toss in Turmeric powder and a greenc hilly. Take the cooked/strained rice sevai and add to this pan. When done, squeeze the juice of a lime
   Tomato Sevai : Another variation can be by chopping in two tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chilly and salt..add to the oil in which mustard seeds have been sputtering..and cook the tomato mixture. Add the rice Sevai. And tomato sevai ready :)


5. Along the lines of Tomatao/Lemon sevai one can substitute the sevai for steamed rice and have lemon rice/tomato rice etc


6. UPMA : Another easy to do food is vegetable Rawa Upma. Boil a cup of vegetables. Roast and dry the RAWA as required. Add some oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and one green chilly/ginger. Add the vegetables and some water. In this water, slowly stir in the RAWA. And close the pan to let it slow cook, by stirring continuously. When the Rawa is cooked the Upma is ready. A Similar upma can be made of Cracked wheat(or Dalia) This only takes a little longer to cook, and needs more stirring. Buy yummy and worth it.