Quarantine, Quarantine, Quarantine. I’m sure you’re absolutely fed up by now. The same walls, the same scenery, again and again, is bound to make anyone claustrophobic after a while. Today marks two weeks into the Quarantine, and we know that a lot of you have already burnt through all the TV series and movies you could watch. So, we would like to propose a change in plans. Why don’t you spend this extra time cooking food for yet another day in front of the sofa?
And what’s more, you could even figure out what you’d like to watch while the food’s cooking. (PS: Season Four of La Casa De Papel a.k.a Money Heist is finally out on Netflix!)
Do not worry. There’s no need to be a trained professional to cook these recipes. You also do not need to have a hoard of ingredients. You need only three readily available things for each of them, and salt and pepper. Also, maybe just a video call or ask your mother how to preheat an oven? Let’s begin.
What Do I Drink?
Every Meal should begin with the quintessential drink. And yeah, well if you have been to any restaurant in India, your natural response would be to make a lime soda, sit back and relax. But because this is Quarantine, and there are no rules, here are some fusions that we think you’d like.
1. Dalgona Coffee.
Suffice to say, we have also bought into this decoction that started as a mere Tik Tok video.
The ingredients you shall need are –
1. Two tablespoons of Instant coffee.
2. Two –Three tablespoons of sugar.
3. Water and Milk.
First, put the coffee and sugar into a bowl and pour a few drops of water into it. Now you could either mix it with hands, to around 400 times, stirring fast that is, or you could just use a hand-held mixer if you have one. The frothy mixture obtained is dalgona coffee. Place the coffee on a glass half-filled with milk. We have ourselves the final product. While drinking, mix these two decoctions. You shall obtain a caffeine-filled frothy delight.
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2. Raspberry Tequila.
It’s Quarantine time, and there are no rules! You could prepare this next recipe even for breakfast, as a side to a fluffy omelette (more on that later.)
The ingredients you shall need are –
1. A tablespoon of raspberry jam (measurements are subjective to servings.)
2. An ounce of lemon juice.
3. An ounce of tequila.
4. A medium-sized ice-cube.
Well, there’s honestly not much to this. Pour in the raspberry jam, lemon juice and tequila into a shaker and gently swirl it. Then place a medium-sized ice cube, close the shaker and shake vigorously. Place a sieve before filtering out the tequila into a margarita glass (or any glass you prefer) You could increase the serving size based on your preference. Just maybe go a little light on the tequila.
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3. Whiskey Peach.
If raspberry isn’t really up to your tastes, or if you simply don’t have some, we have another recipe to fix you up. Peach is milder and won’t dominate your drink as much as the raspberry does. We would ideally recommend jam as the mixer, but you are free to use an alternate juice too.
The ingredients you shall need are –
1. A tablespoon Peach jam (or juice, whichever you have lying around)
2. An ounce of lemon juice.
3. An ounce of whiskey.
4. A medium-sized ice-cube.
You know the drill. Pour in the jam or liquid, the lemon juice, the whiskey and swirl. Then put in the ice, close the shaker and shake vigorously. Filter out the drink into the glass of your juice. This drink is also subjective to servings, and you can change the measurements accordingly.
Now that we have conquered the basics let’s move on to the next –
What Do I Eat?
Since it’s just you and your soft toys and the TV at home right now, we have some healthy and unhealthy recipes you could whip up in no time. And just as a bonus, we have a side to it too! So prepare to dine like a king today.
1. The Fluffiest Omelet you know.
Have you ever seen those types of omelettes on Instagram that look like clouds and probably taste like them too? Well, fret not because they are super easy to prepare.
The ingredients you shall need are –
1. An Egg (or two).
2. Butter.
3. Salt.
Break two eggs into a deep bowl. Beware of any stray eggshells that have made way into it. Now put some spice in your eggs, just the way you like it. Take a hand mixer and start beating the eggs. Soon, it shall begin to look like a smoothie. Do not stop there. Go on, till your eggs look like whipped cream, and create soft peaks. Now remove the mixer, and place a pan on heat. Melt some butter on there and then slowly pour the fluffy egg batter onto it. Place a lid on it after a minute or two and let it cook. Instead of flipping it over, slide the omelette the same way into a plate and fold it. There you have it, folks! The Fluffiest Omelet, you know.
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2. Mac and Cheese.
I could call this grossly unhealthy, but I’m sure everything is game right now. This comfort food could probably help with the aching loneliness you feel. I apologise, I am merely pulling your leg. Let’s just dive right into it now.
The ingredients you shall need are –
1. Elbow pasta (or whichever pasta is in your cupboards.)
2. Enough milk to boil your pasta in.
3. A lot of cheddar cheese.
Pour the milk into your container. As the milk comes to a boil, pour your elbow pasta in too. Let it boil, till you see the pasta expand and become moist. Now you can simply pour in the cheddar cheese and mix. Keep it on a low flame while doing this. Do not stop mixing until the cheese has melted into the pasta. Your mac and cheese are ready!
And now, for the side of our dish.
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Some Healthy Cheese and Garlic Broccoli –
It could be broccoli or cauliflower, depending on how you like it. While there are different ways to cook both of them, we can agree that they are both simple enough to be made in a jiffy.
The ingredients you shall need are –
1. Broccoli – or Cauliflower, whichever you prefer.
2. A pod of crushed garlic.
3. A lot of cheese – of whichever type you prefer.
If you are using broccoli, simply put it in a baking tray. If you a using a cauliflower, simply place some butter in a pan and sauté the cauliflower with a pinch of salt. Now put the cauliflower in a baking tray. Fry some garlic in butter and pour it onto the entirety of the broccoli. Healthily sprinkle the cheese on top to cover it all and place it into an oven. Bake it at 375 F for 25 minutes. You have your Cheesy Garlic broccoli, aside to complement all your dishes.
And last but not least, is what do you have when you’re craving for some epic dessert. So we move on to our next –
Where’s my Dessert?
Chocolate Mug Cake
The simplest, most easy dessert you could make at home is a mug cake. It’s cheap, needs three ingredients, and you can eat it out of a mug! How cool is that!
For this recipe, the ingredients you shall need are –
1. ¾ cup of chocolate-hazelnut spread (basically, Nutella)
2. 2 Eggs
3. ¼ cup of Flour.
Pour the chocolate spread and the eggs into a bowl. Or if you intend to do it entirely in a mug, you could do that too. Mix them well, until it has become one paste. Pour in the Flour and mix in circular motions along one direction till it looks like thick cake batter. Microwave it for 2 mins. Make sure to check if it has been cooked fully by sticking a toothpick in. Microwave for another three minutes if needed. And there you have the best dessert ever, the chocolate mug cake!
We hope you liked our simple take on the recipes you could make at home during this Quarantine. We send love and strength to you all during these tough times.