The Student Food-Cabinet

A starter kit for the fledgling cook about to fly the nest!

While living in the UK, food can be an experience you may cherish!

Food is near the top of the list of things that you might miss when away from home, be it the aroma of Indian spices in your kitchen or the sound of the cooker busting after every whistle.

Many students entering university in the UK are on extremely limited budgets, therefore eating out or ordering in is not a permanent solution. It is imperative when at university to build a positive relationship with food and cooking. You can make cooking interesting in a number of different ways.

In this article, you will find easy-to-cook vegetarian meals and pro-tips on living a healthy life in the UK by managing your diet wisely.

So here are 5 dishes that are vegetarian, easy to whip up, and contain affordable ingredients for Indian students on a budget abroad using pantry staples that you can find at specialty or local supermarkets.

1. Dal/Sambhar with Rice

Every dining table in India always has a big, steaming bowl of Dal or Sambhar on the table and yours, in whichever campus you may be, should be no exception.

The only dilemma students face while making dal is the choice of pulses, which is completely subjective. Other common ingredients besides pulses you would need on hand to make dal or sambar are curry leaves, cumin seeds, sambar powder/garam masala, onions, garlic, ginger, and turmeric powder. If you’re making sambar, you can also add in vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and eggplant.

Golden rule - The tiny pulses ("masoor") cook faster than the ones that look like fat small buttons ("arhar").

Also, depends on how thick do you want your Dal to be. After once or twice you'll have a fair idea, not to worry!

For a simple start. Take one of those thinner and tinier pulses from the stores.

Steps:

1. Rinse half a cup of dal.

2. On a pan (after having thoroughly washed and heated to a moderate temperature), add a half tablespoon of edible oil.

3. Heat oil or ghee or unsalted butter. Add the onions, garlic & ginger and let them splutter.

4. Then, add the cumin seeds and fry them. Add a split green chilli, and soon your rinsed cup of dal.

5. Fry a bit further. Add 'masalas' you got with you, don't forget to add 3/4 tablespoon turmeric after adding 2 cups of water. Add some salt (your food, your taste).

Don't worry about the quantity now, after a couple of Dal experiments, you'll start doing it by intuition.

When it comes to Rice, I think it's possibly one of the easiest things to cook! Don’t worry if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can use a non-stick pan and cover it with a lid. It will prove to be very handy equipment for all the dishes you cook. All you have to do is rinse half a cup of rice (or more, depending on your appetite) and boil it in water till it softens.

Voila! you have a steaming bowl of rice to pair with a generous helping of Dal/Sambhar. A classic

comfort Indian vegetarian food to reinvigorate your soul and make your mother back home proud.

2. Vegetable & Egg Curry

If you’re feeling hungry when you wake up but don’t feel like cooking, this is the perfect weekday meal for you! It takes less than an hour to prepare and is the perfect combination of taste and plenty of vegetables.

The main ingredients in this dish are eggs, onions, chilies, baby corn, green peas, tomatoes with a mixture of spices including curry leaves and mustard seeds. All the ingredients can be easily found at supermarkets or specialty grocery stores. While some spices such as curry leaves and mustard seeds might be difficult to locate, you can substitute them with other spices if you don’t find them. It is not meant to be an exact copy of this Indian delicacy so play around.

Step for preparing the dish:

1. Chop up all the vegetables, beat up the eggs and set them aside.

2. Heat a pan, add oil and fry the onions till it's colour changes, and then add the rest of the vegetables plus the beat up eggs and start to stir.

3. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook until they are almost tender.

4. Add the spice mixture, cover, and let it cook for 5-10 minutes.

Dish up with rice, papadum (cracker of South Indian cuisine), or paratha (Indian flatbread).

This dish is full of flavour coupled with plenty of vegetables (and some protein), which will keep you on track for healthy living at university

3. Matar-Paneer

Sounds intimidating, I know right! This vegetable which is reserved only for special occasions and dine-outs is actually super easy to make.

All you have to do is:

1. Take two tomatoes, an onion, ginger-garlic paste (readily available at stores) or you could make one yourself (just 1-1.5 tablespoon of the paste is required).

2. Chop the onions to the smallest sized pieces you can manage, get the tomato squeezed the way you would do with an orange when you want to get the juice out of it. Make sure you have got them peeled off.

3. Get some peas ready with you. Start just the way you started with Dal.

4. Heat the pan, add some oil, add mustard (let it splutter), and cumin seeds (till they become red). Now add your garlic-ginger paste.

5. Start frying it till the paste can move easily within the pan (should not feel sticky).

6. Add your peas. Add your tomato-onion mixture. Add masalas you got with you (the typical Indian masalas that you can buy as a complete set). Add salt (1/2 tablespoon for starter).

7. Starting frying the gravy in preparation now. Add cream/milk. Add a bit of butter.

8. In another pan, roast the paneer cubes (slightly, don't get them burnt).

9. After few minutes when you see your gravy smells good and can easily flow around in the pan, add the paneer cubes. Fry for another couple of minutes!

Voila, you just made your Matar-Paneer!

4. Yogurt/Curd Rice

Yogurt and rice is the combination you never knew you absolutely need in your life.

So simple and delicious – it’s no wonder it’s a hit among Indian vegetarians.

All you need to do is, mix mushy or overcooked rice with yogurt/curd, add a pinch of salt or more (your food, your taste), then add tempered spices for flavour – such as mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chilli, onion, and ginger. You can also add grated carrots. Mix them up real good and thats it!

You can even cool it in the refrigerator or eat it hot. ("I like it cool!")

5. Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich

So we’ve talked about savoury. What about your sweet tooth? What about nights when you just can’t hold yourself back from ordering those pancakes and waffles?

Here is a recipe that is not just healthy but also sweet enough to sate your dessert cravings.

Grab some slices of bread and spread generous amounts of peanut butter. In between the two slices, lay down thick, round slices of bananas. There you go! Gorge on as many without a worry of junk eating. It is one of the most healthy and easy recipes for students abroad!

Make note of these easy student recipes and you’ll be good for months without takeout burning a hole in your pocket and microwave meals making you lose your appetite.

Get cooking and impress your housemates!