For a frugal feast

“I saw a lot of friends struggling with cooking and had a few panicky messages and calls, asking how to use certain ingredients that they had in their fridge.

CHENNAI: With dal, rice and potatoes the only constants in my pantry, over the past week, I think it’s safe to say that my body has seen its fair share, of oft saltless dal chawal, and then some more. There are only so many trips to the fridge you can take before you give in to the inevitable monotony of your food during this quarantine period. But don’t fret yet cause Monika Manchanda’s got your back. 

The popular Bengaluru-based food blogger and home baker took to her social media handles on Twitter and Instagram, last week, asking her followers to tell her what’s in their pantry after requests for help with recipes flooded her inbox. “I saw a lot of friends struggling with cooking and had a few panicky messages and calls, asking how to use certain ingredients that they had in their fridge. Since it’s such a common worry, I thought I’d take this session to my social media audience as well,” explains Monika. The simple question solicited an overwhelming response, she adds.

Requests ranged everywhere from — what do I make with leftover pumpkin, to it’s my birthday in two days, how do I bake a cake without an oven? As promised, a recipe suggestion followed every query. Only have Brussel sprouts and beetroot? Make grilled Brussels sprouts with garlic, olive oil and pepper. Have a random jar of poppy seeds? Why not mix them with some oats and honey to make some snack bars? “I want to do my part in helping people during this lockdown.

You have these ingredients but you don’t know what to do with them — that’s something I can help with,” she adds. Most often, the requests are for simple and comforting bowls of food that are tinted with nostalgia, she notes.  As for herself, Monika admits she’s staying busy and bustling during her time at home. “For a lot of us, food has always been a source of comfort. Something we turn to when we’re down or on the other hand, something we celebrate with.

They’re intimately connected to emotions, and now that the general morale is down, it’s inevitable that we’re turning to it for comfort,” says the food writer. It’s a real stress buster for me, so I’m chopping away in the kitchen, she adds on a lighter note.  As Monika chops away, the rest of us can don our chef whites and whip up one of her recipes — a bowl of curry noodles, her go-to for a warm and straightforward meal.
For recipes, visitsinamontales.com. Follow her on Instagram & Twitter : @monikamanchanda

CURRY NOODLES

INGREDIENTS

•  Noodles: 200 g
•  Mushrooms: 1 cup
•  Baby corn: 1 cup
•  Red curry paste: 2 tbsp
•  Coconut milk: 1 cup
•  Sesame oil: 2 tsp
•  Onion: One medium
•  Garlic cloves: 5-6
•  Salt to taste
•  Spring onions for garnish

Method

• Boil noodles as per the instructionson the packet and set aside.
•  Roughly chop mushrooms. Ideally, they say, to cook mushrooms the best way, you should not wash them. But somehow, I am not comfortable doing that. So clean and completely dry before using. Also, cut onions and baby corninto thick slices.
• Heat oil in a pan and add garlic to the same. Let it brown, and then add the onions. Once the onions are soft (we don’t want to cook them too much or brown them), add baby corn and cook on high flame till it starts browning.
• It’s now time to add mushrooms. Ideally, mushrooms should be cooked separately in a wide pot with sufficient distance between them to breathe,  but it’s okay to stir them along with the onions and baby corn. Cook till the mushrooms are done.
• Add in the red curry paste. If you don’t have red curry paste, don’t worry. Any chilli paste or hot sauce works too. You might have to adjust the quantity depending on just how spicy

it is. Add in the coconut milk too and bring everything to a boil. If you like your curry noodles really saucy, increase the coconut milk and curry paste here. Actually, you can use any vegetables you have handy. Like always, I think recipes should be like canvases and we all should paint
our mind in them

• Bring the coconut milk to a boil, add salt. Check the curry here before you do so because the paste/sauce you added will have salt too. And I am assuming you have boiled your noodles with salt anyway. Because, in my opinion, it is one of the most important steps in making noodles.
• Boil them in salted water, really salted water actually. Water that tastes like the sea and sees your noodles really shining in the final dish.
• Now add the boiled and drained noodles to the sauce, stir gently to mix. Switch off the gas, garnish with spring onions if you have.Relish with a nice conversation at the dining table. Because even if we are all working from home, the meals together could act as that bonus family time.