From minimalist recipes and virtual pot luck parties to live sessions — award-winning bloggers and creatives in the food industry have been looking within and beyond the rectangle to write a new ‘quarantine cookbook’ for their followers during the pandemic, finds Roshne Balasubramanian.
Madhuri Aggarwal @ msaggarwal
There has been a noticeable spike in the traffic on my Instagram handle during this lockdown. People have been reaching out for basic soul food and baking recipes as everyone has some time on their hands. I have been concentrating on putting up more easy-to-do recipes with basic, commonly available ingredients, rather than putting up recipes with exotic ingredients.
Minimalist frames
I have had to reinvent the way I style a frame and shoot a photograph within the confines of my home. I cannot afford to waste ingredients through the lockdown for the purpose of elegant shot compositions; so I have resorted to minimalism in my frames and there is so much that I am learning about this style of food photography.
Anjana Palaniappan
The lockdown has left me incapacitated in many ways. On the one hand, as a restaurant reviewer, I haven’t been able to visit restaurants for over seven weeks now; on the other, the unavailability of several heavily relied-upon ingredients put me at a severe disadvantage as a home cook. I have been left with no option but to reinvent my blogger self.
I recently read about how working professionals are having trouble balancing household chores and work through the pandemic; that is when I decided to step up and share my recipes and food hacks with the world. A lot of people have enjoyed the series, featuring the under 30-minute recipes showcased in a minimalist frame. I have been able to put together many palatable recipes, using just my pantry essentials. We made ricotta and all it took was some milk, cream and lime juice. In a similar manner, I have also been able to put together salted caramel, chilli oil, paneer, stir fry sauces, etc., from scratch.
Priya Subramani Vivek @hungryChennaifoodie
When the lockdown was announced, it didn’t really press pause on my blogging routine. I continued posting images of my homecooked meals to keep my followers engaged. Over time, I realised that I had the duty of keeping them informed too. So I started sharing pointers about the availability of essentials, locally-sourced veggies, and social distancing.
I have been noticing a slow yet steady spike in the traffic on my page. With a lot of people stuck indoors and having to cook for themselves, pages like mine have become their go-to spot for guidance. Initially, it was quite challenging to get used to the minimal resources; now, it has become a way of life. Quarantine has pushed me to become experimental and sustainable. For instance, I made kuzhi paniyarams with leftover dosa batter, sandwiches and noodle samosas with available ingredients.
Fuss-free cooking
Making meal plans for the week with the ingredients available in the pantry, prepping your veggies a day ahead and storing it in the fridge for fuss-free cooking are some of the pointers I keep reiterating to my followers, to make cooking during lockdown a less tedious process. Make use of pulses, they are versatile and you can sprout them and use it in breakfast, salads, raitas and much more.
Uma Raghuraman @Masterchefmom
My followers often request me to share two kinds of recipes — anything that is quick to make but tasty, and recipes that are healthy and will detox the taste buds. The first kind of recipe requests have been popular among youngsters (students and working professionals) who are now forced to cook for themselves and their roommates, and mothers who want to satisfy the taste buds of their children. I have been focusing on creating recipes that can be made with minimal ingredients but deliver health and taste. My detox rasam, herbal relish and protein dosa are some examples. I have also taken a lot of time out to engage with my followers and respond to all the queries. I am happy to see a lot of people, who otherwise never bothered to enter the kitchen trying their hands at cooking. In this process, I am learning too.
Humble recipes
Indian vegetarian cooking is beautiful. With just minimal ingredients, one can make a great dish. That is precisely what I did with the tomato masiyal — a combination of tomatoes and arhar dal. The recipe became a huge hit. I had more than two hundred people making the humble recipe and sharing pictures and feedback. My motto is to share simple, healthy, tasty recipes from my kitchen to yours, with love.
Akrithi Jain: @plates of flavor
When the lockdown was imposed, I wanted to keep my followers engaged with quality content while being mindful of the limitations. But, there was criticism too — about how food influencers and food enthusiasts are not being mindful of the situation. Some opined that this isn’t the time to prepare meals and share images on social media because many didn’t even have food or ingredients at home. I took it upon myself to address the situation, explaining that this was a tough time for all and that people should be allowed to do what helps them cope with the pandemic. Soon, the criticisms died out. This experience helped look beyond food and aesthetic photographs. I am also collaborating with fellow bloggers for live sessions and for ‘pasta potlucks’. We virtually cook together and share recipes while indulging in conversations with our followers. It’s become important to engage ourselves, share and learn from each other.
Ektha Kothari: @Foodtalk_Chennai
The lockdown ushered in a sense of uncertainty. While it meant that I cannot restaurant hop, explore new eateries and share new content every day, I realised that it was more important to be socially responsible now than ever. So I decided to share information about social distancing, how one can safely procure and store vegetables and provisions, and so on. I decided to give my followers a glimpse of what’s cooking in my kitchen. I started preparing homecooked meals, posting recipes, sharing exclusive 4 pm and 2 am binge recipes. I have been sharing recipes that can boost people’s mood and, at the same time, satiate their hunger. As part of the quarantine cooking sessions, I also flagged an Instagram live event — a potluck party of sorts, wherein I go live along with a follower. He/she will take us into their kitchen, cook a dish and share the recipe with everyone. This has become a very important platform for home chefs who otherwise don’t get a chance to showcase their skills. So far, I have conducted 10-12 live sessions. The aim is to tide through this pandemic — alone but together.
A time of rediscovery
From whipping up a delicious chowmein recipe with just coriander and pudina chutney to turning methi theplas into taco shells, I have had the chance to experiment. What makes this process wholesome is sharing the experiences with the followers, encouraging them to try something new.
Shanthi Ramachandran: @shaanthram
Over the past two months, I have been noticing an increase in the traffic that my page has been receiving. People from across the globe have been accessing my recipes. Interestingly, some have scrolled down my Instagram page and tried recipes that were posted even over a year ago. The one-pot-one-shot recipes are the ones that have been the most tried ones as it needs minimal ingredients and not too much effort or expertise. Being mindful of my followers’ needs and requirements, I started posting immunity booster recipes that can be made with available ingredients. Minimalistic dishes like the traditional morkali and dibba rotti have been tried by hundreds of people. With everyone stuck indoors, live sessions have become the new normal. I’ve even judged a few virtual cooking competitions in collaboration with other influencers.
Beyond the gram
I have been able to help those in need by reaching out to my followers and the foodie community. For instance, when I found that a few trusts and NGOs for the elderly and the Cancer Institute (for chemotherapy) were in need of funds, I shared the news with my followers. Everyone was proactive in offering help. A follower from the UK reached out to me and offered to transfer £4,000 (approximately Rs 3 lakh) to all three institutions that I was campaigning for.
Sreya Vittaldev: @darthdevi
I have been staying true to who I am, so there was no concept of reinvention. However, what I did do is find better ways to put out my recipes —more detailed, aesthetic and crisper Instagram stories. I also did a video; since then, I have received a lot of video requests. It’s always been a dream to host a cookbook club; so, I started one for Bengaluru with fellow food-blogger Monika Manchanda. This has been quite enriching. I’ve been able to connect with many food bloggers, authors and other cooking enthusiasts. I share verified sources of information about how to clean veggies but, most importantly, I ask my followers to support local businesses/small scale businesses. The past few weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of healthy cooking and sharing the same.
Love your leftovers
2020 is the year for remixing all of our leftovers. Don’t throw away your meat bones after eating; wash and store them to make stock. Also, you don’t need to make popular food to be validated, it’s fine if you didn’t make dalgona coffee or sourdough. And lastly, always wrap your greens in a damp paper towel; it lasts longer.