Lockdown Easy Recipes

The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequential prolonged lockdown is a time to review things. With people staying at home without the services and house help, DIY unconsciously has created the need to be innovative in every aspect.

Our favorite restaurants are closed and home deliveries are restricted. As revealed by Google, “#Lockdownrecipes”, the record high recipe-related searches on the internet revealed the love of Indians for lip-smacking snacks and sweets. From delicious samosas to crispy jalebis, crunchy golgappas to spicy momos, and chocolate cakes to dalgona coffee, all are missed so much. The craving for these foods has motivated most of the families to indulge in an engagement called cooking.

As a parent of two teenagers, if you ask me about my experience, cooking these at home was not a success at its first attempt. It got messy and frustrating in the beginning. From my experience, I can assure you that knowledge of the secret ingredient and sequence to cook properly is no less than conducting a science practical. It taught me the importance of precise mathematical measurements and chemical formulae. As I discovered the power of a pinch of NaHCO₃ (baking soda) while baking cakes !! With all hits and trials & team-family support, finally, in the end, there was a sense of triumph in enjoying these home-made restaurant-styled delicacies. Cooking along with children is a new experience altogether that helps beat the pandemic blues.

In this age of information overflow, so many options are available online which makes it is really difficult which one to choose from? So allow me to share some of my tried and tested YouTube channels which you might like to follow. And the best part about these is the attempt to keep the snack healthy. From a modern housewife to a master-chef, both have tried innovative methods over old practices and shared in detail the easy-to-cook methods of amazing recipes.

(Suggest you try gulab jamun, ice-creams and cakes too).

(You could also try momos, pizza, manchurian & burger).

The contagion will pass for sure, but it will change our mindset forever. A new us has already taken shape, who respect those who help us in our daily chores and care for the family. The prolonged lockdown has given us time to introspect to have a broader vision of life, the importance of not wasting food as so many are not even able to afford a single meal for themselves. If we think from another perspective, it has already initiated the need to acquire life skills which otherwise most of us as parents wouldn’t have been able to impart to our children. Cloud kitchens, Zomato, and Swiggy will bounce back soon with home deliveries but it is equally important to learn to be self-reliant to plan and manage our nutrition. It is up to us to make use of this time, not only to gratify our appetite but also to pass on the cuisine-secret-recipes to our gen-next!

JEFF SHELDON