Communal meal prep and share

I've always wanted to prepare meals with my friends. I love sharing food and trying out the dishes other people make. Life has gotten busy lately, and I sometimes forget to eat well. Not to forget lack of social settings to find people to eat. I've been trying to cook more efficiently to eat healthy meals every day. However, as a single household, I end up with too much food. I struggle to finish even the most delicious food when I have to eat it every day. Luckily, I found friends who also dealth with same issues as I. They loved the idea of having to share meals and were also tinkering along the same lines. I took the initiative to see this through. We kicked off group meal prep and share few weeks ago. It surely had few challenges but we have worked our way through and have found a balance. I now dont have to worry about cooking for the rest of the week. And when I do, I also get to hang with the people I like. 

I thought I will write down how we actually do this. Maybe someday I will share about my feelings around it. 

Why group meal prep and share ?

• It saves time. We just have to cook 1 meal to share. 
• It provides an opportunity to hang out with friends.
• It has helped me and others learn new cooking tricks and try different flavors.
• It stops veggies from going bad in your fridge. I mean, who hasn’t found a sad, wilted veggie at the back of their fridge, right?

How do we cook as a group?

• We have a set a group goal to cook whole-foods plant-based meals.
• Each of us cook a dish each
• Make the meal close to when you'll eat it so it stays fresh
• We prepare food beforehand at home and share it potluck-style at one of the host's place.

Batch Cooking Tips from my own learnings

• Use less salt so each person can adjust their meal's taste.
• Make dishes like curries and stir-fries without rice or bread. It's easier to share, and each person can customize their meal.
• For dishes like fried rice, prep veggies and spices without rice. Keep spice levels in check for when rice is added.
• Use canned beans to save cooking time.
• Roast veggies in the oven and add them to your dish. It avoids using large cooking containers.
• Cooking too much leads to leftovers, and too little may not be enough. To avoid this, cook one portion of food per person per meal, including the cook. This way, everyone gets one portion.

Storing Meal Prep

• I personally us refrigerator-safe glass containers. I store each dish separately. I pop them out of the refrigerator when I need to it out for lunch

IMAGE : Meal prep with a group of 5 people.

• Store soups and broth-based foods in the freezer. Like a silicon mould. 
• If you are investing in buying new container consider dishwasher safe containers so you can clean it easily and be ready for the upcoming week.

I didn’t realize how much I’d enjoy seeing everyone’s creative cooking styles. It’s become one of my favorite parts of the week. I love guessing the ingredients and trying new flavors.

Healing power of spices: Sugar-free drinks for cough and cold.

Disclaimer : Modern science does not consider Ayurvedic medicines to be reliable as large scale scientific studies are yet to be concluded. Despite using turmeric for medicines in Ayurveda for 5000 years, it was not used in modern medicines until recently. Please use caution and use at your own discretion. 

Lemon Tea

I cannot remember when but I was introduced to lemon tea by my mom many years ago when I was very young. Growing up, I was susceptible to cold and often end up with a nasty cough. It was always severe and would last several weeks. Among all the common illness, cold was my nemesis. I could hardly sleep and create a havoc all night waking everyone up in the house. Who needs sleep when their child is sick, right? My mother would empathize while I growled. She would turn to her book "GruhaSangati" which is a collection of home hacks and home remedies for common illness. Among the many remedies she tried, my father and I have grown to like lemon tea a lot. As it turns out, many ingredients used helps to fight the symptoms of cold and also reduce the inflammation. And if science is to be believed, vitamin C from lemon should help with your cold too.  

Over the years of conducting experiments to make the best lemon tea, I have a favorite version now. It is sugar free and perfect for any cozy evenings.

Ingredients: 

1. 1 inch of mace
2. 1/2 inch of ginger
3. 1 cardamom pod
4. 1 teaspoon of your favorite tea leaves.
5. 1/2 of lemon
6. 4-5 mint leaves
7. 200-250 ml of water. 

Directions: 

• In a pot, bring water to boil. 
• Grind the ginger, cardamom, mace in a mortar pestle and add to the boiling water. Let it simmer. 
• Brew for 30 seconds. Add tea leaves of your choice to the mix and simmer for a short period to avoid the bitter taste. 
  
• Remove the mixture out of the heat and strain the mixture. 
• Squeeze in juice from 1/2 lemon. Use atleast a tablespoon if you have store bought lemon juice. The amount can be adjusted to personal taste
• Add mint leaves to the strained syrup. It is now ready to serve! 

Turmeric Latte

I discovered this drink at plantiful superfoods for the first time in 2021. I have been a fan ever since. Since it was not pocket friendly, I tried to recreate this at home. Among the many variations, I prefer the one presented her. The plantiful version has more coconuty flavor which I really enjoy. I have not tried using coconut milk powder (Does it exist?). I serve this when I have guests and is certainly a crowd pleaser. 

Ingredients:

1. 1 pod of cardamom

2. 1 clove
3. 1/2 inch cinnamon
4. 3 peppercorns
5. 1/4 tablespoon turmeric
6. 1/2 inch ginger
7. Optional 1 tablespoon grated/desiccated coconut.
8. 200 ml of Non-diary milk (I prefer Chobani Original oatmilk or Oatsome oatmilk. Coconut milk is a good option if you know what brand to buy. If you are using any low consistency milk, then reduce the turmeric amount to avoid the overpowering flavors of turmeric.)

Directions:

• In a pan, bring your favorite non-diary milk to a boil. 
• Grind cardamom, cinnamon, clove, peppercorns, ginger, desiccated coconut in a mortar grinder and mix with the milk. You can alternatively use a coffee grinder for the spices.
• Add turmeric along with the spices and let it simmer. Turmeric has a bitter flavor which blends and subsides once boiled in the milk. Adding too much can make it bitter. Adjust according to personal preference.
• Once the milk has been boiling for a bit, remove it from the heat. Strain the golden, delicious drink and is now ready to serve. 

Points to note : 

1. You can choose to substitute fresh ginger, pepper, cardamom, clove with their respective ground versions. Grinding the whole fresh spices releases volatile oils giving more depth and flavor.

2. I prefer using cardamom and mace in my drinks for their sweet and aromatic flavor. This allows me to eliminate sugar. Coconut milk also provides a very sweet base. I have not tried using it as the base and coconut has strong flavors but have added it in small quantities to many drinks. Give it a try if you get a chance and let me know :) 

Makara Sankrati

Before I write about the food and festive experience around Sankranti, I have to tell you about Sankranti. In the US, it is not particularly famous unlike Diwali and Holi. It does not get as much fanfare. Sankranti is a Hindu festival that signifies the transition of the sun into makara aka Capricorn. Hindu festivals are determined by the hindu calendar which is based on astronomical transitions. This festival generally occurs in January. This is also the time for first harvest. India has always been an agricultural country. So the festival is celebrated across many states in different forms. In Andra Pradesh and many north Indian states, it is celebrated by performing rituals and taking holy dips in the river to pay homage to the Sun God. In Gujarat and Mahasrastra, the festival is marked by bright colorful kite flying.  In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Sankranti is celebrated by decorating the house and preparing sweet and savory dish from freshly harvested rice and daal along with some spices, called pongal. Farmers offer their first harvest to Sun as sign of gratitude and pray for successful crops. If internet is to be believed, the festival also signifies the end of Winter Solstice and beginning of Spring Equinox.

This festival brings back a lot of joyous, nostalgic memories with my family from my childhood (Bangalore and Jog). On the day of the festival, we would wake up early in the morning and take a head-shower. The doors are decorated with freshly prepared torana (aka bunting) made from new leaves of mango tree. This was followed by a small ritual with sun salutations which would last until noon. By then, family and I would be eagerly waiting for our festival brunch usually consisting of sweet and savory pongal, rave unde (samolina balls) and drink gasagase paysa (a poppy seeds dessert). The poppy seeds dessert and full stomach would put us to a good sleep. We would then watch a movie together as a family. Back in the days, new movies would get released on India festivals when families would sit together and watch the newly released movies. In the evening, neighbors and extended families visit each other to wish and also share yellu with acchu. Yellu is traditionally prepared with white sesame, sugar mould cubes/jaggery pieces, dry coconut, roasted peanuts and sometimes bengal grams. Acchu is made by pouring hot sugar syrup into intricately carved wooden or metallic molds and left to cool to harden. It is not only a way to welcome spring and pray to sun god but also a great social event to meet friends and family. 

For the last 3 years, I have been celebrating Makara Sankranti in US by preparing pongal and nucchina unde along with peanut chutney. I would also make gasgase paysa or yellu-unde (powdered black sesame with jaggery and coconut made into a ball) on Sankranti but missed out this year. 

Here is what I made this Makara Sankranti. I made coconut chutney since I ran out of peanuts. It was good but nothing beats peanut chutney.

Unlike baking, cooking is to be learnt from experience. There are certainly tips and tricks for cooking better but to cook with flavors and understand the depth, one must experiment a few times. Humans have taste receptors on their tongue that respond to sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory tastes. But sensitivity varies from person to person. And sometimes food preferences are based on cultural influence one grew up in. Here is my preferred recipe for Pongal, Nuccinunde and Chutney.

Pongal: This dish has references to it in the Tamil literature which dates back to 300BCE to 300 CE and is traditional dish done in South India. Typically made from rice and lentil, I enjoy the variation made with  avarekai (also known as Hyacinth beans in English). 

Nucchinunde : This is also a traditional dish, a type of dumping made from mixture of different daal. There is no literature around it. Has been passed down through generations. I enjoy the texture and the subtle flavor variation which makes this dish hearty and healthy.

Chutney although seems like an add-on, plays a vital role in the overall experience of a dish. It can add more flavors, provide a contrast in texture and balance the flavors. In a lot of ways, it can make or break a dish. 

Avarekai Pongal recipe : 

(Requires a pressure cooker/some vessel that can be used to cook rice)

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw rice, washed
• 1 cup moong dal, washed (equal parts with rice)
• 1 tbsp of cumin (jeera)
• 1/2 cup avarekai (separated from the pods)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste (not added during festivals)
• 5 cups of water
• Salt to taste. 
• 1 tbsp of coarsely powdered pepper corns.
• 1/2 cup finely chopped roasted cashews.

Directions

1. In a pressure cooker or insta pot, heat up oil in medium heat. Once hot, add cumin and saute for a bit. Then add ginger-garlic paste, crushed pepper corns and saute for a bit. Ensure not to burn any ingredients.

2. Add moong dal to the pot and saute for a bit. You can optionally use soaked moong dal too.

3. Add rice and avarekai to the pot and continue to saute for 30 seconds..

4. Add water and salt to the pot and pressure cook it until rice and dal is fully cooked. The mixture should become thick and porridge-like. Do not overcook as it will become mushy. 

5. Garnish it with roasted cashews and serve hot with Chutney

My personal favorite chutney is peanut chutney which goes well with dose, idli and other south Indian delicacies. The sweet flavor from peanut balances out the herby flavor from coriander. 

Nucchinunde recipe:

(Requires a steamer/steaming pots. Indian cooker works well too)

Just like pongal, there are many variations. I personally love the one with tur daal. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup tur dal (Soaked in water overnight)
• 1/2 cup chenna dal (Soaked in water overnight)
• 1/2 cup moong dal (Soaked in water overnight)
• 1 cup chopped coconuts. Chunky coconuts preferred.
• 1 inch ginger finely chopped. Would recommend chopping instead of grating to get the gingery bite
• 1 tsp cumin seeds 
• 1/4 cup chopped dill
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt ( salt to taste)

Directions

1. After rinsing the soaked dal, add all the ingredients above to a blender, except for dill, to coarsely blend

2. Once it is blended, add dill to the mixture.

3. Make small round balls of the mixture in your hands and place it in the steamer. Steam cooking takes about 8-10 minutes. 

4. Once done, take the dumplings out and let it cool. The outer surface hardens a bit. 

5. Serve it hot with the Chutney of your choice. 

Chutney recipe : 

Ingredients

• 1 cup roasted peanuts*
• 1/2 cup Cilantro
• 1 tsp jeera
• 1 green chilly - I use frozen chilly. you can use fresh ones and adjust according to your flavor profile
• 1/2 inch of finally chopped ginger.
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup water (vary amount based on desired consistency

Directions

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender to a paste-like consistency. Add water slowly while blending and check for desired consistency. 

2. To enhance the flavors, saute half cup onion with a half cup tomato. Also, sdd a few roasted cashew to the mix. It gives a base of sweet flavor and slight tanginess. 

3. To top it up, add a tadka or tampering. Heat a few spoons of oil in a small pan, add a handful of urad dal and a few curry leaves. Wait until urad dal is lightly brown. Top your chutney with this delicious tampering which adds additional texture and flavor.

*Roasting peanuts is important to remove the raw taste.