Chai-time got better

These easy-to-make snacks will make you want to enjoy your evening cuppa session even more

Bored making the same pakoras and sandwiches and craving a change? Well, with limited ingredients, there's only that much one can make. Then again, the lockdown has given us quite a few home chefs who are flaunting their talent on social media. Technopreneur Anushri Rao, for instance, has been experimenting in the kitchen and exploring cuisines from all over the country. "One of my favourite tea-time snacks is aloo tuk," says Rao, but her latest discovery has been making dhokla at home. "I was intimidated earlier, but after following a simple online recipe, it turned out so well that I am never buying dhokla from the market again," she adds. The Good Food Lab's founder Abhishek Bahadur has been cooking, too. He has also started a complimentary service on social media called Baésic DIY which provides meal plans. Here are three recipes you can try.

Stuffed mushrooms

Ingredients
Button mushrooms, cleaned and stalks removed 1 pack
Garlic 3-4 cloves
Butter or olive oil 1 tbsp
Spinach, finely chopped 1 cup
Grated cheese 1/2 cup
Any sauce 1 tsp

Anushri Rao

Method
In a pan, add butter or olive oil and lightly fry the garlic, then add chopped spinach and sauté. Take the pan off the heat and add grated cheese. Stuff this mixture into the hollow of the mushrooms and pack it down nicely. In the same pan, warm the remaining butter/olive oil add any sauce. Place mushrooms with the stuffed side facing up in the pan and let it cook on a light flame for about three to five minutes or until done. Do not toss.

Falafel

Ingredients
Chickpeas 1 cup
Onion 1/2 cup
Fresh parsley 1/2 cup
Cilantro 1/2 cup
Garlic 4-5 cloves
Black pepper powder 1/2 tsp
Ground cumin 1/2 tsp
Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp
Olive oil 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method
Soak chickpeas overnight. In a food processor, add soaked chickpeas, chopped onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon and olive oil. Shape into small patties. Heat oil, fry for a minute.

— By Abhishek Bahadur

Herb roasted baby potatoes with garlic aioli

Ingredients
Baby potatoes 100 gms
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Thyme 5 gms
Rosemary 5 gms
Packets of pizza seasoning stashed aside work too.

Method
Wash baby potatoes thoroughly, scrub for any visible dirt. Preheat oven at 160°C, you can make this in a pan on slow flame too. Finely chop thyme and pluck rosemary off the stem and spread in oven tray/frying pan. Drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt and the herbs and roast in oven or slow cook on gas for 16-20 minutes.

Abhishek Bahadur

For garlic aioli
Garlic 15 gms
Oil 10 gms
Mayonnaise 40 gms

Method
Heat oil in pan, add finely chopped garlic and sauté to get golden colour. Take off pan and let it cool a little and add to mayonnaise and mix together.

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