Home chefs’ guide for savoury and sweet dump-and-bake recipes

Dump-and-bakerecipes are emerging as popular, time-saving ideas on social media and in our kitchens. Home chefs share savoury and sweet versions

Mediterranean briam

Professional chef and consultant, Abhay Sabharwal, shares his simple, Greek-style briam recipe using roasted vegetables that is a healthy, vegan, textbook Mediterranean diet dish that can work well as a main course. “The dish typically includes zucchini, potatoes, onions and tomatoes. Except for the tomatoes, you can add or subtract the ingredients based on the availability, it is veggies layered with blended tomatoes,” he shares.

Ingredients (serves 2 to 3)
>> 100g potatoes (peeled and thinly sliced) >> 100g green or yellow zucchini (thinly sliced) >> 1 onion (sliced into roundels and separated into rings) >> 1 eggplant, sliced thinly >> 4 to 5 tomatoes (cut into large pieces) >> 4 to 5 garlic and cloves (finely chopped) >> 1 tsp dry thyme/oregano or mixed herbs >> 1 tbsp basil leaves (finely shredded) >> Fresh parsley for garnish >> 2 tablespoons, black olives, sliced >> Salt and black pepper (to taste) >> Extra virgin olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 180oC. Till then, blend the cut tomatoes, basil, half of the garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and pepper until smooth. Mix all the vegetables with dry herbs, balance half of the chopped garlic and a little olive oil, salt and pepper. In a baking dish, add the blended tomato sauce. Arrange the vegetable slices sideways, alternating between zucchini, potatoes, eggplant, and onions. If you have any of the extra olive oil and garlic mixture left in the mixing bowl, pour it over the veggies, then top with the remaining blended tomatoes. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 180oC for 45 minutes. Take the pan out briefly to carefully remove the foil, then place it back in the oven uncovered until the veggies are soft and charred, and most of the liquid has evaporated. Garnish with black olives, and fresh parsley and serve.

Desi lasagne

Chef Amisha Doshi shares a quick desi lasagne that can be made in a mug from leftover rotis and sabzi. “This is a quick lasagne that can be made with any vegetables or leftover sabzi available at home that can be paired with cheese and salsa. You can use your leftover roti and layer it in a mug or a bowl and make it your own,” the chef elaborates.  

Ingredients
>> 3 to 4 leftover rotis
>> Any sabzi left overnight that can be paired with the cheese and salsa sauce (paneer, corn, capsicum, etc) >> 2 tbsp butter >> 2 tbsp refined flour (maida) >> 2 cups of milk >> Salt to taste >> 1 tsp pepper >> 1 to 2 green chillies, finely chopped >> 1 tsp sugar >> ¼ cup grated processed cheese >> Dried oregano >> Red chilli >> 1 cup salsa sauce

Method
Preheat oven to 180oC. If you don’t have ready-made white sauce, heat butter in a non-stick pan, add flour and sauté for 30 seconds. Add milk and cook till the mixture thickens, stirring continuously. Add salt, pepper, grated cheese, and green chillies and cook for one minute. You can make the dish with just salsa sauce, vegetables, and cheese, too. Place one roti in an individual baking cup. Spread the vegetables, salsa sauce, white sauce, and processed cheese. Sprinkle some dried oregano and chilli flakes on top. Layer with two more rotis, and repeat the process with the remaining ingredients. Top it with cheese and place it on a baking tray. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, and serve hot.

Delicious banana cake

Anurita Ghoshal, founder-chef of   the baking studio Eighth, has an easy recipe that takes under five minutes. “I created this one with overripe bananas. It is easy to get the family to eat it,” she shares.

Ingredients
>> 3 very ripe medium bananas >> 3 eggs >> 6 ½ tbsp (roughly 110 g) sugar >> 100 ml cooking oil >> 250 g flour (maida)>> Cinnamon to taste>> 1 tsp baking powder >> Leftover chocolate (Dairy Milk works best)

Method
Grease a baking tin approximately eight inches in diameter. Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork. Add the eggs, sugar, and oil, and use a fork or whisk to combine. Whisk by hand for three to five minutes; there is no need to use electrical blenders. Add the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the greased tin. Bake for 40 minutes at 165oC, or until the cake has risen well and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Serve warm. Spread some butter, or if you have left over chocolate melt it and spread it on the cake for added indulgence.

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