If you’re running an Indian household, you’d know the drill of picking kids from school, work meetings, the child’s homework, and somewhere in between, the clock says ‘dinner time.’ And on most occasions, a home-cooked and quick meal doesn't go hand in hand. However, with modern technology catching up, a steam oven can replace gas stoves, or at least reduce the time you have to stand near the stove and keep stirring. Just load all the vegetables, fish, chicken, or more, set a timer, and walk away. Retaining most of the nutrients, Usha’s steam oven keeps the vegetables crunchy and requires minimal oil. Here are some 30-minute recipes that you can resort to on a busy weekday.
Tandoori Paneer Tray Bake
Requiring minimal cleanup and preparation time, a tandoori paneer and vegetable tray bake is a wholesome and balanced meal. Just toss cubed paneer with a spiced yoghurt-based marinade. Add vegetables like onion, tomato, mushroom, capsicum, broccoli, etc, and cook in Usha’s steam oven. Let the paneer develop charred edges, then serve the tray with rotis or rice.
Vegetable Dhokla
Image Credit: Magnific
For a light yet healthy meal, you can make the classic steamed snack, dhokla. Quick to make, filling, and highly customisable, you can make dhokla by whisking besan, curd, haldi, and a pinch of sugar. Fold in assorted veggies like capsicum and carrot to make a balanced meal. Add Eno or baking soda just before steaming, and within fifteen minutes, they’ll be out of Usha’s steam oven, ready to serve.
Anda Curry
Boil eggs in Usha’s steam oven for about ten to twelve minutes. In the meantime, you can prepare a basic tomato-onion masala with some added punch of ginger, garlic, red chilli powder, haldi, and coriander powder. Chop the steamed eggs in half, add to the masala and simmer for a few minutes. Once the eggs soak up the spices, serve the high-protein anda curry with a bowl of raita and rotis, pav, or toast.
Baked Pasta
Image Credit: Unsplash
To turn a monotonous weeknight over while also not spending too much time in the kitchen, try this baked pasta recipe. Partially boil your choice of pasta and mix it with sautéed onions, capsicum, sweet corn, mushrooms, and tomato sauce. You can also add white sauce or cheese slices. Once well-mixed, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and bake in Usha’s steam oven. Serve with garlic bread and enjoy a gourmet dinner.
Steamed Vegetable Momos
The all-time favourite street snack, momo, is a hit amongst both adults and kids. Momos come together quickly once you have the filling ready and have the momo wrappers ready. With finely chopped cabbage, carrots, onion, beetroot, and seasoning, your filling will be ready in just 5 minutes. Depending on your bandwidth, you can buy or make momo wrappers, fill them, and pleat them. Steam for about ten minutes and serve with chilli sauce and mayonnaise.