What to make for an office lunch box is a big headache every day. And because of the lockdown, we have become out of touch too. But do not worry. I will share some healthy, nutritious, quick, and easy lunch box recipes to ease your life. Check out all my lunch box recipes here.
STORY TIME
I give a lot of attention to what to carry for lunch in the office. Even when I was living alone, I used to prepare a full meal for myself – dal, sabzi, roti, and salad. When I got married, my excitement level to pack lunch boxes for both of us doubled. I love this morning job. Usually, making dal and sabzi is my department and making roti is Jatin’s department.
As much as I loved working from home with Jatin during this lockdown period, I missed packing a lunch box for him. Literally. When his office opened, I was happy because I would be able to fulfill my fantasy – packing lunch for my husband 😀 Although, he doesn’t like to carry a lot of dabbas in the office. He prefers either sabzi or dal with some roti. He doesn’t even like to carry salad. But he has no option. I am the in-charge of my kitchen. So, the lunch box meal has to be balanced and nutritious. This is something I learned from my mom. Also, making two things in the morning seems like a lot of work. But if you prep ahead, they get done while you get ready for the office.
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PREP AHEAD!
It is always a rush when you have to leave for the office in the morning. And then we tend to ignore the most important thing – our meals. Now we also have the option to buy food from the cafeteria or any restaurant. But, nothing can match the satisfaction and fulfillment of a home-cooked meal. With home-cooked food, you also know what is going inside your body. And don’t worry, with a little bit of preparation, making lunch box for office can be made easy.
Here are a few things which I follow:
1 – Meal Planning
This is such a Time Saver. I am doing it for years now and my life becomes so much easier when I know what to cook every day. I don’t prepare anything for the entire week but I make sure to plan my meals for the entire week. Obviously, it changes depending on our mood and appetite. But when I have the weekly meal plan list ready, I know what to buy from the grocery stores and I know what to cook the next day.
I don’t make an elaborate plan. Just mention the weekly meals in my Google Keep. Try this. Trust me, it will ease your life.
2 – Preps a day before
When your meal planning is done and you have the groceries for the week, you can simply check a night before about what you need to cook tomorrow. If there is any preparation that may take some time, do it before going to the bed. You will feel such a relief the next day.
Cut Veggies: For example, here I am making beans aloo sabzi and mix moong dal. I don’t like to cut beans but it tastes so good that I am ready to do that effort. I cut beans a day before and refrigerate them in an air-tight container. I don’t cut potatoes mostly as they oxidize. Moreover, it is easy to cut potatoes in the morning. When you heat the oil for making sabzi, just quickly cut the potatoes side-by-side.
Soak Lentils: For dals (lentils), I always prefer soaking them for 30 minutes. It ensures faster cooking and better absorption of nutrients. I mostly wake up early so I soak them in the morning. But, if you don’t have time, soak them before going to the bed. Moreover, moong dal cooks very fast. You can cook them without soaking.
Knead the dough: If you prefer roti or paratha for lunch, I would suggest kneading the dough a day before. It saves a lot of time in the morning. I mostly don’t need to worry about it since Jatin takes care of it 🙂 It is his department. So, one extra tip – divide the work.
HOW TO COOK DAL?
There are a few methods of cooking dals/lentils:
1 – Instant Pot
This is the best kitchen machine to make dal. It is mess-free and tension-free. Since there is no pressure release like in a pressure cooker, there is no mess created. Also, I can just set the cooking time in the Instant Pot and do my work without any worry to keep an eye of switch off the flame once done. We both like mushy grains in our dal so we cook for a little long but you can adjust the water and set the time as per your preference. You will get the idea once you start cooking. To start with, just follow my recipe. Then, you can make adjustments accordingly.
2 – Pressure Cooker
The pressure cooker is available in mostly all Indian households. It cooks dals in no time. You just need to take care of the water level and the cooking time. All lentils or dals take different times to cook which you will figure out as you start cooking. To prepare moong dal, add washed and soaked lentils to the pressure cooker with the spices. Add water, close the lid and cook on high flame for 1 whistle. After 1 whistle, lower the flame and let it cook for another 5 to 7 minutes. For all the measurements, check the recipe below.
If you feel, dal is watery or too thick, adjust the water accordingly next time.
3 – Pan or Pot
When we moved to Germany, we didn’t have any cooker or Instant Pot for a very long time. We cooked dals in a pot or pan for months. I won’t lie, it is time-consuming. I mostly cooked moong dal since that is one dal that cooks very fast. To make it in a pan, just add soaked dal along with the spices in the pan. Add water. Cover and let it cook on high flame till it comes to a boil. Lower the flame once boiled. Cover and let it cook till it becomes soft and mushy. If you need more water, add in between. Just make sure that the lentils are well cooked. The water and lentils are not separated.
IS THIS RECIPE VEGAN?
Yes. Of course.
Mostly, tempering is made in ghee but I prefer to use cooking oil. If you are a vegan, avoid adding ghee in dal. The recipe I shared here is totally plant-based.
If you want more vegan recipe suggestions, try our Thai green curry, vegan banana walnut muffins, vegan dal makhani.
MORE RECIPES TO TRY
Now you are all ready to make this delicious meal for your office lunch box. It is quick, easy, and very tasty. So, grab all the ingredients because you are ready to make a happy meal for yourself.
If you like the recipe, please share the photo on Instagram and tag us too @marriedfriends. We love to see your recreation of our recipes.
Happy Cooking 🙂
Love from us
Richa & Jatin
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