Want to Cook, but Hate Doing the Dishes? Try These 6 Easy One-Pot Meal Recipes

One-pot meals are hassle-free, delicious and highly customisable. Here are 6 quick recipes to get you started.

Don’t have time to put together two to three time consuming dishes to make a meal seem complete? Or do you hate having to wash multiple utensils after every meal?

If yes, read on because there is a way out, rather a way through.

Hint, protein bowls, Buddha bowls, broth bowls, quinoa bowls and globowls – also known as one pot meals..

And no, this is not a compromise at all. These meals can deliver everything you need in one bowl.

So basically these bowls are taste plus health plus convenience on a platter, so are perfect for super busy professionals, and also for those who hate doing too many dishes after cooking.

Optimise Your Meal Bowl

Pro tip: To get the most out of your meal bowls and not lose out on nutrition, incorporate all the food groups – veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins to score all the macros (protein, carbs, fibre, good fats) and micros (vitamins, minerals and antioxidants).

Fit in a huge variety of ingredients, flavours and textures. Sneak in good foods that you don’t otherwise eat. Customise to your needs and taste.

One pot meals are also a great way to control your portion sizes, if you're ona weight loss diet.

Try these Quick and Easy One-Pot Bowls

• Asian twist bowl

Top 1 cup cooked amaranth (Rajgir) with 1 cup of a mix of vegetables (of your choice) and 1/2 cup tofu, and then add a drizzle of a silky tahini sauce.

(To cook the amaranth add to triple the amount of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 min. Then strain).

• One-pot chicken spinach rice

Marinate 150 gm chicken with 1 egg, 2 tbsp rice flour, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp roasted jeera powder, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt to taste and a pinch of garlic powder for 1 hour.

Pan fry for 5 mins on each side on medium-low flame. Keep aside.

In the same pan add 3- 4 chopped garlic cloves, 2 sliced green chillies, 2 sliced bulbs of spring onions, 150 gm chopped spinach and any other vegetables you have handy.

Let it cook for 3-4 mins. Add 1/4th cup rice and 3/4th cup water. Cover and cook for about 10 mins till rice are cooked.

• Quick Mexican Quinoa

Wash and soak 1/4th cup of quinoa for 10 min.

Strain the water and add quinoa to a pan with firm boiled rajma (or tinned beans), 2 chopped tomatoes, few chopped baby corn, 1 chopped bell pepper, 1 sliced onions, 2 tbsp of any hot sauce of choice (or spicy salsa), salt, and oregano to taste.

Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook for 15 min.

• Pumpkin, Couscous & Chickpeas Salad

Cook 1/2 cup couscous, let it stand for 5-6 minutes and then fluff it gently with a fork.

Mix couscous with 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin, 1/4 cup rocket leaves, 1/2 cup chickpeas boiled and a few toasted walnuts.

Make the dressing by blending 1 tbsps olive oil, to taste salt, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp lemon juice and pour over the couscous mix.

• Buckwheat noodle bowl

Cook 100 gm buckwheat noodles and keep aside.

Heat a pan, add 1 tsp olive oil, add 1/2 cup sprouts, stir fry for a few minutes, add 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, 100 gm spinach, and cook with a little bit of water.

Now add 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sliced ginger, 2 cloves of sliced garlic, 1 tsp vinegar and 1 tsp honey or maple syrup.

Add noodles, mix up, add 1 tsp sesame seeds and 1/4th red pepper thinly sliced.

• Pakhala bhaat of Odisha (called panta bhaat in West Bengal and Poita bhat in Assam)

Add water to 1 cup cooked rice (leftover will do just fine), cover it and leave it to ferment overnight (keep the dish covered to avoid contamination).

Next day add half cut onions and 2 chopped green chillies, salt to taste and half lemon’s juice, and a quick roasted and mashed brinjal and mashed boiled potato (other additions can be achaar, fried fish, various boiled veggies, dal or curries that may be leftovers from previous night etc).

Then top it with some sour curd and dig in.

Note: To up the protein of all these dishes you can just add to the bowl a chopped hard-boiled egg or 100 gm raw or pan fried tofu or paneer or boiled edamame on top.

(Some recipes are from the book 500 Recipes: Simple Tricks for Stress-Free Cooking by the author of this piece, nutritionist, and health writer, Kavita Devgan.)