Cook for a crowd

Cooking for a crowd

Following a few simple steps you can create a meal for may people in under 10 minutes

Step 1: Keep the base cooked and ready.( Rice, pasta, bread or noodles).

Step 2 : For all south Indian dishes, have the boiled tamarind water and boiled tuvaram paruppu ready .

Step 3 : Keep some milk and fresh fruits ready. In a crunch you can atleast serve milkshakes / fresh fruits.

Step 1 :

The base is rice, pasta, noodles or bread. Have it cooked and ready. These can be refrigerated for up to a week. If you are particular about steaming hot rice, just sprinkle some water on rice and microwave it for a minute.

Keep cooked pasta / Noodles ready. You can cook them to a south Indian taste by the following steps.

1. Heat oil. Add some kadugu, ulutham paruppu, vara milagai, perungauam, karuveppilai, onions. Stir fry for a while and mix with pasta or noodles to get a pasta uppuma. Tastes great.

Or if you want them served with a sauce, cook any of the sauces below

1. Add a handful of coconut , seerakam and green chilies. Grind to a paste. Add curd and mix. Add this to pasta.

2. Take any of the readymade soup powders. Mix with water and make a thick soup. Just add to pasta and serve.

Once the base is ready, most of your work is done. Whether it is for 5 people or for 50, just keep the base ready and you are safe. in a crunch, you can serve raw pasta or rice and yogurt.

Step 2 : Cooking Sambar / Rasam /Kulambu

For all south Indian dishes, have the following ready

1. Boiled Tamarind water.

Make a large batch of tamarind water, boil it for 10-15 minutes. refrigerate. Will last for a month.

2. Boiled Tuvaram paruppu

Take a cup or two of Tuvaram paruppu, pressure cook it for 2 whistles with a bit of turmeric and refrigerate. Will last for a week.

Once these are ready in your fridge, you can create dozens of kulambus, sambars or rasams in under five minutes.

Take 6 cups. Put one chopped vegetable into each cup - say Mullangi, Vendakkai, Kudai milagai, Small onions, Brinjal, Pavakkai. Sprinkle some water and microwave everything together for 4 minutes.

Take six more cups.

In cup 1 add some tamarind water, mix a bit of vellam and sambar podi. Add the cooked onions. Microwave for 4 minutes. Venkaya puli kulambu is ready.

In cup 2 add some tamarind water, mix a bit of vellam and sambar podi. Add the cooked kudai milagai. Microwave for 4 minutes. Kudai milagai puli kulambu is ready.

In cup 3 add some tamarind water, add some boiled tuvaram paruppu and sambar podi. Add the cooked brinjal. Microwave for 4 minutes. Brinjal puli sambar is ready.

In cup 4 add add some boiled tuvaram paruppu and sambar podi. Add the cooked brinjal. Microwave for 4 minutes. Brinjal paruppu sambar is ready.

In cup 5 add some boiled tuvaram paruppu and mix it with water to get a thin paruppu thanir. Add a pinch of sambar podi. Add a handful of chopped tomatoes and Microwave for 4 minutes. Add the juice of half a lemon. Lemon rasam is ready.

In cup 6 add some tamarind water, add some boiled tuvaram paruppu and mix with water to get the consistency of rasam. Add a pinch of sambar powder and a pinch of pepper. Microwave for 4 minutes. Milagu rasam is ready.

You can first make six cups and microwave all these together. So in just 5 minutes you have two kulambus, two sambars and two rasams ready. For all these you can use the same garnish. Heat a spoon of oil, add a pinch of kadugu, perungayam, red chillies and karuveppilai. Add to all six cups. Add some fresh kothamalli to all cups and serve.

There you go - 6 dishes in under 10 minutes. Easy ain't it ?