Easy Dinners To Try On Busy Week Nights

Weeknights can be chaotic. From working after office hours to helping kids with their homework, you barely get a breather. But skipping homemade food and settling for a box of pizza is not sustainable. To make your life easier, try these quick and nutritious dinner fixes.

The clock strikes seven, and you’ve somehow managed to beat the traffic and reach home. Amidst countless emails, meetings, and a growling stomach, you hardly have the time to prioritise the tasks after a tough day at work. If this scenario seems close to your busy weeknights, takeouts or a quick bite from a food cart might sound tempting, but it isn’t a healthy option.

On such busy week nights, when you’re too tired to cook for yourself or your family, the best resort is always quick fixes and easy recipes. Whether you’re innovating new dishes with some leftovers or quickly whipping up options like stir-fried veggies, pulao, or microwave options. So, on the days when you don’t have the energy to cook an extensive meal but still want to choose a healthy, homemade dinner, here are some easy and satisfying dishes.

Arbi Masala

The root vegetable arbi, also known as colocasia, is a frequently used vegetable in Indian households. Much like potatoes, you can make arbi masala in no time. Just wash, pat dry, peel, and chop the arbi into small pieces. Next, heat some oil, add spices like jeera, haldi, red chilli powder, ajwain, garam masala, amchur powder, and salt. Once fragrant, add the chopped arbi and let it cook. After the arbi is golden brown, you can garnish it with coriander leaves and serve it with roti.

Tofu Tikka

If you need a high-protein dinner option that’s also quick to make, tofu tikka is the best option for vegetarians. Just as you’d make paneer tikka, you can try the dairy-free alternative by scrambling tofu. Whether you have lactose intolerance, you’re a vegan, or simply cutting dairy out of your diet, you can make tofu tikka by grilling tofu cubes in an oven, air fryer, griller, or barbecue. Once crispy, serve the tofu tikka with a lacha paratha and a side of your favourite chutney.

Mug Pizza

More often than not, the urge to have a slice of pizza hits after a tiring workday. While ordering in is not healthy, and making everything from scratch is not always an option. So, to satiate your cravings, you can quickly whip up a mug pizza. All you have to do is take a bowl and add all-purpose flour, a little baking powder, salt, and some water. Mix all the contents and you’ll get the pizza dough. Then, layer some of the dough in a microwave-safe mug. Add pizza sauce, chopped veggies, and Mozzarella cheese. Bake the mug pizza in the microwave for about two to three minutes, and your lip-smacking pizza will be ready.

Dal Tadka Bowl

For the days when you simply want to sit back with a dinner bowl that reminds you of home, go for dal tadka. Ready in under half an hour, you can pair the dal with some rice or freshly prepared roti. Not only is the dal tadka bowl protein-rich, but adding a side of salad and rice will make it a perfectly balanced meal. Just mix the rice and dal with your hands, take some aam ka achaar and dig into one of the most satisfying dinners.

Roti Pockets With Leftovers

To incorporate leftover rotis or sabzis and make a quick dinner, roti pockets always come in handy. And even if you don’t have some leftover chapatis, you can still make roti pockets in under fifteen minutes. You can simply take a chapati, spread some ghee and add any leftover sabzi like paneer bhurji, jeera aloo, mixed vegetable, mushroom matar, and so on. Then, wrap the roti like a burrito, grill it on a tawa or a sandwich maker and serve it hot.

Creamy Methi Corn

Methi leaves are known to be one of the best ingredients to manage blood sugar levels, thus helping in weight reduction and even lower cholesterol levels. If you have a similar goal, here’s how you can make yourself a delicious meal with just some basic ingredients. While you might already be tired of having methi aloo, you can simply make a creamy sabzi with methi and corn. Start by making a creamy gravy with cashew nuts, milk, and a blend of spices. Let the gravy thicken on medium heat, and then add in chopped methi leaves and boiled sweet corn kernels. Once you get a well-coated sabzi, serve it with a paratha or chapati.

Paneer Bhurji

When you don’t know what to cook, make paneer ki bhurji. The vegetarian version of scrambled eggs, paneer ki bhurji, is also close to home for most Indians. Since it is so easy to make that you’d be able to serve dinner in just fifteen minutes, it is an impeccable option for busy week nights. Just heat some oil, add cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dhania powder, salt, etc and some chopped onion, tomato, and other vegetables. Once the veggies are soft, mix in scrambled paneer and cook on a low flame for about five minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves, and you’re all done.

Pulao

Another way to use your leftover sabzis from the day before is to make pulao. To make it quickly, you can rinse some rice, depending on the number of servings and soak it till you can prep the veggies. Take out the leftover sabzis like paneer, capsicum, bhuri, mix veg, aloo jeera, gajar matar, and the list can go on. Add some spices, keeping a note that your leftover sabzis will already have the kitchen masalas in them. If you have a lower spice tolerance, just add some cumin seeds and salt. Next, add in the soaked rice and double the amount of water to the rice. Pressure cook the pulao for about ten to fifteen minutes, and your dinner will be ready. Pair it with chopped salad and a bowl of raita for an utterly satisfying meal.