Sports events have always been associated with high energy, intense emotions and action-packed. These apply to everyone, athletes and players who are on the field playing the game or participating in the sport or even if you are at home watching the game live on your big screens and televisions.
If you are hosting a game night with your friends at home, it often seems easy to do but ends up being challenging. One often thinks of watching games as simply something to drink and something to munch on. But it often ends up being a longer process than anticipated.
Right from making a list of who to invite to watch, to what snacks to prepare, and other arrangements. And if you have planned a pot-luck of sorts then the arrangement challenge extends to your friends and family too!
To prepare snacks for game time, some basic rules need to be followed. Firstly, the recipes need to be easy and quick to prepare, simply because you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen prepping for snacks especially around game time when time is crucial.
The next is that the recipes should be homemade. Why invite people or go to friend’s homes with ordered pizza, that has no personal touch, and is expensive on the pocket? Making homemade recipes sends a message that you care, it’s certainly cheaper than take-out food and its hygiene and ingredients are personally monitored and so assured of good quality.
The next rule is that the snacks must be portable. This is so that you can easily carry it with you, to the game. And is easy to eat while watching the game too. It simply makes game time less messy and easier to enjoy. So obviously curries and runny recipes are out of the question!
Lastly, the recipes should be the kinds that you can prepare well in advance. Because in the middle of an active game, the last thing you need is to be stuck inside the kitchen preparing snacks when the rest are out enjoying the game!
To make the game night fun with some hearty, homemade and portable snacks check out a few easy options below. These are fun, filling and perfect for game time.
Healthy Crunchy Munchies
Game time is always full of action and you never want to miss a second of it, but without munching, game time wouldn’t be fun too. So a simple, quick and healthy mix of munchies is sure to hit the spot. It is easy to carry, and good to eat too. Here is how you can make it.
Ingredients:
- 3 bowls of makhana (fox nuts)
- ½ bowl almonds
- ½ bowl peanuts
- ¼ bowl of sunflower seeds
- ½ pumpkin seeds
- 3 tsp alsi (flax seeds)
- ¼ cup raisins
- Black salt to taste
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp chat masala
- Asafoetida 1 pinch
- 1 tsp powdered sugar (optional)
Procedure:
- Heat a dry pan and on it slow roast the fox nuts until they are crispy and slightly change colour. Similarly, dry roast all other nuts individually.
- Once all the nuts are dry roasted and have a crunchy texture, heat the same pan and add some olive oil to it. Once the oil is heated add a pinch of asafoetida and the red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Now slowly add makhana and all the other nuts and mix well to ensure the masalas coat the nuts well.
- Add the black salt and chat masala and mix well. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool down. Once cooled, add the powdered sugar and mix it.
- Transfer to an air-tight container if it needs to be consumed later, or simply add to a party bowl and serve.
- To add variety to this mix, you can mix and match the nuts according to your liking.
Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Game time is not limited to dry snacks and so something delicious and substantial is always needed. It is always better if the recipe is quick to make, easy to carry and not messy while eating. Stuffed mushrooms completely fit the bill.
Try this recipe on your next game night and it is sure to be a hit.
Ingredients:
- 2 packs of button mushrooms
- 200gms cream cheese (softened)
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- Few drops of hot sauce (Tabasco/chilly sauce)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper as per taste
- 3 tsp bread crumbs
- 2 tsp melted butter
Procedure:
- Clean and wipe the mushrooms dry and pluck out the stems. You can even slightly scoop out the inner part to make space for the filling.
- To make the cream cheese mixture, take a bowl and add the softened cream cheese to it, now add the finely chopped onions, salt, pepper, garlic powder and a few drops of any hot sauce of your choice.
- Set the oven to preheat while other preparations are underway. Take a sheet of butter paper and line the mushrooms on them, the opened end facing. Add a scoopful of the cream cheese mixture to each of the mushrooms. Once all the mushrooms are filled, you cover the filling with breadcrumbs. Top it with some grated parmesan cheese. Finally, brush the stuffed mushrooms with some melted butter and insert the tray inside the oven.
- Bake them at about 400’C for 15-20 minutes or until the top appears golden brown.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes before you serve it or pack it to take to your game.
Healthy Cottage Cheese Dip
No game time is ever completed without a round of chip and dip! But why depend on packaged dips or unhealthy variants when some delicious and healthy dips are equally palatable if not more? What’s more? This dip is ready in no time and isn’t runny so easy to carry too.
This is how you make it.
Ingredients
- 1 bowl of cottage cheese
- 1 bowl yoghurt
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Processed cheese cube
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika powder
Procedure:
- Simply take a blending jar, to it add the cottage cheese and yoghurt and blend well. Once the ingredients have emulsified grate a cube of cheese into it and blend some more.
- Transfer the smooth mixture into a mixing bowl. To this, add all your seasonings and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or so.
- Serve this delectable dip with nachos, chips, steamed vegetables or any other snack of your choice.
Khari Pizza
Game nights are always associated with pizza. But why stick to conventional pizza when you can have the flavours of pizza enhanced with some unique variations?
This game-time snack is one of a kind and will ensure your game time is a gastronomic extravaganza!
Ingredients
- 200gms Khari
- 2/3 bowl marinara sauce
- ½ bowl of a mix of finely chopped bell peppers and onions.
- 3 tsp boiled corn
- 1 bowl of grated mozzarella cheese
Procedure
- Line the Khari and make small impressions on them using a small spoon or your fingers. Take care not to make very deep impressions or else the khari will crumble and break. The dent has to be just enough to add the fillings to it.
- To each dent in the Khari, add a small quantity of marinara sauce. Now mix the boiled corn with the finely chopped vegetables and add them to the Khari. Top it up with a good amount of mozzarella cheese and sprinkle some pizza seasoning on top of it.
- Preheat the oven and add the Khari to it. Bake them for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts and turns slightly golden. Cool and serve during game time.