Who does not love a meal that is fancy and delicious? Routine meals are comforting and apt for day-to-day meals, but occasionally we all get that craving for something beyond the routine or mundane recipes.
The commonest thing one does at such times is dine out. Dining out gives us a chance to break the routine and eat something appealing and elaborate too. Unfortunately eating out means paying a hefty bill in the end, or one always has questions about the hygiene, quality of ingredients used, or overall health quotient of such meals.
The next option that remains is to prepare elegant meals and recipes at home! Making fancy dishes at home is significantly cheaper and clears all other doubts one has about eating out. But the commonest notion is that gourmet-style meals require a long list of ingredients and elaborate recipes. Thankfully, this is far from the truth.
You can now easily prepare some lip-smacking impressive recipes at home, and that too with just a few ingredients. Here are a few delectable recipes that seem high-end but need no more than 5 ingredients.
Stuffed Peri Peri Chicken
This recipe suits a date night meal or even when you have a near-empty pantry and have guests over for dinner.
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 Chicken breasts
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese (optionally you can add mixed cheeses)
- 1 cup finely chopped mixed vegetables of choice (onions, bell peppers, spinach etc.)
- 2 tsp Peri Peri seasoning
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
Method:
- The first step is to preheat the oven while the other preparations are made. Clean the chicken breast and pat it dry using a kitchen cloth, now slit it horizontally to get space inside the breast to add the stuffing. Make sure you don’t slit the chicken breast through, else will cut it into two pieces. Now rub some salt and peri-peri mix on either side of the chicken.
- Take a mixing bowl add the mixed chopped vegetables of choice, and season them with salt and peri-peri seasoning. Now add half the quantity of mixed vegetables to a chicken breast. Repeat the same with the remaining vegetables to the second breast. Top the vegetables with a generous amount of cheese. Close the stuffed chicken breast, using a clean and light thread.
- Brush some olive oil on either side of the chicken.
- Now in a preheated oven, at 250 ‘C bake the chicken for 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Pair this chicken with a side salad of choice and serve hot.
Loaded Baked Potatoes
Who does not love potatoes? This recipe is absolutely lip-smacking and surprisingly delicious to eat. The perfect combination of potatoes with indulgent toppings is hard not to love.
Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 large-sized potatoes (preferably longer in shape)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup finely chopped onions and bell peppers
- 1 cup boiled kidney beans (rajma)
- Salt to taste
Method:
- The first step is to preheat the oven while other preparations are done. Wash and dry the potatoes and make a vertical slit along the length of the potatoes. Bake these potatoes in an oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are fully baked (take care not to keep the potatoes for longer or make them softer or mushy.)
- Once the potatoes are fully baked, open the slit so that the fillings can be easily added to it. You can even scoop out some of the potatoes to make space. In the cavity, add salt to season the potato (you can also add salted butter to make it more indulgent) Now add a mix of the chopped vegetables. On top of the vegetables, add some of the boiled kidney beans, Now add the cheese and top it all with some sour cream.
- Remember to be very quick with the loading of the potatoes, as they taste best when they are steaming hot. Once the potatoes are fully loaded, the cheese will melt and create a delicious cheese pull.
- You can add seasoning and toppings of your choice. Serve to pipe hot.
Caramelized Banana Walnut Chocolate Pie
This is a delicious and shirt-cut take on a lengthy pie. The ingredients and process are reduced substantially, but the appealing flavours are on point. Here is how you make them.
Total Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 pcs puff pastry sheets
- ½ cup walnuts
- 2 cups compound dark chocolate
- 2 bananas
- ½ cup sugar
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 250’C. On a gas stove, dry roast the walnuts until they become slightly toasted and gain a nutty flavour. Then roughly chop them into smaller bits.
- Use a double boiling method to melt the compound chocolate, need not melt it to a liquid state, but just softening the chocolate is enough. Take a baking dish and line the puff pastry sheets on them. Once the sheets cover the baking dish well, pour in the melted chocolate. Top the chocolate with the toasted bits of walnuts.
- Once this setting is ready thinly slice bananas and cover the chocolate and walnut layer. Now sprinkle sugar over the bananas.
- Place the baking dish into the preheated oven and bake until the puff pastry is golden and the sugar on the bananas is caramelized.
- Remove from the oven and serve (optionally with a scoop of vanilla ice cream).
Italian Caprese Sandwich
When considering upscale recipes with few ingredients, one cannot miss the delectable Italian Caprese Sandwich. If you have access to some fresh Italian loaves of bread, this sandwich is a ‘must-try’. It takes just a few minutes to prepare and you can enjoy this for brunch or any time of the day you like.
Total Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2 pieces
Ingredients
- 1 fresh Italian focaccia (optionally you can use a sourdough bread or even a baguette)
- 8-10 fresh basil leaves
- 1 fresh tomato (preferably a big and sweet variant)
- ½ bowl buffalo mozzarella
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper (optional)
Method:
- Slice the bread horizontally to get two even sides, on the inside drizzle some olive oil. You can even toast the bread if you like.
- Slice the tomatoes to get thick even slices. Place the tomato slices on the bread.
- Now chop the mozzarella into thick slices and place them over the tomatoes. You can season with salt and pepper (optional). Now place the fresh basil leaves on top of the cheese and cover with the other half of the bread. Cut the sandwich into half and enjoy with a glass of freshly squeezed juice.
Kesari Shrikhand
This all-natural sweet dish is not just delightful but is far healthier than most desserts. Made using natural yoghurt, saffron this dish is a key feature in many Indian traditional meals. It even goes perfectly with pooris.
Total Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 bowl full of hung curd
- 6-8 strands of saffron (soaked in 1 tsp milk)
- 1 pinch of Cardamom powder
- 4 tsp sugar
- Very finely chopped pistachios (optional)
Method:
- The hung curd needs to be thick enough to take shape. Ensure it is hung for nothing less than 3-4 hours. The thick-hung curd is known as chakka.
- Using a hand churner, churn the chakka so that it forms a smooth and creamy texture. To this add the strands of soaked saffron (along with the milk it is soaked in) and blend in the sugar. Mix well until you get a smooth and creamy texture. Add a pinch of cardamom powder and dry fruits.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with saffron strands and sliced pistachios.
- Refrigerate in the fridge for 1 hour and serve cool.