DIY MEALS TO HELP YOU ACE LOCKDOWN COOKING
Restaurants in the country have stepped up to make quarantine cooking easier by tapping into the concept of DIY meal kits, which come with pre-portioned ingredients to recreate a restaurant-quality meal at home. A popular burger place in Delhi’s Defence Colony has introduced such kits for their items. “We thought why not make it easier to cook burgers without having to shop for each ingredient?,” says founder Ankit Malhotra, with co-founder Akriti adding that all their products are preservative-free.
Eateries are also delivering signature sauces to give restaurant-like flavours in homemade food. Saurabh Khanijo, director of a pan-Asian chain, is trying to cater the demand of readyto-cook sauces and feels the concept was long overdue in India. “The packaging has been kept simple to avoid too many hands touching it,” he says. For some, DIY kits are a form of encouragement for amateur cooks. “Not everyone’s a great chef and can cook from scratch. It’s a start as something half-done is provided. We’ll send spice mix and curry and you have to add chicken, butter, etc.,” says Amit Bagga, co-founder and CEO of a North Indian cuisine restaurant, which is preparing kits for dishes such as dal makhni and butter chicken.