Recipes for Lemon Chicken, Fried Rice & Suji Idlis

We invited Get Ahead readers to share quick-fix office recipes with us -- easily-prepared foods that takes less than an hour to whip up before you head to work in the morning. We've been flooded with responses and as part of an ongoing series, present three lunch recipes that you can carry in your dabba.

Here's how to prepare Lemon Chicken by Rajneesh Anand:

Ingredients:

• 1 dressed chicken
• 3 tbsp refined oil
• 1/2 a lemon
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Salt to taste

Method of preparation:

• Heat the refined oil in a pressure cooker and put the chicken in. Squeeze half the lemon onto it.
• Next, add the salt and black pepper. Fry it for a little while and then put the lid on the cooker.
• Wait for the cooker to whistle and turn off the flame. Preparation time should be about 10 minutes.
• Your lemon chicken is ready to eat.

Next up we have this Fried Rice recipe from Ruchi Agarwal:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup leftover rice
• 1 diced onion
• 2 finely chopped tomatoes
• 2 green chillies
• A handful of coriander
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp jeera
• Salt to taste
• Red chillie powder (optional)

Method of preparation:

• In a skillet, heat the oil and add the onions; sauté until golden-brown.
• Next, add the tomatoes and salt. Cook till the tomatoes are almost pulp.
• Add green chillies and chillie powder.
• Add the rice to the skillet and mix well for a minute or so.
• Garnish with coriander and serve.

• 1 cup suji
• 1 cup curd
• 1 small diced onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp red chillie powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• A pinch of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp eno salt

For tempering:

• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• A few curry leaves

Method of preparation:

• Mix the suji and curd well. Leave aside for 5 minutes, then add a little water and mix to make a medium batter.
• Add spices, onion and tempering.
• Grease an idli stand with oil and pour the batter into it. Steam in a pressure cooker on medium flame without whistle for 20 minutes. Alternately, you can cook the idlis in a microwave for just 5 minutes.
• Serve with green chutney.

And finally, we have Anil Kulkarni's take on Tomato Paneer Sandwiches:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sandwich bread
• 1/2 chopped tomato
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 4-5 tbsp grated paneer (cottage cheese)
• 2-3 tsp garam masala
• 2-3 tsp cooking oil
• 1-2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1 tsp chopped green chillies
• Coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• Tomato ketchup to serve

Method of preparation:

• Heat the cooking oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. As soon as they start popping, add the jeera and green chillies.
• Next, add the chopped onion and fry until golden-brown. Now add the grated paneer and fry for 5 minutes.
• Put in the chopped tomato and continue frying.
• Add salt as per your requirement, and the garam masala and mix well. Add the coriander leaves.
• Put on the lid of the pan and allow the ingredients to cook for 5 minutes.
• Take two slices of bread in a plate. Place a suitable quantity of the above prepared gravy on one slice and sandwich it.
• Grill in a sandwich maker and serve with tomato ketchup.
• Tips: You can add vegetables like capsicum and carrots to the gravy. Make sure to balance the quantities of vegetables and paneer; you can also substitute the paneer with egg, to make an egg sandwich. And add a slice of cheese to the sandwich if you like.

Do you have any quick-fix preparations that you'd like to share with us and other readers? It has to be something appetising and easily whipped up (in under an hour). Simply mail in your tiffin recipe ideas to getahead@rediff.co.in and we'll publish them right here on rediff.com

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