One-pot meals are a favourite of everyone who prefers hassle-free cooking and decides everything at the last minute. It is the best way to make a wholesome meal for the entire family and suit everyone's preferences while making every treat delicious for them.
There are several reasons why one-pot meals are best to cook for family dinner parties. One of them is convenience, as it simplifies the cooking process and allows you to prepare the entire dish in a single pot. Another reason is that it saves time, makes serving easy, makes meals warm and comforting, and makes hosting dinner parties less stressful.
One-pot meals also offer versatility in cooking methods. Several Indian classic dishes can be made as a one-pot fusion dish comprising a variety of ingredients and flavours. Today, we bring you a list of delectable one-pot meals you can prepare for your family dinner this festive season.
1) Chicken Biryani
The simplest meal offers ease of cooking along with a bomb of spices with every bite. Marinated chicken can be easily layered with rice, one by one, in a pot and served with or without anything else. With the thought of chicken biryani in mind, you wouldn't have to think about making anything else to complement it, as it itself is enough to be a complement to itself.
2) Bisi Bele Bath
Bisi Bele Bath is one of the staple foods of South India and a famous one-pot meal in India. It is a common rice-based dish made with lentils and vegetables in a pot. It is mostly served during lunch but can also be served for dinner. This comfort meal contains everything you need in a wholesome one-pot meal and is usually accompanied by crispy potato wafers and raita.
3) One Skillet Mexican Casserole
A unique Mexican delight that will surely be loved by your guests and will be cooked in 10 minutes! One skillet Mexican casserole is extremely versatile and customizable and can be made in vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. In this, you can combine a fusion of different vegetables, meats, and spices and create your own version of one skillet casserole.
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4) Hyderabadi Haleem
This popular Hyderabadi mutton dish, which is easy to make, offers a rich taste of spices and condiments cooked slowly in a pot. Haleem is a speciality of Hyderabad, along with its biryani. The tender, slow cooked meat, when prepared along with dalia, cashews, urad, and chana dal, along with tomato, onion, yoghurt, and iconic Hyderabadi spices, is enough to satisfy the hunger of an entire family.
5) Risotto
Risotto is another versatile and easy to make option for you for cooking one pot meals. Traditionally, it is made with arborio rice, which has a high-starch content that makes it creamier after cooking, but other rice varieties can also be used. Also, to make a vegetarian version, you can replace chicken broth with vegetable broth. Some may assume this dish to be daunting and time consuming, but when the stick is gradually added while stirring the rice, it will hardly take 20 minutes to prepare.
6) One Pot Gnocchi
Another easy to make, quickly prepared, and fulfilling one pot dish that your family might love is one pot gnocchi. Gnocchi is a type of Italian pasta made with mashed potatoes and flour. It is shaped into small dumplings and given a ridge texture so the sauces will stick to it. It is also a versatile dish and can be made in several different ways. Either you want to make it spicy or creamy, add meat or vegetables, it's perfectly suitable as a warm dish on festive occasions and also serves as a nutritious and wholesome meal.
7) Red Lentil Soup
Red lentil soup is a flavorful, delicious, easy to make and quick one pot meal dish that you can make with lots of vegetables or with meat. Red lentils don't take much time to cook and serve as a great food for providing warmth and energy to the body. You can either pair this with rice or roti, as you prefer. Garnishing it with hot chilli oil will make it much more appetising and eye pleasing.