It’s being talked about everywhere; on the news, on social media and in communities, there is really no getting away from it, Coronavirus it seems, is here to stay and with that in mind I thought it would be helpful to compile a list of recipes you can fall back on using larder/pantry staples. I think at times like this we need to be frugal with the food supplies we have and hopefully these recipes can help you make the most of whatever you have at home. There are some ingredients which are common staples and I’ve tried my best to select recipes where you’ll have these to hand, where I think some ingredients might be hard to source, I’ve suggested alternative ways of substituting these.

I hope these recipes can guide you through the tough times ahead. Please stay safe and where possible please look out for the vulnerable and less able in our communities, by God’s grace we can overcome this together insha Allah.

What ingredients will I need for these recipes?

I’ve listed below the main ingredients you’ll need for these recipes and divided them into 3 sub categories.

Pantry staples: oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, spices, herbs, flour/atta, rice, pasta, noodles, beans, lentils, canned goods (chickpeas, sardines, chopped tomatoes etc), eggs, sauces/condiments. stock cubes.

Frozen: frozen vegetables.

Fresh ingredients that can be frozen: onions, garlic, ginger, butter, cheese, green chillies, coriander, breadcrumbs.

1. Tadka Daal – The tomato in this recipe can be left out or you may use canned tomatoes instead. If you don’t have any whole seeds, don’t worry, the main component for the tadka (tempering) is the garlic.
2. Sardine & Aloo Biran – You can easily swap out the sardine for canned mackerel or tuna.
3. Bhat Biran – If you don’t have eggs, leave them out. You may replace the dried chillies with chilli flakes but add them at the very end.
4. Sana Biran – You can add mixed frozen vegetables and leave out the potatoes if you want to make this more nutritious. Just use oil if ghee is not available.
5. Enda Biran – Replace green chillies with chilli flakes if unavailable.
6. Noodle Biran – Add in frozen veggies with the noodles if you want to make this more nutritious.
7. Lentil Bake – You may leave out the fish sauce and soy sauce if these are unavailable, the recipe will still taste good.
8. Spicy Bean Burgers – If breadcrumbs are unavailable just dip the burgers in flour, egg and then flour again, this should create a thick enough coating.
9. Kisuri – Use oil or butter if ghee is not available.
10. Afelia’s Falafel’s – If cumin or coriander seeds are unavailable use the same quantity of ground spices instead.
11. Chapati/Puri – If you don’t have plain flour to hand, use chapati atta (wholewheat flour) instead for this recipe.
12. Jeera Rice – If cumin seeds are not available, add the same amount of cumin powder along with the boiling water, DO NOT add cumin powder to the oil as it will burn easily.
13. Naan Bread – Replace the yogurt with 2 tbsp powdered milk and 1 tsp vinegar if you don’t have yoghurt.
14. Shakshuka –
15. Rainbow Pasta Salad – You will need to adapt this recipe depending on what veggies you have at home, whether that be canned or frozen sweetcorn and/or vegetables. You can also add canned tuna or hard boiled eggs to this to add protein if you don’t have fresh vegetables to hand.
16. Masala Mung Daal – This recipe works best with mung or chana daal, but you may use any other daal you have at home.
17. Dim Bhuna – If you want to make this recipe stretch, try adding some peeled diced potatoes to it.
18. Smooth Vegetable Soup – This can be made with virtually any fresh or frozen vegetables. If you don’t have cream try adding some cheese instead or leave it out completely, just as delicious without.
19. Chilli Beans & Jacket Potatoes – Kidney beans, mixed beans or black beans work for this recipe, use whatever you can source. If soft cheese is unavailable, try using 100g of grated hard cheese instead.
20. Leftovers Stir Fried Rice – This is a very versatile recipe and a great way to make a meal out of leftover food and scraps from the fridge/freezer. If you don’t have Sriracha use ketchup, tomato puree or any other chilli sauce/condiments you have to hand. Replace the balsamic vinegar with any vinegar you have at home.
21. Tuna & Courgette Kebabs  – Make these with grated potatoes, carrots or any other vegetables you have if you don’t have courgettes, or simply leave out the vegetables altogether.
22. Warm Bean Salad – Replace the fresh tomatoes with canned chopped tomatoes and use concentrated lemon juice or vinegar in place of fresh lemon juice. Replace the pepper with frozen peas or frozen/canned sweetcorn.
23. Spiced Roast Potatoes – This recipe works well with sweet potatoes and would work with butternut squash too.
24. Spinach & Pea Tagliatelle – Any pasta besides tagliatelle can be used for this recipe. If you don’t have mascarpone, use any soft cheese or alternatively boil milk, add grated hard cheese and melt, then stir into the pasta, this should work as a replacement.