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Ordering food gets costlier: Under 20 minutes easy dinner ideas for busy weeknights

etimes.in | Last updated on - Mar 23, 2026, 22:11 IST
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1/7

How to make dinner under 20 minutes?

According to latest reports, the food delivery platform Zomato has increased its platform fee from Rs 2.40 to Rs 14.90 per order. The revised fee, set at Rs 14.90 on a pre-GST basis compared with Rs 12.50 earlier, has been implemented across all markets in India, where the company operates. This spike will surely impact the rate at which people order online. If you are also someone rethinking ordering out, here are a few easy dinner options that can be made in less than 20 minutes after a tiring day at work.

2/7

Vegetable Besan Cheela



This is one of the easiest dinner meals, and it is rich in nutrients too. All you need to do is, make a batter of pouring consistency using besan, curd, veggies (onion, beans, carrot and capsicum), salt, turmeric and pepper. Pour the batter on a preheated tawa, use oil or ghee for cooking and serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

3/7

Masala Egg Bhurji with Roti


This is a high-protein meal. To make it, saute onion in butter or ghee, along with tomato chunks. Break 2 eggs into this mixture, season it with salt and pepper and cook until the egg is evenly cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves. In the meantime, knead dough of wheat flour and roll out rotis. Cook on tawa and serve hot with bhurji.

4/7

Curd Rice with Tempering


To make this South Indian bowl of comfort, combine curd and leftover rice. To this, add a tempering of oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and peanuts. You can also add chopped onion and cucumber. Mix well, add salt and pepper and enjoy.

5/7

Paneer and Veggies fry and Samak Rice


This is a high-protein meal. To make it, cook samak rice in water and salt, until it is fully cooked. In the meantime, saute veggies like carrot, beans, corn, and capsicum in oil along with peanuts and paneer and enjoy the combo as a nourishing dinner.

6/7

Jeera Rice and Dal Tadka


This is one of the easiest dishes. To make it, create a tempering of cumin and ghee and add washed rice and enough water. Cook until the water is absorbed and your rice is ready. In parallel, pressure cook dal with turmeric and salt for 2 whistles. Once done, add a tempering of hing, cumin, and ghee and enjoy your meal with some pickle on the side.

7/7

Vegetable Upma


This is a comforting and delicious one-pot dish. To make it, you need to cook chopped veggies like onion, tomato, beans, capsicum and carrot in a tempering of oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves and peanuts. To this, add sooji, salt, pepper, and water. Once the water is absorbed, garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy.

Top Comment
D
Drcarmocostaviegas
74 days ago
The pre cooked packed meals I've tasted have the same taste over brands and despite the no addition claim they have a terrible antiseptic odour taste . Home cooking is faster , tastier .
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Copyright © Jun 6, 2026, 09.08PM IST Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service