Here are 10 dinners that need very little cooking but still feel like a proper, satisfying meal, so you can give the delivery apps a break without settling for boring food. There is a special kind of hunger that comes with being too tired to cook. You are hungry, you know you should eat something, but the thought of chopping onions, washing dishes or figuring out what to make feels like too much work. If this sounds like your usual weekday routine, you are not alone.
So you open a food delivery app, order something familiar and tell yourself you will cook tomorrow.
You do not need to make butter chicken from scratch. Use leftover cooked chicken, rotisserie chicken or ready-to-eat chicken pieces. Warm them in a pan with a few spoons of butter chicken or makhani gravy, then pile everything into a roti with sliced onions and cheese. Roll it up, toast it for a minute and you have a rich, saucy wrap that feels far more exciting than another delivery order. Frozen momos can easily become dinner. Cook them in an air fryer, steamer or pan, then toss them with butter, chopped garlic and Schezwan or chilli sauce. Finish with spring onions and sesame seeds if you have them. The crispy edges, buttery garlic and spicy sauce make this feel like something you would happily order. Basic instant noodles get a serious upgrade with almost no extra work. Cook your noodles and stir in hot chilli oil, garlic, Schezwan sauce or soy sauce. Add a little cheese if you like them creamy. Top everything with a fried egg and let the runny yolk coat the noodles. It is messy, comforting and perfect for a late dinner. If there are leftover rotis sitting in the fridge, turn them into nachos. Cut them into triangles, brush with a little oil and crisp them in an air fryer or pan. Top with grated cheese, leftover rajma or chole, onions, jalapeños and your favourite sauces. Heat until the cheese melts and finish with coriander and lime. This is one of the easiest dinners when you already have cooked rice. Mix the rice with thick curd, salt and coriander. For the tadka, heat a little oil and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies. Pour it over the rice and mix. Add cucumber or pomegranate seeds if you want some crunch. Take boiled or canned chickpeas and add chopped onion, tomato, cucumber and coriander. Squeeze over plenty of lemon and season with salt and chaat masala. Green chutney, sev or crushed papdi can take it from basic to something that feels like proper street food. There is no real cooking involved, which is precisely the point. Put pasta in a pan with water, tomato puree, garlic, chilli flakes, salt and olive oil. Let it cook until the pasta is tender and the sauce thickens around it. Stir in grated cheese at the end. Add mushrooms, spinach or leftover chicken if you have them. One pan means one pan to wash, which is exactly the kind of mathematics we like at dinner time. Pierce a potato and microwave it until soft. Cut it open and add butter, cheese and whatever filling you already have, from corn and beans to leftover rajma, paneer or chicken. Finish with chilli flakes and spicy mayo or sour cream. It is warm, filling and requires considerably less effort than making an actual meal from scratch. Mix sweet corn with grated cheese, chopped green chilli, chilli flakes and a little mayonnaise. Spread the mixture over bread and toast until golden and bubbling. Add oregano, garlic powder or chilli oil if you have them. It takes just a few minutes and delivers the kind of crispy, cheesy comfort food that usually has you reaching for a delivery app. Use frozen chicken strips, leftover chicken or paneer and crisp them in a pan or air fryer. Put them into a tortilla or roti with cheese, onions and lettuce. Add spicy mayo, Schezwan sauce or another favourite condiment, fold and toast until golden. It is essentially a homemade takeaway wrap without the delivery wait.
