Hostel life all about those midnight adventures with your friends, be it a movie night, game night or just a chill night-in with your buddies after a long day or those nights where you are trying to cramp in months of the syllabus on the night before your exam. And the food is a major part of these adventures. Here are a few super easy and quick recipes to kick start your adventure.  

It is going to be even easier and convenient as Café Mamaliga at Tribe Stays is open 24/7 and has all the basic equipment to fix your own snacks. Now isn’t Tribe one of the best hostels in Pune?

Chilly Cheese Toast

Classic street food that is very easy to make. The main ingredients you need are bread, grated cheese and green chilly. You can add butter, oregano, chilli flakes and garlic for extra taste. Now, these ingredients are totally substitutable and you can use anything else that is available to you.

Butter your bread and add all your ingredients on the bread before adding grated cheese. Now just pop it into the oven for 4-5 minutes. You can have it with some ketchup or some mustard sauce.

If you don’t have an oven, you can also toast it on a flat pan. Now, this is not an issue as Café Mamaliga has everything available for a quick snack. Chilly cheese toast is easy, quick, delicious and is sure to satisfy those hunger pangs.

Smoked Paprika Potato Chips

We all love fried food which is delicious but very unhealthy for our bodies. The biggest culprit of fried snacks is potato chips. Now the packaged potato chips that you get in your supermarkets are convenient and tasty but they are loaded with fatty oils, artificial flavouring and empty calories. Here is a recipe that makes sure you aren’t consuming empty calories but that will also satisfy your cravings for potato chips. Now you will have to take a little more effort than just buying packaged potato chips but your body will thank you in the long run.

A few ingredients you need are potatoes, olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper.

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2.  Peel the potato and slice as thinly and uniformly as possible.
3. Soak the potato slices for at least 5 minutes in cold water.
4. Drain and pat dry, then toss in a bowl with the olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper.
5. Lay the potatoes out on an oiled baking sheet.
6.  Bake until the potatoes are golden brown and crunchy, about 30 minutes.

These chips are as delicious if not more, thanks to the fresh potato flavour and the smoky paprika flavour. So the next time you are on your groceries run, you know what not to include.

Deep-Fried Oreos

Oreos are an all-time favourite for almost everybody. It is almost guaranteed and a constant item on your groceries list. Each person has a way or a favourite combination of eating these cookies. There is a way to jazz it up a little.

You will need pancake batter, an egg, milk and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil.

1. Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Whisk together the egg, milk, and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the pancake mix until no dry lumps remain.
3.  Dip the cookies into the batter one at a time, and carefully place into the hot frying oil. Cook until the cookies are golden-brown, about 2 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate before serving.

Next time you are having a movie night with your friends, impress them with these easy deep- fried Oreos.

Dark Chocolate Dipped Bananas

Mid-night sweet cravings are very real. It could be because you are actually hungry or stressed or it could be just out of habit. Why not make these cravings a little healthier by throwing in a fruit?

To make dark chocolate-dipped bananas,

1. Peel, then cut each banana in half crosswise (or into tiny cubes) and insert a craft stick (or a toothpick) into each half. Place on a tray and put in the freezer until frozen, about 3 hours.
2. Melt the chocolate (you can also use milk or white chocolate, whichever is convenient) in the top of a double boiler over slightly simmering water, over the lowest possible heat, stirring frequently.
3. Dip each frozen banana into the chocolate, till it is coated completely.
4. Now you can add peanuts or any nuts of your choice. Simply roll the coated bananas on the nuts. You can also add coconut shavings.
5. Serve immediately or wrap individually in plastic wrap or waxed paper and freeze for up to 2 weeks.

If you are not a big fan of bananas, you can substitute it with strawberries or any fruit of your choice and convenience.

Maggi

Maggi is almost synonymous to student life and it is the go-to food in all situations, we just had to include it in the list. Each of us has our preferences while making Maggi, watery or dry, with or without ketchup etc. Now I am sure most of us have figured out ways to spice it up, here are a few suggestions,

•   Cheese and egg Maggi

Add some grated cheese and some scrambled eggs or omelette to your Maggi.

• Deep-Fried Maggi

Cook Maggi the way you prefer it ( the drier the better and easier) and carefully deep fry it in the pan of vegetable oil you set aside to boil. Sprinkle chaat masala, or whatever else that you prefer and you’ve got the perfect rainy day snack.

•  Maggi Sandwich

Cook your Maggi slightly drier than usual to avoid making the bread soggy. Whip your favourite sandwich ingredients out and throw in the freshly made Maggi.

•  Meat Maggi

You can add whatever meat you like, be it sausages, pepperoni or leftover fried chicken. Cook your meat to your liking, slightly prior to adding the Maggi. Voila!