What I like to cook when I'm missing home

Going from the cosy comfort of home to being responsible for cooking three meals a day for yourself can be quite a change of pace. The first few weeks of Uni can be difficult. Navigating getting groceries, finding time to cook and plan meals can be a challenging task. Not to mention the added homesickness!

Let me take you through where I like to shop, what I like to cook and eat to remind me of home.

What I like to cook

I try to meal prep as much as possible. That means

• thinking about what I would like to eat
• planning what groceries to buy and
  
• making sure I have space in the fridge/freezer for those groceries
  

I find that creating a list of meals that I like to eat and are easy to make works best for me. This way, I don't have to fret about what to make for my next meal.

Usually, I end up cooking a lot of pasta, chicken curry, fried fish, stir fry with leftover vegetables and a lot of Indian meals. There are times when I feel homesick and there's nothing better to cheer me up than a steaming hot plate of dal rice with some chicken!

Where do I buy my food?

Tesco home delivery is my BEST FRIEND. Not only is the food reasonably priced (with the Tesco Clubcard), but it gets delivered right to my doorstep.

I tend to get a large £50ish order every two weeks. I know - it's a lot of food. Ordering with your flatmates is a good idea too, so you can order smaller amounts more frequently.

Always choose flexible delivery, it usually saves me a few pounds!

Apart from these regular orders, I tend to pop by Fresh for their world food range. Fresh stocks lots of ethnic food that Tesco doesn't have. Additionally, sometimes getting a fresh croissant from Fresh is just so convenient. The University's food and drink page frequently announces new deals across all campus eateries and shops too.

Cooking with my Flatmates

One of the best parts about cooking is getting to share your food with your peers.

There are often times I crave food that I can only find back home in India. When I have moments like this, it's the perfect opportunity to call my friends and convince them to join me in cooking something that will take hours to prepare. This spread is our glorious attempt at making street food and honestly, it tasted GREAT. I was quite impressed with our skills.

We do this so often that it's become a bit of a bi-monthly thing. Picking foods that we love and struggle to make alone and cooking it together? Perfect solution.

Cooking with my flatmates has been an incredible way to explore other cuisines. I've learned to make so many Chinese, Turkish and even English foods, it's quite fun to expand my palate and learn new recipes.

Where do I like to eat out in Bath?

Honestly, Bath is a pretty expensive city and I rarely find myself going out.

However, there are times I don't feel like cooking and want something warm and comforting to remind me of home.

Indian Temptations is a fantastic restaurant next to Bath Abbey which has some of the best Indian food I've had in the UK!

Bandook is also a close second, with great chicken tikka and paneer masala dishes.

Restaurants like these make living abroad so much easier, they transport me right back home with my family with the incredible ambience and flavours.