Cheap as f**k meals thread

grizzleb

grizzleb

Well-known member
I'm finally moving out of my maws house and I'm a bit worried about what I'm going to be eating. I've been looking about trying to swatch uber cheap ghetto meals that don't involve turkey drumsticks...
This one from the middle east sounds pretty banging.
'Mujaddara'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujaddara
800px-Mujaddara.jpg

Just rice, brown lentils and some onions...
That shit looks fantastic. And cheap. Anybody any shouts?
 
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S

scottdisco

rip this joint please
i've been kipping on the sofa at our kid's gaff in Camberwell as i search for a London pad (got one, a grand one, but can't move in to next month), and his kitchen is genuinely squalid (people say this about all shared houses w 20-somethings i'm sure, but i've seen an awful lot and his really is bad), so i've been eating out cheap a lot.

plenty of kofte in pitta all the time, bits of salad, maybe some yoghurt, few squid, i was banging on about on my Facebook and our very own Luka came over and gave me some good recommendations for Newham eats (i was off to Bow that night).

no doubt Dissensians who live in northeast London or Berlin (or, of course, Turkey itself, but i think we're light on those) are better placed than my bro's bit of southeast London, but his local grill is now very special to me and i was only there a week.

aduki beans are a good cupboard basic. also me and the bro's mrs stocked up on cheap, good spices and grains etc in bulk at some Whitechapel wholesaler/supermarket type gaff, quality.
 
grizzleb

grizzleb

Well-known member
scottdisco said:
i've been kipping on the sofa at our kid's gaff in Camberwell as i search for a London pad (got one, a grand one, but can't move in to next month), and his kitchen is genuinely squalid (people say this about all shared houses w 20-somethings i'm sure, but i've seen an awful lot and his really is bad), so i've been eating out cheap a lot.

plenty of kofte in pitta all the time, bits of salad, maybe some yoghurt, few squid, i was banging on about on my Facebook and our very own Luka came over and gave me some good recommendations for Newham eats (i was off to Bow that night).

no doubt Dissensians who live in northeast London or Berlin (or, of course, Turkey itself, but i think we're light on those) are better placed than my bro's bit of southeast London, but his local grill is now very special to me and i was only there a week.

aduki beans are a good cupboard basic. also me and the bro's mrs stocked up on cheap, good spices and grains etc in bulk at some Whitechapel wholesaler/supermarket type gaff, quality.
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Nice, I think bulk buys are going to have to take place. Spices are a must. Think a quick way to rinse cash would be to eat takeaway every night though. I'm staying in stratford, anybody any recommends for cheap eats about there? I've heard (?) its one of the cheaper areas of london so that will be ideal hopefully. I'm hoping it's packed with turkish kebab joints too.

outraygeous said:
what you may see, may offend you

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56409&id=730060840&l=11b4c4a2d9

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129289&id=730060840&l=982457e706

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100529&id=730060840&l=0dae9d5d26
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Woah nelly!! :eek:

Some of that looks pretty amazing. Some looks terrifying...Bravo for having the commitment to photograph every meal you eat though.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Where's your new pad, Scott? Anywhere that's within easy distance of Green Lanes (N4) is well placed for the best and cheapest produce/bakery in London, I reckon. Good Indian grocers in and around Drummond Street (just NW of Euston), lots of butchers/fishmongers in Peckham if you're in that part of town...Roman Road's not bad if you're in my neck of the woods...fairly decent cheap fruit/veg at the street stalls in Whitechapel, too. West London's a bit of a mystery to me, but then who lives in west London? :p
 
luka

luka

Well-known member
im from stratford. go to high street north, east ham/manor park. the one i go to is called taste of india but theres other good ones there. its the acknowledged mecca of south indian dining in europe. 3.50 for a very good meal.
 
luka

luka

Well-known member
also potato wadi from ambala on green st. thalis from ronaks on romford rd in forest gate. the thai place on leytonsone high rd that everyone knows about but the name of which ive forgotten. calabash on vicarage lane for west indian food in stratford. chips from the brothers on tramway avenue in stratford.
 
grizzleb

grizzleb

Well-known member
Yaas. Nice one luka. Good to hear that theres some decent shit going down in stratford. Cheers for the info Mr. Tea also.

Anybody got any recipes?
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
grizzleb said:
Anybody got any recipes?
Click to expand...

Can't beat fresh Turkish bread with humous - I'd love to share the recipe but it's too long and complicated.

Other good lahmacun spots: Mare Street, Hackney, about halfway along on the west side; Archway, across the road from the tube station.

Spicy roast chicken from 'The Sizzling Of The Grill' (formerly 'The Thrill Of The Grill', which is surely a much better name?) on Bow Road is a must, too.
 
grizzleb

grizzleb

Well-known member
Mr. Tea said:
Can't beat fresh Turkish bread with humous - I'd love to share the recipe but it's too long and complicated.

Other good lahmacun spots: Mare Street, Hackney, about halfway along on the west side; Archway, across the road from the tube station.

Spicy roast chicken from 'The Sizzling Of The Grill' (formerly 'The Thrill Of The Grill', which is surely a much better name?) on Bow Road is a must, too.
Click to expand...
When you've got time I'm all ears. Love me some humous.
 
luka

luka

Well-known member
a very cheap meal is chinese pickled vegetables which here in sydney are 50 cents a packet, mixed with rice.
 
S

scottdisco

rip this joint please
Mr. Tea said:
Where's your new pad, Scott? Anywhere that's within easy distance of Green Lanes (N4) is well placed for the best and cheapest produce/bakery in London, I reckon. Good Indian grocers in and around Drummond Street (just NW of Euston), lots of butchers/fishmongers in Peckham if you're in that part of town...Roman Road's not bad if you're in my neck of the woods...fairly decent cheap fruit/veg at the street stalls in Whitechapel, too. West London's a bit of a mystery to me, but then who lives in west London? :p
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i'm off to East Dulwich so your Peckham gen intrigues me a lot. one of the flatmates-to-be is a chef (a bloody good one at that), and he apparently likes to walk down to the markets in Brixton for his oxtail. (markets in general there are very good, as my brother lived in Brixton for years, so know it pretty well.)

just in general, i would say i love Drummond Street - never shopped for food there, but have ate meals, and find it delightfully off-key that there's a street of incredibly keenly priced, quality Indian grub down a side street from Euston station. i mean, i imagine there's some pretty expensive real estate in that area, after all.

i was in a chicken shack near Camberwell Green one night the other week (racing around town doing multiple viewings one day meant not having time to eat normally), and beside myself and the chap behind the counter there were two others in there, one clearly sozzled Irish bloke who was having trouble making himself understood to the lad behind the counter, so the other customer was sort of translating, four blokes all of visibly clearly different ethnic heritages it seemed to me, all united in the love of the poultry, a beautiful, slightly inebriated, communal moment :D

Luka is top boy in the game for cheap Asian food it seems, i know i would trust him w my life when it came to south Asian grub in London. (and coffee.)
 
Dr Awesome

Dr Awesome

Techsteppin'
luka said:
a very cheap meal is chinese pickled vegetables which here in sydney are 50 cents a packet, mixed with rice.
Click to expand...

A large percentage of the rural (and quite possibly urban nowadays) Chinese population gets by on similar every day.
You can even reduce such things further, a splash of soy and or chilli sauce on left over rice does for a snack, pretty minimal nutritional value I'd wager though...
I heard recently an acquaintance of mine discussing eating flour mixed with water when she was broke once. :(
 
S

scottdisco

rip this joint please
Dr Awesome said:
A large percentage of the rural (and quite possibly urban nowadays) Chinese population gets by on similar every day.
You can even reduce such things further, a splash of soy and or chilli sauce on left over rice does for a snack, pretty minimal nutritional value I'd wager though...
I heard recently an acquaintance of mine discussing eating flour mixed with water when she was broke once. :(
Click to expand...

oof, i know a lot of cats have to live on ramen to pay-day, but that is definitely tough stuff right there.
 
Slothrop

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Good stock of spices is a must. In fact, there's quite a bit of stuff you can get in once and then use to make interesting cheap food for ages.

Lots of winter / root vegetables, lentils, pasta, rice etc.

Meat and herbs seem to be the biggest budget busters IME, and anything pre-prepared. Vegetables seem to vary wildly between different supermarkets and local grocers, so it might be worth taking the time to check receipts and figure out how much you're actually spending for an aubergeine / pepper/ tomato at any given place.

If all else fails, beans on toast.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Dr Awesome said:
I heard recently an acquaintance of mine discussing eating flour mixed with water when she was broke once. :(
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Huh? If you've got flour you can at least make bread, right? Unless you're so broke you can't afford gas/current for your oven... :confused:
 
K

Kate Mossad

Well-known member
Ragoût Instantané.

Ingredients

1 packet Smash
1 OXO cube

Preparation

Pour Smash into a bowl
In a jug add the OXO cube to the amount of boiling water specified for the Smash
Add the above to the above and stir

Et voila!
 
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