Budget-Friendly Eats: The Magic of Poverty Food

I bring you two contenders.

Tomato Sandwiches

This stuff we ate mostly at lunch, and it consisted of

1. Bread, or plain-white buns, since they were thicker and fought off hunger for much longer
2. Tomatoes (we grew these in our back garden)
3. Salt
4. Butter, if we had any to spare.

I preferred this without butter, which was a good thing because we rarely bought butter anyway (a little too expensive).

2. Plain Rice With Tomato Sauce

You need:

• Rice, preferably cooked
• Tomato sauce.

Now all you do is pour some of the tomato sauce on the rice and shove it all down. Simple.

I loved this as a kid. I remember begging my older sister to boil the rice and I would wait patiently near the rice cooker, willing it to finish its job faster. As soon as the cooker was done she would serve a plate for me first, I would generously add the tomato sauce and eat it. It was always much more delicious if the rice was still hot.

I know these foods might seem plain, but let me say they I think they are delicious. I loved them, and would not dream of turning them down even now. Their tastes were always much more improved with a little thing called hunger. You know the saying, “Hunger is the best sauce.”

Jaulo

This dish is called “Jaulo” in Nepal. It is also popularly known as “Khichdi” in mostly Northern parts of India. It is a risotto made of rice and lentils and sometimes few vegetables are also added to enhance the taste. This dish emerged out to be a cheap option during famine and quickly became a famous meal across the Indian subcontinent. It is really easy and quick to prepare.

Choka

It is usually eaten in India with mashed potatoes which is known as “Choka“.

Most poor people make it from leftovers for dinner. It is quite affordable costing less than $1. It is cheap meal for people whose livelihood is based on daily wages but healthy and delicious. This is prepared from rice and lentils in a pressure cooker. Then goes some spices such as cumin, bay leaf, and dried red chilly fried in oil into the dish. It is called “Tarka” .A few teaspoons of Indian clarified butter (Ghee) make it even better.

There is a festival called “Maghe Sankranti” which is celebrated by the Tharu community in Nepal. On that day, most people savor “Jaulo”. During the winter season, most people eat hot khichdi as it makes them feel warm.

There is also an idiom associated with this food mostly used in India “to make khichdi” which is used when someone does something very clumsily.

Even rich people nowadays prepare and eat Jaulo either when they feel too lazy to make a full-course meal for dinner or when they are short of time. It is an easy-to-prepare, cheap, and delicious meal. You should try it someday at home. You won’t regret it.

Helle

There is no poverty food if you are Turkish. Because having a nomadic heritage contributed to a lot of variations in food and survival instinct. And believe me, from student to country peasant, there are lots of different tastes available.

This is called “Helle” which was consumed a lot during the famine, war, and nomadic lifestyle. It’s only wheat, water, butter in salt. very tasty. Today there are lots of variations. but the original ingredients never changed.

Another positive side having a nomadic heritage. If you’re living in the countryside. you have plenty of free food without hassle. I have ancestors from Oghuz-Chepni from the northern Black Sea region.

You see flowers, we see (sakarca ) food that is so delicious. it grows 2 times yearly and free. you don’t have to do anything 

favorite type of pasta

Here is what “poverty food” may look like:

A large pot of boiling water, a handful of coarse salt, roughly 100 grams of your favorite type of pasta, a knob of butter, a little grated cheese, a little toss et voilà.

You have just made the most spartan yet delicious food ever, (Italian, pasta with butter): its overall price is likely to be less than 2.5 euros per serving, all included. If you feel fancy and into Parmigiano cheese (a costly cheese indeed), its price can skyrocket to 3 or 3.5 euros.

No matter what its price may be. Pasta al burro is a true “poverty food” that literally anybody can do, because of its straightforwardness. And it feels super in your tummy! In other words, poverty food and comfort food, too. Try it. Pasta al burro will not let you down.

poverty food” fried eggs

In Brazil, the most popular “poverty food” is fried eggs over white rice.

Although it is for sure a natural poverty food, made with the cheapest ingredients possible, it is delicious! Eggs, despite being an important source of protein, are cheap in Brazil, about US$ 0,10, as the country is one of the largest chicken producers worldwide. But hardly is served as shown above, but normally with some lettuce and tomatoes. Or in a slighter better combination, still cheap, with beans (rice and beans are the base of Brazilian daily meals) and even french fries:

For Indonesians, this is the traditional poverty food before the arrival of the ever-popular instant noodles, Indomie.

Lalapan (tofu, Tempe, vegetables, and most importantly, sambal)

With meat sometimes considered as luxury, these vegan food items are amongst the most affordable food items in Indonesia. Soybean-based tempe and tofu are dirt cheap and they can be deep-fried or grilled with minimum seasoning. Fresh vegetables like cucumber and lettuce are ubiquitous and eaten raw/do not require cooking. What brings everything together is the spicy chili sauce, sambal, that gives an explosion of flavors on rather plain ingredients. Eat this with a bowl of rice and it’s heaven!