Contest

Chana Masala Tacos Are Peak WFH Lunch

Have you met a lunch more handheld?

by: Coral Lee

July 9, 2020

hard shell taco filled with chana masala, shredded cheddar, chopped tomatoes, and lettuce

Photo by WARRIORINTHEKITCHEN

Back in April, we put out the call for your least-fussy, happily repeatable work lunches. As a reminder, this contest was all about your best quick to assemble, happy-to-be-batched, better-as-leftovers recipes.

And you delivered. There were submissions for slurpable soba salads and savory sandwiches, homemade harissa and hummus, braise-y beans and teetering toasts. Our recipe testers whittled it down to a final five and those were put, out of our hands, to a vote on our Instagram Stories.

The two finalists, as decided by you, our community, were:

1. AWarriorintheKitchen’s Chana Masala Tacos

2. Lauren’s Korean Buckwheat Noodle Salad

And now, the winner! Drumroll, please…

Join The Conversation

Top Comment:

“I think this is perfect for WFH because it wouldn’t be easy eating it at your desk in the office but at home easy to take a 20 minute break and eat at the kitchen table and wash your hands afterwards so your ready to hit your keyboard again. ”

— Sarika3

Comment

Are you ready?

Are you really really ready?

The best WFH lunch, as decided by you, our community, is:

Chana Masala Tacos

Our food stylist Anna Billingskog said of this recipe: “I love any excuse to use a hard taco shell, which is a guilty pleasure of mine. Additionally, this recipe feels ripe for a wide range of riffable garnishes: Why not add cilantro? Cool, tangy yogurt instead of the sour cream? Sliced radishes or (and!) a pickled jalapeño? All are welcome.”

Please join me in giving WarriorInTheKitchen a virtual elbow bump in the comments!

From Our Shop

Porter Lunch Bowl Container $25–$65

More Options

Shop Now

Reusable Silicone Storage Bags $24–$84

More Options

Shop Now

some more not-sad lunch inspo

Nancy's Chopped Salad

Indian Railway Omelette Sandwich

Olive Oil–Braised Chickpeas From Joy the Baker

Spicy Noodles With Peanut Butter & Kimchi

Have you tried Gita’s recipe yet? Tell us about it in the comments!

Tags:

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

Sarika3
HalfPint
inpatskitchen
Coral Lee

Coral Lee is an Associate Editor at Food52. Before this, she cooked food solely for photos. Before that, she cooked food solely for customers. And before that, she shot lasers at frescoes in Herculaneum and taught yoga. When she's not writing about or making food, she's thinking about it. Her Heritage Radio Network show, "Meant to be Eaten," explores cross-cultural exchange as afforded by food. You can follow her on Instagram @meanttobeeaten.

Popular on Food52

8 Comments

Sarika3 July 9, 2020

These were so easy and delicious. I loved the blend of Mexican and Indian flavors. Two of my families fav foods. I think this is perfect for WFH because it wouldn’t be easy eating it at your desk in the office but at home easy to take a 20 minute break and eat at the kitchen table and wash your hands afterwards so your ready to hit your keyboard again.

HalfPint July 1, 2020

Just curious. How does one eat tacos while typing?

Coral L. July 9, 2020

Hey HalfPint! The hard shell serves as a kind of edible vessel, no? As Sarika mentioned—it's kind of a messy affair... but it did inject our WFH dining table (aka work desk) with joy and excitement.

inpatskitchen July 1, 2020

Would love to know the final 5 recipes since they never appeared on this site.

Coral L. July 9, 2020

Hi there! The five finalists were:

Spicy Korean Buckwheat Noodle Salad
Chana Masala Tacos
Not-Quite Nicoise Salad With Lime-Chive Cream
Miso, Ginger, and Scallion Crusted Sweet Potatoes
Sephardic Megadarra with Garlicky Brown Rice Pilaf

inpatskitchen July 9, 2020

Thanks! Would love to know where I can find this....

Coral L. July 10, 2020

Hi! Thanks for the interest; we've actually been experimenting with sharing recipe-contest-related news on our social platforms, in an attempt to more directly connect with our community. The 5 finalists were announced on Instagram, and put to a vote there.

inpatskitchen July 10, 2020

Many of us are not Instagram users and absent an announcement would never have found this. Personally I don't think it's the way to go...are you planning the same for the next contest?