Many of you have expressed interest in my suggestions for daily meals. Below are some suggestions for dinner for the week. These suggestions are efficient and time-saving, as I know how hectic it can get with busy schedules!
Saturday is a good day to begin planning meals for the upcoming week so you can plan to do your grocery shopping and make sure you have all the necessary ingredients on hand. Then on Sunday, you can begin preparations by chopping all the vegetables (aside from potatoes as they do not hold up too well). Another time-saving tip is to freeze hari cilantro chutney in ice cube trays. This is a convenient way to store chutney. Also, tamarind chutney can be refrigerated for about two months.
There are some dishes that can be prepared well in advance (about two days prior to serving). You can always make changes to dishes prepared ahead of time so it does not seem like leftovers.
One challenge I’ve faced in preparing meals is making dishes suitable to each person’s taste. For example, I prefer spicy food, while my husband enjoys mild dishes. What I do is prepare mild dishes, but then will also serve with ginger relish, green chili pickle, or any pickle or chutney.
For daily meals I prefer one gravy dish with another vegetable dish. I also serve with plain yogurt or raita, roti or paratha. For your convenience, you can always serve ready-made parathas.
Sample Menu #1
For this menu, you can prepare enough dal and beans to last two days. The first day you can serve dal with just tempering. You can change the daal up the second day by adding zucchini tadka. With green beans, on the second day, you can add them to make a sandwich or wrap, using the left over rotis or parathas.
- Toor dal (arhar dal)
- Green beans with Peas
- plain rice
- raita
- ginger relish
- rotis
Sample Menu #2
You can make enough sprouted moong and aloo gobi for two days. You can change the sprouts by adding in plain rice by tempering the oil with asafetida, cumin seeds and whole red chili. You can use the left over aloo gobi by making a sandwich or wrap using the left over parathas.
- Sprouted moong salad
- Matar paneer
- Aloo gobi
- plain yogurt with salt and dry roasted cumin powder
- plain parathas
Sample Menu #3
For this menu, you can prepare enough dal and cabbage with peas last two days. You can mix cabbage with plain rice this combination taste great.
- Moong dal with spinach
- bhindi masala
- cabbage with peas
- plain rice
- roti
Sample Menu #4
This is good for a weekend meal and can be served as a lunch or dinner.
- Pav bhaji
- Lentil vegetable soup
Sample Menu #5
This is great for a weekend brunch.
- Aloo paratha
- plain yogurt
- tomato chutney
These are some easy and healthy suggestions for quick convenient meals.
Next time I can give some suggestions for get together hoping this will be a help.
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