If you prefer homemade meals over a sandwich or takeout. This meal prepping and planning guide is definitely for you.  Is meal planning for working ladies (persons)? Not necessarily, it can be for anyone who values time and energy.

Talking to my fellow desis about meal plan for a week is kind of hard! We shy away to the concept of pre-processed, frozen, precooked meals!! I understand things are different in our tropical soil! Its  easy to procure fresh produce, with domestic help available 24/7 (in the name of Mom, Grandma, maids, little helpers) everything is possible! But, once you travel abroad for education and work; it becomes necessary to play multiple role (all in all azhagu raja) most of the time!

Shopping

I generally shop during the weekdays when there is less crowd! Each week, I prepare a detailed list to procure from variety of stores!

1.International stores  Almost many Vegetables (Chayote, napoles, kholrabi), greens (bok choy, yu choy), tropical fruits (mangoes,jack fruits, dates), nuts, etc.

2. Indian groceries Rice, lentils, legumes, spices, paneer, Indian vegetables (like ivy gourd, broad beans, cluster beans)

3. Food Lion Milk, yogurts, olive oil, cheese, bread…few essentials.

Menu Plan 

• Create categories to suit your family needs!
• For example…my family lives and swims in fried vegetables and rice. So, I hardly focus on the curries and liquid broth! I practically stir-fry and deep fry almost all the vegetables in my hand and reduce their water content! With chili powders and garam masala to finish they store-well up to several days! However, it may not work for everyone.
• So plan 2-5 curries (Sambhar, Rasam, Korma, Dhal, Kuzhambu and Mor Curries)
• Fix 7-8 stir-fried vegetables like Poriyal, Kootu, Varuval, Podimass…etc.
• Assign these categories and pick a theme for each day! For example…Vendaikkai Mor Kuzhambu with Vazhaikkai Varuval – Lunch – Monday; Dosa and Eggplant Sambhar for Dinner – Monday!

Prepping for a week There are many chores that you could to do over the weekend to reduce your burden on the weekdays!

• I peel garlic for the whole week and leave them ready to cook in a Ziplock bag.
• Make a big batch of ginger-garlic paste.
• Prepare sambar/rasam powder.
• Grind Idly, Dosa batter; Prepare vada, chappathi dough etc.
• I almost prepare a thick tomato pickle and mint thuvaiyal every week!  It stores well in the refrigerator! And, its very handy on a hard-working day!
• If you have sweet tooth, prepare jaggery syrup and sugar syrup and store in mason jars! In few minutes you can curb your sweet needs.

Meal Prepping 

• I chop down all the veggies in a variety of shapes (for sambar and poriyal) and freeze them during during hurricane season! More or less in a similar way…I chop/mince/dice all the vegetables for a week on Saturday and cook forth everything on Sunday!
• If you don’t feel like cooking for a week, that is okay too! Freezing the chopped vegetables is a life-saver!  Prepare a variety of thick curries, sauces well ahead like Tamarind based (Puli Kuzhambu) curries, Onion-Tomato sauces goes on many desi dishes!
• Tea concoction with ginger, garam masala and cardamom…could be stored in mason jars!

To Note 

• If you are planning to slice/chop potatoes / plantains…kindly boil them to prevent oxidation!
• Except onions, I cut/slice all the vegetables for my meal plan. As onions might turn poisonous…its advisable not to chop them well-ahead!

Devises and Equipment Invest in good quality chopping boards, knives, dutch oven, iron skillet, pressure cookers…grinders…blenders, spice blenders etc.

Storage  Honestly, I use zip lock bags to store all the chopped/sliced/diced veggies; but, storing them in glass container is good for the environment! Masaon jars, Pyrex glass wares, ceramic wares with air-tight sealing is all good.

Cooking for a week  

• First and foremost I cook all the things that needs less attention from me! Like…I turn on all the 4-5 burners and set-forth…cooking dhal – pot number 1; boil eggs – in another;  cook potatoes in another burner and thicken tamarind puree in yet another!! None of these needs my full attention…if I set the temperature pretty low!
• Meanwhile…I relax with a cup of coffee and gently peel the cucumbers, blanch spinach, dismantle cauliflowers (and also talk to my friends on the phone); almost many of friends know that I am going to chop/dice and mince vegetables…as we are chatting. Thank you girls for keeping my day energetic and positive.
• Once, am done with this mean job (clearing the counter-mess, turning on the dishwasher…removing the excess garbage); I clean up pretty quick to cook for a week!
• So, now…it needs total attention and dedication! I shouldn’t mess up anything (like burning the food, cooking with excess salt or spice etc).  I prepare one at a time with at most care…to make that particular dish special.
• For example: if am making sambar…I do full justice to it! I begin with light saute of onions, tomatoes and vegetables, cooked dhall, required spices and finish it tempering, ghee and coriander! Now, I reduce the heat and proceed to stove-number-two!! On stove number 2…I am making plantain fry (for example)….I proceed with oil, vegetables, garlic, curry leaves, spices and fry them to perfection and reduce the flame; now…it just fine to continue without my supervision! Am good for take number-3 stove and henceforth with the same dedication. At the end of 20-30 minutes…we will end up with 5 different kinds of cooked dishes! That’s my strategy.

Happy Cooking.