Meal Plan 4

Here's a weekly meal plan that will help you planning your meals in advance. Make sure you buy all the ingredients you need and prep them the previous day or whenever convenient. This meal plan is especially designed for all the busy ladies as it reuses some dishes for lunch and dinner.

Make sure you eat fruits and nuts for in between meal snacks to maintain a healthy balanced diet.

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sunday	Idli  Onion Sambar	Whole Wheat Naan Kadai Vegetable Gravy Kaju Katli	Dosa Onion Sambar
Monday	Uppu Huli Dosa	Udupi Tomato Rasam Brinjal/Eggplant Stir fry	Cabbage Pathrode
Tuesday	Heerakai Dosa	Vengaya Vatha Kozhambu Capsicum Paruppu Usili	Hakka Noodles
Wednesday	Vegetable Poha	Udupi Style Sambar (Masali Kodhel) Moong Dal Salad/ Kosambri	Dosa Udupi Style Sambar (Masali Kodhel)
Thursday	Rava Idli	Horsegram soup (Kollu Rasam/ Kudu Saar) OPOS Carrot Poriyal	Roti  Aloo Methi
Friday	Akki Roti	Mango Menaskai Okra Stir Fry	Kadubu Idli  Mango Menaskai
Saturday	Neer Dosa / Bajjari Dosa	Dhingri Mutter Pulao Field Beans Subzi	Hot & Sour Veg Soup Roti Field Beans Subzi

Hara Bhara Kebab

 

Hara bhara kabab is a vegetarian kabab made primarily with spinach, potatoes and green peas. It is either deep fried or pan fried. This is a good way to introduce greens to kids who are fussy eaters. It is good to be served as a snack  or starter.

Ingredients :

Potato – 2 (boiled and mashed)

Green peas – 1 cup (boiled and coarsely ground)

Spinach  -1 cup (blanched and pureed)

Bread crumbs - 1 cup

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp

Green chilli paste - 1 tsp

Onions – 1 (finely chopped)

Dhania powder – 1 tsp

Jeera powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Chaat masala – 1 tsp

Lemon - 1

Coriander leaves – a bunch

Oil - 2 tsps

Method:

Heat oil, add onions, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Sauté for a few minutes and add ginger garlic and green chilli paste. 

Saute for a few minutes till the onion turns brown. Then add mashed potatoes and green peas. Mix well and add the spinach puree and all spices as mentioned in the ingredients.

Let the mixture cool down completely. Now shape this into tikkis and dip it in bread crumbs. Heat oil in a pan and place the tikkis on the pan. Cook till the tikkis are browned on both the sides.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup or pudina chutney.

OPOS Carrot Porial

A simple but basic poriyal recipe that's healthy and tasty. This poriyal recipe can be adapted for beetroot, beans, cabbage, radish, kohlrabi, red/yellow pumpkin and double beans (avarakkai). 

This recipe has been adapted from "OPOS cookbook : 5 minute magic" by Ramakrishnan B.

Ingredients :

1 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds (pre-spluttered with or without oil - bottled tadka)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

10 curry leaves

A pinch of asafoetida

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

½ kg carrots, finely chopped

1 tsp pepper powder

2 tbsp grated coconut

Salt to taste

Method :

Add 3 tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of oil in a 2 L or 3 L pressure cooker. Add the chopped carrots as the first layer and then add grated coconut, pre-spluttered mustard seeds (bottled tadka), turmeric powder, chilli powder, pepper powder, curry leaves and asafoetida. 

Pressure cook on high for 1 whistle. it should not take more than 4 minutes. If it takes more than 4 minutes, you need to check your pressure cooker for any faults. After 1 whistle, release pressure manually. The carrot will be well cooked now. If there is excess water, switch on the gas and saute till the water is completely absorbed

Serve with rasam or sambar.

Rava Idli

 

Rava Idli is a popular South Indian dish that can be prepared when you do not have any idli batter left in your refrigerator. If you have some suji/rava handy, you can whip up this delicious idli in less than an hour. You can add grated carrots and boiled green peas to make it nutritious. Don't forget to add eno fruit salt or cooking soda to get soft and fluffy idlis.

Ingredients :

1 teaspoon oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon urad dal

1 teaspoon channa dal

8 to 10 broken cashew nuts

1 tablespoon grated ginger and green chillies

a few curry leaves

1 medium sized carrot grated

a bunch of coriander leaves, finely chopped

2 cups rava

1 cup vegan curd

1 packet or 1 tablespoon eno fruit salt or 1/2 teaspoon cooking soda

Method :

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add urad dal, channa dal and broken cashews.

Roast the dals and cashews till they turn golden brown. Add grated ginger and green chillies, and saute till the raw smell disappears.

Add rava and roast for 5 minutes.

Add curd, carrots and finely chopped coriander. Mix well and add water if required to get an idli batter consistency. Let this batter rest for 15 minutes. Adjust consistency again if the batter feels very thick.

Grease the idli plates with oil and keep it ready. Add eno fruit salt to the batter and mix gently. Add eno only when you are ready to make the idlis.

Add the batter to the idli stand and steam cook for 15 to 20 minutes. You can insert a toothpick to check if it is cooked properly.

Serve hot with green chutney  or coconut chutney.

Vegetable Poha

 

Poha is a popular breakfast dish in many parts of India. This recipe is similar to Kanda Poha that is popular in Maharashtra. It is mainly made poha and onions, here we add bell pepper, green peas, roasted peanuts and potatoes to the poha to make it more nutritious. You can add more vegetables to this like boiled corn, sprouts, grated carrot etc. to make this healthier.

Ingredients :

3 cups of beaten rice (poha) (soaked for 15 to 20 minutes and drained)

1 boiled potato

1/2 cup fresh green peas

1 green bell pepper (capsicum)

2 onions finely chopped

2 tablespoons grated coconut

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon split urad dal

2 to 3 green chillies

10 to 12 Curry leaves

a bunch of Coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Method :

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Add turmeric powder, curry leaves and onions when the mustard seeds start spluttering.

Add peas and capsicum when the onions turn translucent. Saute for a few minutes till capsicum and peas are cooked. You can sprinkle water if required. Add mashed potatoes finally.

Add coconut and mix thoroughly. Finally, add soaked and drained poha, salt and mix thoroughly. 

Add lemon juice and finely chopped coriander leaves and mix again. 

Serve hot with a cup of tea.

Tomato chutney

A simple no onion-no garlic tomato chutney using tomatoes as the main ingredient. This chutney is very useful for those days when you have to abstain from onion and garlic. Serve with dosa, idli, akki roti, pongal or adai.

Ingredients :

1 teaspoon oil

2 cup tomatoes, finely chopped
2 teaspoons urad dal
1 teaspoon channa dal
3 to 4 dried red chillies
a pinch of asafoetida
1 small marble sized tamarind
salt to taste

for the seasoning (tadka)

1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
8-10 curry leaves

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and fry the tomatoes till it is cooked. Add salt and make sure that the tomatoes are completely cooked and mushy. To this add the tamarind and curry leaves and saute for a few minutes. Keep aside to cool.

In the same pan, add red chillies, urad dal, channa dal and roast till it turns brown. Add asafoetida in the end. 

To this add the tomato mixture and grind to a coarse paste in a mixer. 

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add curry leaves and  add to the chutney.

Serve with idli, dosa, akki roti, rafi roti or pongal.

Meal plan 3

Here's a weekly meal plan 3 that will help you planning your meals in advance. Make sure you buy all the ingredients you need and prep them the previous day or whenever convenient. This meal plan is especially designed for all the busy ladies as it reuses some dishes for lunch and dinner. 

Make sure you eat fruits and nuts for in between meal snacks to maintain a healthy balanced diet.

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sunday	Corn and Cheese Sandwich	Fragrant Karnataka pulao Amla raitha	Spaghetti Verde
Monday	Idli      Onion Sambar	Okra Stir Fry Onion Sambar	Okra Stir Fry Khichdi
Tuesday	Dosa Onion Tomato Chutney	Udupi Style Sambar (Masali Kodhel) Onion Tambli/Tumbli	Roti Aloo Methi
Wednesday	Huli Avalakki	Dhingri Mutter Pulao   Healthy Paneer Makhani	Spinach Roti Healthy Paneer Makhani
Thursday	Oats and Broken Wheat Idli	Manathakkali keerai thambli Udupi Style Avial	Roti Udupi Style Avial
Friday	Pav Bhaji	Keerai masial Beetroot Saasmi	Roti Keerai/Beetroot
Saturday	Akki Roti	Puli Kajippu (More Kozhambu) Sundal Paal Paayasam	Kadubu Idli   Puli Kajippu (More Kozhambu)

Okra stir fry

Here is a simple recipe for Okra Stir Fry. 

Ingredients :

1/2 kg ladies finger/okra
1 teaspoon tamarind paste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp udupi rasam powder/any rasam powder (click here for link)
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
10-12 curry leaves
2 red chillies
 a pinch of asafoetida


Method:

1) Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves.

2) Add ladies finger, tamarind extract and turmeric powder.

3) Saute till the stickiness disappears and the okra is cooked. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Khichdi

Khichdi is a popular dish in Northern India. It is often proclaimed as the comfort food of India. It is very similar to Ven Pongal that is made in Tamilnadu. It is a very nutritious dish and very healthy for all age groups.

Ingredients :

1 cup raw rice
1 cup yellow moong dal
2 finely chopped onions
2 finely chopped tomatoes
2 finely chopped green chillies
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
juice from 1 lemon
a bunch of finely chopped coriander leaves

Method :

Clean the rice and dal thoroughly. Take dal and rice in a bowl and soak for 30 minutes. Drain the water completely and pressure cook with 6 cups of water for 5 to 6 whistles.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and wait till it splutters. Add onions and saute till it turns translucent.

Add green chilli paste, ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes. Add tomatoes, salt, coriander powder and saute till tomatoes turn mushy.

Add the dal rice mixture and salt to the pan and mix thoroughly. Add lemon juice, coriander leaves and serve hot with pickles and curd.