Daily Menu Planner
Today I was done in 90 minutes flat!
I made a complete breakfast and lunch with something green, something orange, lots of lentils. The only dark spot was my white rice ;)
I remember blogging about a vegetarian food pyramid a while ago, complicated. Pyramids, such as these, are out of fashion now, plates are in. The gist of a vegetarian diet especially, is, 1/2 the plate should be fruits and vegetables, 1/4 grains and 1/4 proteins.
My usual plan is to cook to so that the resulting menu has 2 - 3 vegetables, a good amount of protein and the usual grain(s). Today's lunch menu toed this guideline fairly well:
This riff off the Weekly Menu Planner serves as a rather neat daily/lunch/dinner Menu planner right?
Breakfast was Idli with Tomato Gojju and Pottukadalai Podi. A little lacking in Protein, but Ash had a cup of horlicks to compensate and Gau needs more Carbs than Proteins.
I still wasted an enormous amount of time hounding my fairly well-behaved 10 year old and left home only at 10. I also did not work out :( But those issues are next on my list, not top of the list.
The poriyal qualifies as a 3 ingredient dish I think.
Quick Cooking Tip: Use part of the tadka you make to start the poriyal to garnish sambhar/rasam/kadi. Saves time and reduces dishes, just needs a little planning.
I made a complete breakfast and lunch with something green, something orange, lots of lentils. The only dark spot was my white rice ;)
I remember blogging about a vegetarian food pyramid a while ago, complicated. Pyramids, such as these, are out of fashion now, plates are in. The gist of a vegetarian diet especially, is, 1/2 the plate should be fruits and vegetables, 1/4 grains and 1/4 proteins.
My usual plan is to cook to so that the resulting menu has 2 - 3 vegetables, a good amount of protein and the usual grain(s). Today's lunch menu toed this guideline fairly well:
Recipe / Meal Planner |
Kichdi with methi.
1 cup moong+masoor dal in any proportion or just 1 or the other dal1 cup raw rice1cup methi leaves1 medium sized onion2 spring onions cleaned and sliced white and green parts only3 pods garlic1 large red tomatoTadka2 tsp oil2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)1 tsp mustard seeds1 tsp jeera1 tsp ajwain1 tsp turmericSoak the dal(s) for 20 minutesThorughly wash and chop the methi leavesChop the onion and garlicHeat Oil+ghee in a pressure cookerAdd mustard, jeera and ajwainWhen they pop add the garlic, spring onions and onion and fryAdd methi leaves and continue frying.Chop tomato, add to the methi and continue fryingMeanwhile wash the rice and the dals in 3 changes of waterAdd the rice and dals to the cooker, stir fry until the vegetables and rice are well mixedAdd turmeric, salt and 4.5 cups of waterCook covered on high heat for 15 minutesKeerai Kadi (true north south combo, trust me)
1/2 bunch siru keerai, leaves only1/2 cup yogurt1" maanga ingi or 1/2" ginger peeled1 amla (gooseberry) (or 2 or 3 or to taste)2 tbspoon fresh coconut2 tbspoon pottukadalai or popped chana daal2 green chilliesTadka1 tsp oil1 tsp mustard seeds1 tsp jeera1 tsp hing2 red chillies1 tsp turmericOptionals:1 stick cinnamon2 cloves1 spring curry leavesWash the siru keerai throughly and cook with the green chillies in a cup of water until done.Cool. Meanwhile, chop the amla fine.Grind amla, cooked keerai, ginger, coconut and pottukadalai to a pasteMix with Yogurt and water until it becomes 2 cupsAdd salt, turmeric and cook for 8 - 10 minutes on medium heat until the kadi thickens.Heat oil in a separate pan, add mustard and jeeraWhen it pops add the red chillies and hingPour into the kadi and cover with lid
This tastes awesome with the kichdi above.You could and should add Curry Leaves to the tadka, I didnt have any on hand.Traditional north Indian kadi has cinnamon and cloves. My DH and kids don't like that flavour much.I think you could easily use 2 - 3 amla in this dish, I was worried about my 2 year old's reaction to amla. High in Vitamin C, much touted in traditional medicines.Vaazhaikai, Carrot, Capsicum poriyal
1 regular green plantain1 medium capsicum2 carrots2 tbsp coconut (optional)1 tsp pottukadalai podi (optional)Tadka2 tsp oil1 tsp mustard seeds1 tsp jeera1 tsp urad1 tsp chana1 tsp hing2 red chilliesPeel and chop the plantain into batons and put it in water immediately (arrest oxidation)Scrape and chop carrots into batonsthe Yogurt and amla are for the kadi, 1 carrot is hiding somewhere Halve the capsicum, remove the stem, seeds and white ribs. Chop into similar sized pieces (similar to carrot/plantain)Heat oil, do the tadkaAdd the plantain (drain water first) and fry for a few secondsThen add the carrot and capsicum and continue frying for a minute.Add 1/2 cup water, salt and turmericCook on low heat until done 8 - 10 minutesAdd optional coconut and pottukadalai podi and saute for a minute more.
Suprisingly good together, carrot capsicum and plantain
Breakfast was Idli with Tomato Gojju and Pottukadalai Podi. A little lacking in Protein, but Ash had a cup of horlicks to compensate and Gau needs more Carbs than Proteins.
I still wasted an enormous amount of time hounding my fairly well-behaved 10 year old and left home only at 10. I also did not work out :( But those issues are next on my list, not top of the list.
The poriyal qualifies as a 3 ingredient dish I think.
Quick Cooking Tip: Use part of the tadka you make to start the poriyal to garnish sambhar/rasam/kadi. Saves time and reduces dishes, just needs a little planning.
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