Meal Planning

Introduction


Cooking is considered to be a divine art. But is it really so? Ask that to the meal maker at home who has to whip up delectable fares day in and day out and at the same time cater to every whim of each family member! Add to it the task of balancing the budget and ensuring a wholesome meal that is enough to give you the jitters.

If donning the chef’s cap is making you feel uneasy, here are some tips on meal planning to prevent you from landing in a soup. If you are a working parent or a housewife juggling numerous tasks at hand that take up your entire day, these helpful tips would make meal making a truly enjoyable experience and help you sail smoothly throughout the week.

Opinion of family members

You spent the whole evening baking and grilling a wide platter of food for your folks only to find them turning up their noses and heading to rummage the refrigerator. Though likes and dislikes can be cultivated, every member in the family may not appreciate all types of food.

First of all, ask members of your household to suggest some dishes, which they would love to eat, as it is their opinion that matters the most.

Keep in mind their likes and dislikes and allergies to certain types of food.

If you have already prepared a menu, ask them for some suggestions on the menu and make the relevant changes.

In case they do not agree with certain dishes on the menu, welcome all suggestions on the possible varieties that could be adopted.

Well, do keep in mind the likes and dislikes of children, as they are the one’s who are fussy about food!

Ask the kids what they would love to have for the whole week and always keep a substitute dish so that you are prepared in advance in case they throw a fit about a certain dish.

If there are certain restrictions to be followed due to religious or health considerations, choose food items that can be easily substituted instead of having to cook separately for each member.

Keep in mind health related issues

The first pre-requisite of a good meal plan is its ability to meet the nutritional needs of the entire family. You may have succeeded in appeasing every taste bud but the health issues too need a thought.

Since no single food will meet the entire nutrient requirement, decide on the type of meals to be had for the entire week. Make a plan about the inclusion of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. A vegetarian meal can also be balanced, affordable and at the same time provide good variety.

In the variety of meals that you have planned see to it that foods from each food group are included in some form.

If fussy eaters pose a problem, changing the method of preparation, a lovely presentation of the dish with interesting accompaniments can bring them back for second helpings.

If you are having more than one dish which has a high fat content then try and compensate with a low fat dish. This way you can be sure that your family will have healthy food.

Poultry or fish which is protein rich can be had thrice a week, meats can be had twice a week as it has a high level of fat and vegetables, especially leafy, can be had throughout the week as they are rich in vitamins and minerals.

Planning the meal

Plan a perfect and simple menu with alternatives for the week, which is less time consuming.

Make use of convenience gadgets (labour saving devices) since valuable time can be saved.

Make the best use of all the ingredients so that you do not land up wasting food. For example, if you need just chicken flesh for a particular recipe, then you can use as much flesh you want and then use the bones to prepare chicken stock which can be used for soups. Some dry chicken dishes can be made with the remaining chicken pieces.

To add variety to the menu use different methods of cooking such as broiling, grilling, baking. A chicken stew would be lapped up as easily as roasted chicken.

Keep a note on the ingredients that are made use of. This will help in writing the grocery list as well as budget.

Try and use ingredients, which can be used on a regular basis and cooked in a different style for e.g. dals go well with rice or chapattis and can be prepared very often but if prepared in a different way, your menu will look appetizing with each passing day.

Keep in mind that you do not waste even a single item from your grocery list, as it is a budgeted one, for e.g. If you have had bread for breakfast on Monday and there is some remaining the next day, you can use it by either making a bread upma or bread toast topped with butter, which tastes wonderful!

Make use of leftovers from previous day’s meals and turn them into a dish by itself for the next day. Ingenious presentation can help make even a simple dish look great and be a sure winner at the dining table.

A matter of money

If a trip to the market place sees you buying more than you intended, or the food on display was too good to resist, then a budget planning is what you essentially require. A good meal plan would be incomplete without a thought to cost cutting methods.

It is good to have a price list made to be able to compare the cost of similar foods. This way you can ensure the best buy within your budget.

Keep a particular amount fixed every week for your shopping so that you do not cross your budget while you are at the market.

A grocery list will help you buy the essential food items. This way one would not land up buying excess foodstuff.

Stay away from places that promise fancy gifts and offers on purchase of large amounts of food items, which you are sure is in excess of your requirements.

Do not cook in very large quantities to minimize wastage. Also, you would be spared of getting bored eating the same thing frequently.

Go for seasonal fruits and vegetables since they are cheaper and fresh.

Hyderabadi Dum Chicken Biryani Recipe

Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken (cut in pieces)
500 grams of Basmati Rice (Preferably pre-soaked for atleast half an hour)
2 medium Onions (thinly sliced)
5 Cardamom Pods (Choti Ilaichi)
2 Cinnamon Sticks (Dal Cheeni)
6 Cloves (Loung)
1 tsp. Garlic Paste (Pisa Lehsan)
1 tsp. Ginger Paste (Pisi Adrak)
200 grams of Plain Yogurt
½ tsp. Turmeric Powder (Pisi Haldi)
1 tsp. Red Chilli Powder (Pisi Lal Mirch)
3 tsp. Coriander Powder (Pisa Dhania)
1 tsp. Cumin Powder (Pisa Zeera)
½ tsp. Cumin Seeds (Saabut Zeera)
500 ml Stock
A few Saffron Strands (Zafran) (soaked in 5 tablespoons of water)
A handful of Ready Fried Onions (for garnish)
A bunch of Fresh Coriander Leaves (Hara Dhania) (chopped - for garnish)
200 grams of Clarified Butter (Ghee) or Cooking Oil


Directions:
Marinade the chicken pieces with the plain yogurt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, ginger paste, garlic paste and cumin powder.

Add the sliced onion and salt and mint to the marination. In boiling water add clarified butter or oil, cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, cloves and cumin seeds and boil the rice until it is half cooked. Add the rice to the meat. Pour a little clarified butter or oil and saffron water on rice and cook the rice on dum for about 30-45 minutes or until done.

Serve hot garnished with fried onion and fresh coriander leaves.





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Serving Suggestions: Serve Hot Garnished with Fried Onion and Fresh Coriander Leaves.
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Recipe Category: Main Course Rice
Recipe Ethnic Group: Hyderabadi

making of Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients


•8 no: Large Chicken pieces
•11/4 cup: Yogurt
•2 tbs: Lime Juice
•½ quantity: Chopped Onion
•3-4: Dried Red Chillies
•2 tsp: Coriander Seeds
•2 cloves: Crushed Garlic
•1" piece: Grated Ginger
•1-2: Clove
•2 tsp: Garam Masala
•2 tsp: Chilli powder
•Salt to taste

Method

1.Make slits in the flesh of the chicken pieces and rub lime juice and salt over them. Keep aside for half an hour.
2.Grind dried chillies, coriander seeds, ginger, garlic and clove together. Mix the paste with garam masala and chilli powder.
3.Heat a pan and sauté the masala. Add onions and fry. Pour yogurt and stir well. Remove the pan from fire.
4.Arrange chicken pieces in a dish and pour over the yogurt mixture. Refrigerate the marinade overnight or at least for 4-6 hours.
5.Arrange the chicken on a broiler tray cook it in a pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes or brush oil over the chicken pieces and cook in a gas stove turning over till both sides are done.
6.Keep pouring oil and masala over the chicken pieces in between.

making of Hyderabadi Haleem

Ingredients


•1 kg: Mutton-boneless, cubed
•1 kg: Cracked wheat-soaked in water for » one hour and drained
•1 ½ cup: Yogurt
•1 tbsp: Ginger-garlic paste
•1 ¼ cup: Onions-chopped fine
•1 tsp: Green chilli paste
•2 tsp: Green coriander paste
•¼ cup: Lemon juice
•3-4: Black cardamoms-seeds only 3
•½ tsp: Cinnamon-broken and powdered
•1 tsp: Chilli powder
•1/2cup: Oil
•2 tsp: Salt
•Green chillies and mint leaves for garnish




Method



1.Mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, chilli and coriander paste, cardamom and cinnamon powder, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste and salt.
2.Marinate the meat in this mixture and leave 3-4 hours. Add enough water to the wheat and cook till tender. When cool enough to handle, blend to a paste in a blender.
3.Heat the oil and add the meat mixture. Turn around over high heat, till opaque.
4.Add water to cover and cook, covered over low heat till tender.
5.Add the wheat paste and continue to cook another 15-20 minutes.

making of Puliyogare

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Cooked White Rice

• 1 Cup Grated Dried Coconut (Copra)

• 4 Tsp Coriander Seeds

• 2 Tsp Peppercorns

• A Pinch Of Asoefetida

• 4 Tsp Ground Nuts

• 2 Tsp Mustard Seeds

• 12 Red Chillies

• 4 Tsp White Sesame Seeds

• 2 Sprigs Curry Leaves

• 2 Tsp Urad Dal

• 1 Tsp Channa Dal

• 1½ Cups Thick Tamarind Juice

• 1 Small Piece Jaggery

• 2 Tsp Cumin Seeds

• 2 Tbsp Puliyogare Mix

• Salt To Taste



Method:

• Roast the coriander, cumin, 6 red chillies, 1 sprig curry leaves, pepper, asoefetida, 1 tsp mustard, 2 tsp sesame seeds, 1/2 tsp channa dal, 1 tsp urad dal and 2 tsp peanuts one by one till they turn aromatic.

• Blend to a fine powder using a coffee grinder and set aside.

• Fry the remaining musatard seeds, red chillies, urad dal, channa dal, peanuts, sesame seeds, and curry leaves in heated oil.

• Add the tamarind juice, salt, and jaggery. Mix well.

• When the liquid starts boiling, add the powdered masala and cook in low flame till a sticky masala is obtained.

• Allow the masala to cool.

• Mix this with plain cooked rice to get puliyogare or tamarind rice.

• Add dried copra gratings to rice.