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✦ Week 2 · Greens & Paneer

Palak Paneer, Lauki Chana Dal & Jeera Aloo

Three dishes, cooked once. Every lunch and dinner lists its plate weight (g) and estimated calories.

3 dishes 7 days ~1850 kcal/day (L+D)

Grocery list

One shop for the whole week — three dishes, no leftovers. Tap to check off — saved on this phone.

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Produce

Dairy & protein

Legumes & grains

Snacks & pantry

This week's three dishes

Every batch below is sized to exactly what the menu eats, plus one spare portion. Scale with a kitchen scale when you can.

Lauki Chana Dal

Lauki Chana Dal

5 plates this week · ~1.52 kg batch
~265 kcal / serving ~290 g on the plate

Dal + lauki

  • 250 g chana dal (about 1¾ cups), soaked 30 min
  • 400 g lauki (bottle gourd), peeled, 2 cm cubes
  • 850 ml water (about 4½ cups)
  • ¾ tsp turmeric
  • 1⅛ tsp salt
  • 1 medium tomato, chopped

Tadka

  • 1½ tbsp oil or ghee
  • ¾ tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 pinch hing (optional)
  • ¾ tbsp ginger, minced
  • 1–2 green chilies
  • ⅜ tsp red chili powder (optional)

Method

  1. Drain chana dal. Pressure-cook with lauki, water, turmeric, salt, tomato until dal soft and lauki tender (3–4 whistles).
  2. Whisk lightly — keep some texture. Adjust water for thick stew.
  3. Tadka: oil → cumin → hing → ginger + chili. Pour over dal; simmer 3 min. Portion ~290 g.

Light, high-volume North Indian dal. Lauki keeps calories modest. Batched at 250 g dry. Batch ~1.52 kg — that is 5 plates of 290 g plus about 70 g spare.

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer

5 plates this week · ~1.85 kg batch
~445 kcal / serving ~350 g on the plate

Spinach purée

  • 525 g spinach leaves (about 3 bunches, stems trimmed)
  • — boiling water to blanch + ice water to shock
  • 1 green chili (optional, blanched with spinach)

Gravy base

  • 2 tbsp oil + 1 tbsp butter/ghee optional
  • 1 large onion, chopped (~200 g)
  • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (~250 g)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1–1¼ tsp salt
  • 120 ml water (½ cup), as needed
  • 2 tbsp cream or 3 tbsp milk (optional, for color)

Paneer

  • 350 g paneer, cut into 2 cm cubes
  • — optional: soak cubes in warm salted water 10 min so they stay soft

Method

  1. Blanch spinach 60–90 sec in boiling water; ice bath; squeeze lightly; blend with chili to a smooth purée (add 2–3 tbsp water if needed).
  2. Heat oil. Cumin seeds 20 sec → onion 6 min golden → ginger-garlic 1 min → tomato + dry spices 5–6 min until soft.
  3. Stir in spinach purée + ½ cup water. Simmer 4–5 min (don’t boil hard or color dulls).
  4. Add paneer cubes; simmer gently 4–5 min. Finish garam masala + cream/milk if using. Portion ~350 g (gravy + ~65 g paneer).

Includes ~65 g paneer per serving in gravy — the 350 g of paneer here is spread across the whole batch. Freeze purée separately if needed. Batch ~1.85 kg — that is 5 plates of 350 g plus about 100 g spare.

Jeera Aloo

Jeera Aloo

4 plates this week · ~750 g batch · served with paneer cubes
~165 kcal / serving ~175 g on the plate

In the pan

  • 700 g potatoes, boiled, peeled, 2 cm cubes
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 green chilies, slit
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ¾ tsp amchur
  • ¾–1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Method

  1. Boil potatoes until just done; cube when cool enough.
  2. Heat oil; cumin until it crackles. Chili 10 sec. Add potatoes + turmeric + salt + coriander.
  3. Toss on medium-high 5–7 min until edges crisp slightly. Amchur + cilantro. Portion ~175 g.

North Indian cumin potatoes — replaces any South-style sides. No coconut, no mushrooms. Batch ~750 g — that is 4 plates of 175 g plus about 50 g spare.

The paneer cubes: potatoes carry no protein, so each of these four plates gets 115 g of plain paneer cubes boxed alongside — 460 g over the week. Cube it raw on Sunday and keep it chilled; eat it cold or let it warm through with the plate. Sear it the day you eat it if you want colour — paneer fried on Sunday goes tough by Wednesday.

Grab-and-go breakfasts

Pick one every morning. Weights are as prepared in the jar/bowl.

Overnight oats with banana, berries, and nuts
Night before · best option

Overnight Oats

~450 kcal ~420 g jar
  • 40 g (½ cup) rolled oats
  • 175 g Greek yogurt
  • 120 ml milk or water
  • ~100 g fruit + optional 10 g nuts

Night: mix oats + yogurt + liquid. Morning: fruit + toppings.

~450 kcal with banana; berries leaner (~400).

Greek yogurt jar with apple, blueberries, and roasted chickpeas
1–2 minutes

Greek Yogurt Jar

~320 kcal ~350 g jar
  • 225 g Greek yogurt
  • 100 g fruit, chopped
  • Optional: 20 g roasted chana (~80 kcal extra)

Layer the night before or morning of. Ready in under 2 minutes.

Base jar ~320 kcal; + roasted chana ≈ 400 kcal.

Hot oatmeal with Greek yogurt, banana, and strawberries
Under 5 minutes

Quick Hot Oatmeal

~420 kcal ~400 g bowl
  • 40 g rolled oats + ~200 ml water/milk
  • Microwave 2–3 min
  • 125 g Greek yogurt + ~80 g fruit

Stovetop or microwave. Finish with yogurt for protein.

With water base ~420 kcal; whole milk adds ~60–80.

Sunday prep

About 60–75 minutes active for three dishes. Do the Saturday-night soaks so Sunday is mostly cook and portion.

Saturday night

~5 min
  1. Soak 250 g chana dal, 30 min (day-of is fine).
  2. Optional: wash the salad veg and store it dry.

Phase 1 — Start the long cooks (in parallel)

~10 min to start · 30–45 min unattended
  1. Chana dal + lauki — pressure-cook together, 3–4 whistles.
  2. Potatoes — boil until just done, then cool before cubing.
  3. Put 1125 g dry quinoa or rice on (≈ 3.4 kg cooked). The week needs about 240 g cooked grain per plate.
  4. While the pots run → Phase 2. Don't stand around.

Phase 2 — One chop, one base

~15–20 min
  1. Chop once for all three dishes: 1 onions, 3 tomatoes, ginger-garlic, chilies, cilantro.
  2. Prep the paneer: 350 g into the palak paneer, 460 g cubed raw — the raw cubes are 115 g on each of the four jeera aloo plates. Keep them chilled; don’t fry them now.
  3. With only three dishes you can build one onion-tomato base and split it — it saves a pan and 15 minutes.

Phase 3 — Finish the three dishes

~25–35 min
  1. Lauki chana dal: whisk lightly, pour over a cumin-ginger tadka. ~1.52 kg batch · 290 g portions.
  2. Palak paneer: blanch and blend the spinach, build the base, fold in purée then paneer. ~1.85 kg batch · 350 g portions.
  3. Jeera aloo: crackle the cumin, toss the boiled cubes until the edges crisp. ~750 g batch · 175 g portions.

Phase 4 — Portion & store

~15 min
  1. Cool everything uncovered 10–15 min — trapped steam makes watery fridge food.
  2. Box by meal: 175–350 g curry + ~240 g grain + ~230–290 g yogurt, plus 115 g paneer cubes on the jeera aloo plates. Label the boxes.
  3. Fourteen plates come off three batches (1.52 kg + 1.85 kg + 750 g), so nothing sits in the fridge past Sunday.
  4. Chop salad veg for 2–3 days only; do the rest mid-week. Portion fruit for breakfasts.

Efficiency rule: never cook one pot at a time. The long cooks and the grain should all be running before you start the masala. Three dishes means one chopping board, one base, and one wash-up.

Daily tips

Reheat Splash of water on the curries. Weigh after reheating if you are tracking tightly.
Protein rule Legume or paneer dish + yogurt on every plate. 100 g Greek yogurt ≈ 10 g protein.
Plate template 175–350 g curry + ~240 g grain + ~230–290 g yogurt. That is the whole plan.
Still hungry? Add salad and yogurt volume before you add grain — it costs the fewest calories.