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✦ Week 5 · Light & Fresh

Lobia, Moong Tadka & Bhindi

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.

Lobia Masala

Lobia Masala

6 plates this week · ~1.52 kg batch
~280 kcal / serving ~250 g on the plate

Beans

  • 400 g dry lobia / black-eyed peas, soaked 4–6 hrs (or 3 cans drained)
  • 1 tsp salt

Masala (same pattern as chana)

  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 2 large onions (~400 g), chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 3 medium tomatoes (~400 g)
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1½ tsp garam masala
  • 1–1½ tsp salt
  • 250 ml water (1 cup)

Method

  1. Pressure-cook soaked lobia until soft (they cook faster than rajma — often 15–20 min). Reserve liquid.
  2. Build onion-tomato masala; add spices; add lobia + water. Simmer 12–15 min until saucy. Portion ~250 g.

From ~400 g dry black-eyed peas. Same base ratios as the chana/rajma batches. Batch ~1.52 kg — that is 6 plates of 250 g plus about 75 g spare.

Moong Dal Tadka

Moong Dal Tadka

6 plates this week · ~1.52 kg batch
~210 kcal / serving ~250 g on the plate

Dal

  • 350 g yellow moong dal (about 2 cups)
  • 1.05 L water (5 cups)
  • ⅞ tsp turmeric
  • 1¼ tsp salt

Tadka (pour over at the end)

  • 1¾ tbsp ghee or oil
  • 1¼ tsp cumin seeds
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 dried red chilies
  • 1 pinch hing / asafoetida (optional)
  • ⅜ tsp red chili powder (off heat, optional)

Method

  1. Rinse moong well. Pressure-cook with water, turmeric, salt until soft (2–3 whistles / ~8–10 min). Whisk to a creamy but thick texture.
  2. In a small pan: heat ghee, cumin, dried chilies, garlic until garlic is golden (not burnt).
  3. Optional: kill heat, stir chili powder into the hot fat 5 sec.
  4. Pour tadka over dal; mix. Simmer 2 min. Portion ~250 g.

Lightest curry on this menu. Keep thick for meal prep — thin only when reheating. Batch ~1.52 kg — that is 6 plates of 250 g plus about 75 g spare.

Bhindi Masala

Bhindi Masala

5 plates this week · ~750 g batch
~120 kcal / serving ~150 g on the plate

In the pan

  • 425 g bhindi (okra), washed, fully dried, 1.5 cm slices
  • 2½ tbsp oil (bhindi needs a little more so it doesn’t slime)
  • 1 large onion, sliced (~175 g)
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (~200 g)
  • ¾ tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1–2 green chilies, slit
  • ⅜ tsp turmeric
  • ⅞ tsp cumin powder
  • ⅞ tsp coriander powder
  • ⅝ tsp amchur or chaat masala
  • ⅝–⅞ tsp salt
  • ⅜ tsp garam masala

Method

  1. Pat bhindi bone-dry. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide pan; sauté bhindi on medium-high 8–10 min until edges brown and stickiness goes. Remove.
  2. Add 1 tbsp oil. Onion 5 min → ginger-garlic + chili 1 min → tomato + all powders except garam masala. Cook 4–5 min until soft.
  3. Return bhindi; toss 3–4 min. Finish garam masala. Portion ~150 g. Best slightly re-crisped when reheating.

Dry-ish North Indian bhindi — no coconut. Dry the okra well or it turns slimy. Batch ~750 g — that is 5 plates of 150 g plus about 50 g spare.

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 400 g lobia / black-eyed peas, 4–6 hrs.
  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. Lobia — pressure-cook 15–20 min (fastest bean here).
  2. Moong dal — pressure-cook 8–10 min.
  3. Put 1250 g dry quinoa or rice on (≈ 3.8 kg cooked). The week needs about 270 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: 3 onions, 5 tomatoes, ginger-garlic, chilies, cilantro.
  2. Cube 460 g paneer for the veg plates and keep it chilled.
  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. Lobia: masala base + beans + water, simmer 12 min. ~1.52 kg batch · 250 g portions.
  2. Moong tadka: pour a fresh ghee-cumin-garlic tadka over the whisked dal. ~1.52 kg batch · 250 g portions.
  3. Bhindi masala: brown the okra dry first, then fold it back into the onion-tomato masala. ~750 g batch · 150 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: 150–250 g curry + ~270 g grain + ~200–250 g yogurt. Label the boxes.
  3. Fourteen plates come off three batches (1.52 kg + 1.52 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 150–250 g curry + ~230 g grain + ~220 g yogurt. That is the whole plan.
Still hungry? Add salad and yogurt volume before you add grain — it costs the fewest calories.