“What do I cook? Hoon su randhu??” sighed Freny Fatakia, with the perineal question in every household since time immemorial! As most of us continue working from home, juggling work and household chores, we realize it’s not getting any easier, even as the surging cases of coronavirus keep us cooped up at home, amid frayed tempers, surmounting work pressure, work calls at all odd hours, online classes for the kids… and NO MAIDS!! Oh, the list goes on!

Freny called me the other day congratulating me on my piece in the Community’s leading news weekly – Parsi Times, and on my embarking on a new métier after 30+ years in Hospitality. On a gallop, she went on a rant, grumbling how the husband and kids were being difficult. Both, Freny and her husband are working professionals, staying in South Bombay, stressed with demanding jobs, work pressure, targets to be met, cases to be reviewed and looking after house. Havana and Hoshang – their millennial kids, are home bound with limited activities like Netflix, Instagram and the ilk. 

“Have you completed your Project” hollered Freny in an exasperated tone, “Firdose please see who is at the door – Hoon ketlu karoon??” 

Moving the conversation forward I tried steering it towards food – the favorite topic amongst all us Parsis and a neutral zone. “What did you cook today, Freny?” I asked, little realizing I’d opened up lady Pandora’s Box! 

“Shiraz, what do I tell you, whenever I ask the family what do you want to eat, the standard answer – Anything Ma! Firdose, What shall I cook, and he says, Freny, stop bothering me, I have so much work to do, cook anything you want! Then, meal time arrives and invariably I get mona-daacha from the family with ‘What is this mom?’ Or ‘Freny, why are we eating chicken again – don’t we have prawns at home?. All of which culminates into Hoshang saying that he’s ordering KFC ‘not at all in the mood for your Grilled Chicken’!” 

Listening to Freny I got a feeling of Déjà vu. Post our 2-minute conversation, I realized the above scenario plays out in most households even though food is the one sure catalyst which binds a Parsi family. Planning, preparing, executing and masticating together is the unfailing key to a sukhi and hastu-ramtu parivaar!

I set off on a war footing looking for a solution for Freny Fatakia’s dilemma – her parting shot egging me on – “It’s like no one in my family appreciates that I stayed up all night overthinking for them!”

THE SOLUTION: 

The quote by Virginia Woolf – “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well,” reinforced by that of Oscar Wilde – “After a good dinner, one can forgive anyone, even one’s own relations!” struck the right chords! 

After a hectic work week and Khordad Saal Celebration, I dialed Freny, after my degustation tea-time soiree – Darjeeling Flowery Orange Pekoe and Green Label Mix, with Khari and Mawa Cake (yes, I do like an elaborate tea with the full tea-service). A current ritual at home has been using the precious ‘King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’ tea set, as I sip on my tea with my feet on the Mucca Maasi’s antique foot stool. And I laid out a  game plan for all my dear exasperated Frenys…

 

An emergency meeting was called at the Fatakia household on Sunday morning post Akoori and toast with Lily Choi, where Freny spoke at length. It was decided that henceforth, every Friday evening, post dinner, the family would get together and decide on the menu for the week. This menu would be diligently followed and if there were any sarcastic remarks passed or any faces made at the table, a penalty would be paid by the malefactor. A Swear bottle was introduced – the penalty being Rs. 100/- per remark/face. Once the bottle was filled, the receipts would be used to buy something for the house. (Am awaiting an update on the number of bottles filled so far!)

THE GAME PLAN:

Start Small: If you’re a meal-planning newbie, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Start by planning two meals a week and work yourself up to three, then four. Once you get the hang of it and find the system that’s working for you, you can progress to whatever is the best fit for your family. (I usually plan one week at a time, but on occasion I’ll look ahead and plan for a week and a half or two weeks, especially if a holiday week is coming up or I know I’ll be recipe-testing or out of town.) Remember: There’s no right and wrong when it comes to meal planning. You do what’s best for your personal family needs.

Map Out Your Menu: This may seem really basic, but putting pen to paper makes all the difference when it comes to implementing a plan. It doesn’t matter whether you use the notes section of your smart phone, a blank notebook or pad of paper. The act of putting down the menu helps you remember what you planned and also holds you accountable to it.

The most time-consuming part of meal planning is figuring out what will go on your menu. I use a combination of cookbooks, recipes I’ve ripped out of magazines, Pinterest, tried and true recipes of my own, and fellow dietitian and food blogger recipes I’ve come across that appeal to me. I also base my menu on what’s in season, what ingredients are on sale at the supermarket, and what food I already have on hand.

Grocery List: With your menu set, you can now make your grocery list accordingly. I keep my grocery list on my phone and organize it based on the layout of the supermarkets I frequent the most. This helps save time at the supermarket and ensures I don’t forget something in a particular section. Making a list also helps avoid those impulse buys – just because something looks good or is on sale. If a store is out of an ingredient you need or if your kids pick out something they want to try, it’s perfectly fine to veer off the plan a bit, or buy the item and use it the following week as long as it won’t spoil.

Meal Prepping: ‘Meal Planning’ and ‘Meal Prepping’ are two separate processes and you need to set aside time for both. Once you have your menu in place, sit down with the recipes and make a prep list for each one. Write down what needs to be done with every ingredient and how far in advance you can do the prep. For example, if you have frozen chicken you’re making on Tuesday, you’ll want to stick it in the fridge to defrost on Monday; or if you’re making Mutton Mince burgers/cutlets, make a double batch of the mince and use half for the burgers and the other half to make Shepherd’s Pie or Khichri-Kheemo/ Tatrelo-Kheemo on another day. 

Take Stock: As mentioned, there are many ways I come up with my menu plan, but the number one way I decide what I’m cooking is based on what’s currently in my refrigerator, freezer and pantry. It’s the best way to avoid food wastage and ensures we use up the ingredients we have on hand before making fresh purchases. 

Cook In Bulk: One of the benefits of thinking ahead and planning your meals is that you can make a bit extra of a dish, so you have enough for leftovers another night or to freeze for a busy week. Some of my favorite kinds of recipes to double or triple and freeze include Curries, Marinated Meats, Dhansak, Quiches and Biryanis. The little bit of extra time it takes on that day of cooking is more than made up for when I have a defrosted meal on the table in no time!

Make One Meal: Not a separate meal for each child, not one meal for adults and one meal for the kids. “One meal – Period!” That’s it!! This tip will not only help you with meal planning, but also get your children to eat a well-rounded diet and put an end to picky eating. Worried your kids won’t eat that one meal? As long as there is one item on the table that you know your kids like, you don’t need to make separate meals for everyone. I promise your children will not starve!

Take A Night Off: Monday through Friday are the main days of the week that I cook from scratch, with weekend meals consisting of leftovers, a dinner out as a family (pre-pandemic) to the new kids on the block and our all time favorites. Now we order-in. Cooking is time consuming and as much as I love being in the kitchen and making my own meals, everyone needs a break. Nights off are a great time to use some of those batch-cooked meals you froze!

Involve The Kids: In my experience, kids are more likely to try new foods or eat what’s put in front of them if they have some involvement in any part of the meal process, whether grocery shopping, cooking, or helping you plan the menu. Get the kids involved in the meal planning by giving them choices and making a couple of nights a week ‘Children’s Choice Dinner’. Older children may be more vocal about what they want on the menu based on their favorites you’ve made in the past. Beyond planning the menu, let the kids help you pick out ingredients at the supermarket and prep meals, come dinnertime. 

Plan Theme Nights: Theme or special cuisine nights are a lot of fun – especially for the kids. And it makes planning the menu easier because you know exactly what kind of recipe you need for every night. Meal planning for busy families doesn’t need to be complicated or time consuming. It just requires some forethought and motivation.  

Three days later, I got a call from Firdose, thanking me for resolving the ‘What to Cook’ issue. Apparently, the children were so gung-ho with them being included by the lady of the house in preparing the week’s menu, they checked what was available in the fridge and freezer and worked around a menu based on the availability! 

His next request was that though Freny was an excellent cook, planning the menu to give a variety was not her forte. Hmm… Firdose you have got my work cut out for me and put me on the job to work on Menu Planning which I shall write about at length, in my next interlude with you lovely people!

In the meantime, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to connect with me on shirazkotwal@gmail.com or +919833720369