Week of 2026-09-28

Prep: split across two cook days this week — Poha on Monday 2026-09-28, Matar Paneer on Tuesday 2026-09-29 (Sunday prep day was skipped — paneer didn't get thawed in time)
Cook-day time budget: ~30-40 min active time per cook day
Cuisine mix goal: 2 recipes this week (Indian, Indian) — variety happens week-to-week rather than within the week (see CLAUDE.md)

Low-time format: 2 fully-cooked dishes, alternated Mon-Fri so most weeknights are pure reheat with no assembly. This week each dish is cooked fresh the first day it's eaten (Poha Mon, Matar Paneer Tue) instead of both being batch-made on one prep day, since paneer needed to thaw first. Portions are for 1 person. Weekends are handled separately (not covered by this file).

Recipe A (Mon / Wed / Fri): Poha — 1.5x batch for 3 single-portion servings
Recipe B (Tue / Thu): Matar Paneer — as written (recipe already serves 2, which exactly covers both days)

No rice this week (out of stock) — Poha doesn't need it (it's made from flattened rice flakes, not the raw grain), and Matar Paneer is served with naan/roti instead this time.

Cook-Day Checklists

Monday 2026-09-28 — Poha

Make a 1.5x batch of Poha (~2 cups poha flakes instead of 1.5 cups)
Eat one portion today; portion the rest into 2× single-portion containers (Wed/Fri)

Tuesday 2026-09-29 — Matar Paneer

Confirm paneer is thawed (fridge overnight from Monday, or a cold-water quick-thaw if not)
Brown the onion (as written, 1 onion) — longest hands-off step, start it first
Finish the Matar Paneer completely (tomatoes, spices, peas, seared paneer) — cook all the way to done
Eat one portion today; portion the rest into 1× single-portion container (Thu)

This Week's Meals

Day	Recipe	Cuisine	Prepped ahead	Day-of assembly / reheat	Portions
Mon	Poha	Indian	Cooked fresh today	Cook full batch, eat one portion, store the rest	1
Tue	Matar Paneer	Indian	Cooked fresh today	Cook fully (paneer thawed by today), eat one portion, store the rest + naan/roti	1
Wed	Poha	Indian	Prepped Monday	Reheat (add a splash of water so it doesn't dry out)	1
Thu	Matar Paneer	Indian	Prepped Tuesday	Reheat + naan/roti	1
Fri	Poha	Indian	Prepped Monday	Reheat (splash of water)	1
Sat	—	—	Not covered by this plan	—	—
Sun	—	—	Not covered by this plan	—	—

Storage

Component	Fridge life	Freezer life	Container
Poha (finished)	2 days (best fresh — flavor/texture fades faster than a curry)	Not recommended	3 single-portion containers
Matar Paneer (finished)	3-4 days	3 months	2 single-portion containers

Shopping List

Check groceries/INVENTORY.md first — this excludes what's on hand (paneer, onions, garlic, ginger, Thai chilis, ghee, poha). No turmeric — out until early October, both recipes are written turmeric-free.

Frozen peas (small bag, for Matar Paneer)
Tomatoes (2), or 1 cup crushed canned tomato
Naan or roti (store-bought) — replaces rice as the side for Matar Paneer this week
Lemon (1) — for Poha
Fresh cilantro — for Poha
Paprika, if you don't already have Kashmiri chili powder in your spice stock (either works for color/warmth in place of turmeric)
Peanuts, optional — traditional poha topping, skip if you don't have them

(Kasuri methi for Matar Paneer and true Kashmiri chili powder can wait for the Indian store trip — see groceries/SHOPPING-LIST.md. Curry leaves for Poha are the same story — optional, and easiest to get there too.)

Notes

Update 2026-10-04: this week didn't end up getting cooked. Both dishes moved to Week of 2026-10-05, now made with the air fryer oven.
Sunday prep day (2026-09-27) got skipped — paneer wasn't thawed in time. Split the two dishes across their first cook days instead: Poha cooked fresh Monday, Matar Paneer cooked fresh Tuesday once the paneer had a day to thaw in the fridge.
Switched from Thai Green Curry to Poha this week since there's no rice on hand and Poha doesn't need it.
The Kirkland tofu, roasted vegetables, and frozen stir-fry mix aren't used this week — tofu's use-by is 2026-10-08, so it's worth building next week's plan around it before then.
Poha doesn't hold up as well as a curry on reheat — texture is best within a day or two, and a small splash of water before microwaving helps keep it from drying out.
The Thai Green Curry, Mediterranean quinoa bowl, couscous salad, and Pasta e Ceci recipes from earlier drafts are still saved in recipes/ for whenever rice/those ingredients are back in stock.