Dinner
Batch-first dinners — built on your sai bhaji + keema cooks and the larder. Target 45–55 g protein per dinner, ≤15 min active time (reheat + assemble). Related: Poke Bowl, In the larder and fridge, Banchan, volume-foods.
Why 45–55 g at dinner
Lunch covers 40–50 g, breakfast 35 g → dinner is the last chunk to hit 120–150 g/day. Sai Bhaji alone is too low-protein — always pair it with keema or a soya protein.
The dinner lineup
1. Sai Bhaji + Keema + Rice (the Sindhi combo) — the default. Batch bhaji + batch keema + wholegrain rice + a spoon of yoghurt. ≈ 46 g (bhaji 12 + keema 28 + rice 6). All reheated, no new cooking. This is your best dinner for the waist.
2. Keema Chilli Bowl — keema + black beans + rice + kimchi + chopped tomato. Chilli-style, made from the same batch keema. ≈ 45 g (keema 28 + beans 10 + rice 6).
3. Soya Chunk Curry over Rice — rehydrated soya chunks simmered in green curry paste + coconut milk (both in larder) + veg, over rice. ≈ 40 g (chunks 25 + rice 6 + coconut ~3 + veg). The larder version of a curry night.
4. Egg Fried Rice with Soya Mince — 2 eggs + soya mince + leftover rice + peas (if in freezer) + gochujang/teriyaki. 10 minutes, one pan. ≈ 43 g (eggs 12 + soya mince 25 + rice 6).
5. Tempeh Banchan Bowl — pan-fried tempeh + rice + 3 banchan (kimchi, sauerkraut, roasted peppers) + gochujang. Zero cooking after the tempeh. ≈ 35 g (tempeh 22 + rice 6 + banchan ~7). → 45 g with a boiled egg or yoghurt.
6. Chicken Tagine with Harissa — a 25-minute fresh cook, not a reheat: chicken thigh, chickpeas, apricots, tomatoes, real harissa + a tagine blend kept in a jar. One pan, no kit sachets. ≈ 40 g (chicken 31 + chickpeas 4 + wholewheat couscous 6). Doubles and freezes — cook it once, eat it twice. Full method: Chicken Tagine with Harissa.
7. Gochujang TVP with Chickpeas and Apricots — the BBC’s gochujang mince rebuilt: soya mince, no gnocchi, chickpeas and dried apricots in, bulgur or rice underneath. One pan, 6 steps, ~20 minutes. ≈ 32 g (TVP 25 + chickpeas 4 + rice 3). Full method: Gochujang TVP with chickpeas and apricots.
Batch strategy (make it a Sunday ritual)
- One pot of keema (4–5 servings ≈ 28 g each) → lunches 1–2 all week + dinners 1–2.
- One pot of sai bhaji (freezes well) → the keema pairing base.
- Cook 80 g dry rice → fridge, reheats in 2 min.
- Both batch items + rice in the fridge = 3 different dinners ready in 10 min, no decision fatigue.
Protein cheat sheet for dinners
| Add-on | Protein |
|---|---|
| Keema portion (~350 g) | +28 g |
| Soya chunks (50 g dry) | +25 g |
| 2 eggs | +12 g |
| Greek yoghurt side (100 g) | +10 g |
| Black beans (½ tin) | +10 g |
| Boiled egg | +6 g |
Notes
- Respect the 2 h gap between final meal and sleep — dinners are ~5–6 pm in your window anyway, so this is easy.
- Freezer-friendly: keema, sai bhaji, and cooked rice all freeze/defrost cleanly — double a batch when you cook.
- Tomato sauce jar (if kept): a splash in the keema chilli or curry replaces fresh tomato; otherwise food bank.
- Skip the rice on lower-energy days → swap for the mixed bean salad base (same ~6–8 g, more fibre, fewer calories) — matches the volume-foods approach.