Meal Prep for Busy Developer Parents: 7 Dinners in 90 Minutes

The weeknight dinner problem: you finish work at 6:30 PM. Twins need attention from 6:30-8:00 PM (bath, play, dinner, bedtime routine). Cooking a fresh meal during this window is physically impossible when two toddlers are simultaneously hungry, hyper, and competing for your attention. The options: order food (expensive, less healthy), eat leftovers randomly (nutritionally inconsistent), or meal prep on Sunday (organized, healthy, and surprisingly fast once you develop the system).

The System: Batch Cooking Sunday

Sunday afternoon, 90 minutes, five preparations that combine into seven different dinners:

Prep 1: Base dal (20 minutes active, 30 minutes passive). A large pot of toor dal or moong dal — pressure cooked with turmeric, salt, and a basic tempering. This becomes: Monday's sambar (add tamarind, sambar powder, vegetables from Prep 3), Wednesday's dal fry (onion-tomato tempering added at serving time, 10 minutes), and Saturday's dal rice (mixed with hot rice and ghee).

Prep 2: Protein batch (25 minutes). Choose one: egg curry (a dozen eggs, boiled and simmered in onion-tomato gravy), chicken curry (1 kg, pressure-cooked in standard gravy), or paneer (cubed and stored, ready for quick paneer-based dishes). This becomes Tuesday's main protein, Thursday's roti accompaniment, and Friday's rice bowl topping.

Prep 3: Vegetable prep (20 minutes). Wash, peel, and chop vegetables for the week: carrots, beans, potatoes, drumstick, pumpkin, brinjal. Store in labeled containers in the fridge. Pre-chopped vegetables eliminate the biggest friction in weeknight cooking — the 15 minutes of washing and chopping that feels impossible when twins are crying.

Prep 4: Rice and roti base (15 minutes). Prepare a large batch of chapati/roti dough (stored in fridge, stays fresh 4-5 days). Cook a large pot of rice that serves 2-3 dinners. Roti dough + hot tawa = fresh rotis in 10 minutes on serving day. The dough is the prep; the cooking is minimal.

Prep 5: Toddler-specific foods (10 minutes). Mashed sweet potatoes (frozen in ice cube trays for individual portions), soft idli batter (fermented, ready for quick steaming), and fruit purees or cut fruits stored in portion containers. Toddler meals need to be softer, less spicy, and available instantly — pre-prepping ensures the twins eat on time even when adult dinner is still warming.

The Weekly Dinner Plan

Monday: Sambar rice + papad. (Dal from Prep 1 + vegetables from Prep 3 + tamarind and spices. Assembly time: 15 minutes.) Tuesday: Protein curry + roti. (Protein from Prep 2 + roti from Prep 4 dough, rolled and cooked. Assembly time: 15 minutes.) Wednesday: Dal fry + rice + simple vegetable stir-fry. (Dal from Prep 1 + quick onion-tomato tempering + vegetables from Prep 3 sautéed with mustard and curry leaves. Assembly time: 15 minutes.)

Thursday: Roti + leftover protein curry + raita. (Protein from Prep 2 reheated, roti from dough, yogurt-based raita takes 3 minutes. Assembly time: 15 minutes.) Friday: Rice bowl — rice + protein + sautéed vegetables + pickle. (Assembly only, 10 minutes.) Saturday: Dal rice + ghee + appalam. (Comfort food, zero effort, deeply satisfying.) Sunday: Fresh cooking — this is the day for experimental recipes, dosa mornings, or the occasional restaurant meal.

Toddler Adaptations

Twins eat the same base meals with modifications: less spice (remove portions before adding chili), softer textures (cook vegetables longer for toddler portions, or mash lightly), and smaller pieces (cut everything to finger-food size for self-feeding practice). The same dal that becomes adult sambar with tamarind and chili becomes toddler dal with just turmeric and a pinch of salt. One preparation, two versions — minimal extra effort.

The meal prep system saves approximately 7 hours of weeknight cooking per week (1 hour/night × 7 nights minus the 90-minute Sunday prep). Seven hours that can be spent playing with the twins, working on side projects, or simply resting. The food is healthier than delivery, cheaper than restaurants, and available within 10-15 minutes of entering the kitchen. It's the most impactful productivity hack that has nothing to do with technology.