Recipes
Create recipes from database ingredients with auto-calculated nutrition.
Recipes let you combine multiple foods into a single reusable item — like "Paneer Tikka" or "Oats Smoothie" — with nutrition auto-calculated from the ingredients.
Creating a recipe
There are two ways to create a recipe:
Option 1: Generate with AI
Click Generate with AI in the recipe header to have AI create a complete recipe for you.
- Enter the recipe name (e.g., "Paneer Tikka Masala")
- Set servings, difficulty, cuisine, and dietary preference
- Optionally add notes (e.g., "use minimal oil, yogurt-based marinade")
- Click Generate — AI creates ingredients with gram weights, step-by-step instructions with timers, dietary tags, and more
- Review the generated recipe in the form, edit anything you want, then save
AI recipe generation uses 1 AI credit. Ingredients are matched to your food database automatically. If a match isn't found, the ingredient appears as an "Unmatched" row with a search field — find and assign the correct food before saving. Low-confidence matches show a "Low match" badge so you can verify them.
Each AI-generated ingredient row shows:
- The matched food name with an AI badge
- A click-to-edit portion chip (same as the meal plan builder)
- Per-ingredient calories
- A swap icon (↔) on hover to search for a replacement food
- A notes icon (💬) on hover to view/edit preparation notes (e.g., "finely chopped")
If the AI matched "Butter" to "Butter, salted" but you wanted "Butter, unsalted", hover the row and click the swap icon (↔) to search and replace inline — no need to delete and re-add.
Option 2: Build manually
Start a new recipe
Go to Recipes in the sidebar and click New Recipe. Fill in the basics:
- Name — e.g., "Moong Dal Cheela"
- Servings and Serving Size — e.g., 2 servings, "1 cheela"
- Difficulty — Easy, Medium, or Hard
- Prep/Cook time — in minutes
- Category — Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack, etc.
- Cuisine — North Indian, South Indian, Continental, etc.
Add ingredients
Search and add foods from the database. Each search result shows the food name, database source (IFCT/USDA), Hindi name, calorie density, and macro bars (P/C/F) — the same rich display as the meal plan food search.
Example — Moong Dal Cheela (serves 2):
| Ingredient | Quantity | Portion |
|---|---|---|
| Moong dal (soaked, ground) | 100g | grams |
| Onion, chopped | 30g | grams |
| Green chili | 5g | grams |
| Coriander leaves | 5g | grams |
| Salt | 2g | grams |
| Oil (for cooking) | 10g | grams |
Review nutrition
MealCraft auto-calculates the total and per-serving nutrition:
| Nutrient | Total (2 servings) | Per serving |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 310 kcal | 155 kcal |
| Protein | 16g | 8g |
| Carbs | 32g | 16g |
| Fat | 12g | 6g |
| Fiber | 6g | 3g |
Using recipes in meal plans
Recipes appear alongside individual foods when searching in the meal plan builder. When you add a recipe to a meal slot, its full nutrition profile is included in the day's totals.
Build recipes for dishes your clients eat regularly — dal tadka, poha, upma, smoothie bowls, egg bhurji. This saves time when creating meal plans and ensures consistent nutrition data across clients.
Example recipes to create
Here are some commonly used recipes worth building in your library:
Breakfast
Poha, upma, oats porridge, moong dal cheela, besan cheela, idli-sambar, paratha
Lunch/Dinner
Dal tadka, rajma, chole, palak paneer, chicken curry, egg curry, mixed veg
Snacks
Sprout chaat, roasted makhana, fruit smoothie, protein shake, dhokla
Salads
Cucumber raita, kachumber salad, sprout salad, fruit salad
Recipe categories
Organize recipes by:
- Meal type — breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack
- Cuisine — South Indian, North Indian, Continental, etc.
- Custom tags — "high-protein", "low-carb", "quick-prep", etc.
Favorites
Star frequently-used recipes for quick access, just like foods. Your favorites appear at the top of search results in the meal plan builder.
Scaling
Adjust the number of servings and all ingredient quantities and nutrition values recalculate automatically.
Example: A recipe for "Oats Porridge" serves 1. A client needs a double portion — change servings to 2, and all nutrients double. Add it to the meal plan at 2 servings, and the correct nutrition is reflected.
Instructions
Add step-by-step cooking instructions to any recipe. Each step supports an optional timer — set the duration in minutes for steps that involve waiting (soaking, cooking, resting).
Example — Moong Dal Cheela instructions:
| Step | Instruction | Timer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soak moong dal for 4 hours, then grind to a smooth batter | 240 min |
| 2 | Add chopped onion, green chili, coriander, and salt to the batter | — |
| 3 | Heat a non-stick pan, pour a ladleful of batter, and spread thin | — |
| 4 | Drizzle oil around the edges, cook until golden on both sides | 3 min |
| 5 | Serve hot with green chutney | — |
Timers are shown as badges in the recipe detail view and are available in the client portal's cooking mode for step-by-step guided cooking.
Adding instructions makes your recipes more useful for clients who view them in the portal. Even simple notes like "serve warm" or "can be made the night before" help with compliance.
Cooking mode
When clients view a recipe in the portal, they can enter cooking mode — a distraction-free, step-by-step view optimized for use while cooking:
- Large step text centered on screen with a prominent step number badge
- Progress bar at the top showing completion percentage (e.g., "Step 3 of 5 · 60%")
- Circular countdown timer for timed steps — the ring animates down and turns green when done, with play/pause/reset controls
- Screen wake lock keeps the phone screen on while cooking
- Progress dots at the bottom for quick navigation between steps
- Swipe-friendly Previous/Next buttons sized for easy tapping with wet hands
Clients can also preview recipes directly from their meal plan — tapping a recipe name in any meal card opens a quick-view drawer with ingredients, nutrition, and a link to start cooking mode.