Meal Preparations and Recipes of dishes I make more often during Ramadan

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Meal Prep for Easier Cooking

1. Cook & Freeze Onions

  • Chop onions in bulk using a chopper.
  • Cook in corn oil (easier to separate when frozen).
  • Cool, store in a ziplock bag, and freeze.

Tip: Avoid oils like coconut, as they harden and make separation difficult.

2. Cook & Freeze Tomatoes

  • Wash and roughly chop tomatoes.
  • In a pan, heat oil and add tomatoes and few garlic (optional).
  • Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes with the lid on.
  • Cool, blend (optional), pour into ice cube trays, and freeze.
  • Transfer frozen cubes to a ziplock bag and use as needed.

3. Green Chutney Paste

  • Prepare Green paste in bulk, pour into ice cube trays, and freeze.
  • Store frozen cubes in a ziplock bag.
  • Quick Defrost: Microwave for 30s or add a little hot water.

Uses: 

  • To make mint coriander dip, green pani for pani puri and cheats.
  • Enhances curries, fillings, or marinades.

4. Tamarind-Dates Chutney

  • Prepare in bulk, freeze in ice cube trays, and store in ziplock bags.
  • Quick Defrost: Microwave for 30s or add hot water.

5. Grated Carrots

  • Short-term: Store in the fridge (use within a week).
  • Long-term: Freeze in ziplock bags.

6. Prepped Cabbage

  • Wash, chop, and store in a container lined with a kitchen towel.
  • Use within a week for salads, omelets, or fried rice.

7. Lettuce Storage

  • Wash and remove the thick white center (prevents bitterness).
  • Store in an airtight container.

8. Pomegranate Seeds

  • Deseed and store in an airtight container.
9. Salad dressing:   
  • Prepare the salad dressing and store in fridge.

10. Sliced & Frozen Capsicum

  • Slice, store in ziplock bags, and freeze for later use.

11. Curry Leaves

  • Wash, dry, and freeze for long-term storage.

12. Crushed Ginger & Garlic

  • Crush and store separately in airtight jars for easy use.

13. Storing Fresh Greens

  • Wash and dry parsley, mint, coriander, and spring onions.
  • Store in glass jars with a little water at the bottom.
  • Wrap loosely with food wrap and refrigerate.

14. Homemade Seasonings

  • Prepare Cajun, taco, tandoori, and tikka spice blends.Spice blends
  • Use for marinades, curries, or pasta dishes.

15. Curry Base (Multipurpose Gravy)

  • In a pan, heat oil and sauté ginger, garlic, and onions.
  • Add tomatoes, cashews, vinegar, and jaggery (optional).
  • Cover and cook on low heat until soft.
  • Blend, store in the fridge (up to a week), or freeze in batches.

Uses: Butter chicken, paneer, meatballs, egg curry etc—just add different spices!

16. Half-Cooked Chapatis

  • Knead dough in bulk, make balls.
  • Half-cook on a roti maker, cool, and store in an airtight container and refrigerate. ( Upto 5-7 Days)
  • Uses:
    • Cook fully when needed.
    • Deep-fry to make puri.
    • Use cooked chapatis as tortilla wraps.

Tip: Add yogurt while kneading for softer dough.

Notes:

  • I prepare these on different days and restock as needed, especially cooked tomatoes.  
  • While preparing curries, I make a curry base in bulk, storing it in the fridge for up to a week or freezing it in batches for later use.  
  • For labor-intensive dishes like sambar, I cook a larger batch and freeze half for a quick meal later.

Preparations & Dishes I Regularly Make During Ramadan

In addition to my usual meal preps, I do extra preparations to make cooking easier and ensure a variety of dishes for Iftar and Suhoor.

Dishes I Regularly Make:

Savoury Snacks:

Sweet Snacks:

 Meals ( Sweet)


Meals ( savoury)

Sandwiches & Wraps & pastries

Flat bread & Curries
Rice & Pasta


Sweet Treats

Sweet treats without sugar


Links to more recipes will be updated soon



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