Try these Ramadan meal preparation hacks and save loads of time in cooking. Not only it saves time, but also your energy as well. With these meal preps, you can spend more time in devotion and prayers, as well as spend quality time with your family too.
In case if you have missed read the Part 1 of the Meal Prep Series
Here is a full video on how to go about each preparation and things to stock up your refrigerator.
Ramadan Basic Meal Prep Part 2 Video
All-in-one-box ingredients
I love to store my basic ingredients that are required for my daily cooking all in one place. Instead of dumping all the vegetables in the chiller drawer, I prefer to keep the basic ones in a single open box. All I need to do is, just take the box out and most of my aromatics and veggies are now on my kitchen table. Let us see, what these basic ingredients are, that can be stored together in a single box.
- Peeled garlic – Just peel upto 10 to 12 garlic cloves that is enough to last for a week. By storing peeled garlic, you can save loads of time.
- Washed and pat dried green chilies – Wash 100 grams of green chilies and then pat dry with a kitchen towel. When the chilies are completely dry, just remove the stems and store in a sandwich bag or a see through packet.
- Curry leaves – Take a handful of curry leaves and store in a zip-lock bag but without washing it.
- Ginger – Wrap a 5 inch piece of ginger with a cling wrap.
- 2 or 3 lemons – Store 2 or 3 lemons in a sanwich bag for a quick and easy access whenever you need it.
All of the above 5 ingredients are then placed in a open container for easy and quick access. This will save loads of time and energy spent looking or searcing in the entire the refrigerator.
How to store coriander leaves?
Whenever I get a big bunch of coriander leaves from the store, I first divide them into two parts. One part gets washed under running water to get rid of all the sand. I then pat dry the leaves and when it is completely dry, I finely chop the leaves and store it in a covered box. The other part gets stored as it is without washing.
Chopped coriander remains fresh in the refrigerator for upto 4 to 5 days. By the time they go bad, you would have used them up for your daily use. Where as the unwashed bunch remains fresh for upto more than 6 days.
Fried Onion
There is no special tricks for a crispy fried onion. I simply slice the onions and deep fry them in hot oil until golden. Only thing to keep in mind is, to maintain the same heat from start to finish. You also need to keep stirring while it is cooking to have a uniform color. Make sure that you cool the fried onions before storing in a covered box. Fried onions remain fresh for upto 1 month in the refrigerator.
Ginger and Garlic Paste
Ginger and garlic paste is a basic meal prep for an asian kitchen, especially for Indian, Pakistani and other asian countries.
Just peel equal quantities of ginger and garlic, chop roughly and grind together along with salt. Salt here acts as a preservative and keeps the ginger and garlic paste fresh in the refrigerator for upto 2 to 3 weeks.
Cooked & Frozen Chickpeas
Soak chickepeas overnight and boil it in a pressure cooker until soft. Cool the cooked chickpeas to room temperature and store it in a zip lock bag. You can also store it in a freezer proof box. Place it in the freezer section and use it within 2 weeks.
Boiled and frozen chickepeas are quite handy when you need to make a quick chat, hummus or and chickpeas dish.
Cooked & Shredded Chicken
Cook 1 kilograms chicken pieces in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes or a sauce pan along with
- 1 small onion roughly chopped
- 2 inch piece of ginger sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic sliced
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- Bay leaf, 1 star anise and small piece of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup water
Once the chicken pieces are cooked, remove from the stock, shred and store in a box or a zip-lock bag. Place it in the freezer section and use it within 10 days. Preserve the chicken stock in form of ice cubes and use it for making soups and curries.
Cooked chicken can be used in making fried rice, chicken cutlets, or as a stuffing for sandwiches.
Sugar Syrup
Sugar syrup is used to sweeten mojiots, smoothies, milk shakes and desserts.
Heat a saucepan and add 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water. Stir until sugar dissolves completely, reduce the flame and cook until the syrup thickens slightly. Cool to room temperature and store in a glass bottles. Place the bottle in the refrigerator and it stays fresh for 2 to 3 weeks.
Frozen Banana
Are you planning to make a milk shake but there are no ripe bananas in hand. To keep a regular supply of bananas, just peel, chop and freeze ripe bananas when you have them in excess and store in the freezer
.
I hope you liked these quick and basic meal preps to make your cooking chore during ramadan days a breeze. And I hope that you can now spend more time in prayers and also have a good family time by spending less time in cooking.
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