Preparing some food ahead of Ramadan can make such a difference, especially on those days when you’re tired after fasting and don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.
In this Ramadan meal prep, I prepared a selection of homemade freezer snacks for my family, including meat and potato samosas, chicken spring rolls, homemade chicken nuggets and kebabs.
These can all be prepared before Ramadan and kept in the freezer, ready to take out when needed.
Meat & Potato Samosas
I started by preparing a meat and potato filling for homemade samosas.
First, I peeled and chopped around 8–10 potatoes. I added them to a pan with some salt, covered them with cold water and brought them to the boil. Once boiling, I cooked them for around four minutes, until they were soft enough to break apart easily with a fork. I then drained them and put them aside.
For the mince filling, I chopped onions and chillies and browned the minced meat in a large pan.
Once the mince had browned, I added the chopped onions and chillies along with garlic paste, frozen mixed vegetables and spices. I used my usual combination of spices, including cumin seeds, cumin powder, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric and salt.
I then added chopped tomatoes and some tamarind sauce.
Once everything was cooking nicely, I added the potatoes and mashed everything together slightly. I prefer a softer samosa filling as I find everything binds together nicely.
Homemade Samosa Pastry
I also made my samosa pastry from scratch.
For the dough I used approximately:
- 6 cups plain flour
- Almost 1 cup oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Coarse black pepper
- Water as needed
I gradually added enough water to create a smooth dough that wasn’t too loose, then left the dough to rest.
For the paste used to seal the samosas, I mixed:
- 1 cup plain flour
- ¾ cup water
Mix these together until you have a thick, glue-like consistency.
After preparing the samosa pastry, I cut each cooked round in half and formed the individual samosa cases, using the flour-and-water paste to seal them.
A pastry brush makes applying the paste much easier.
It’s also important to form and close the samosa cases while the pastry is still warm.
Once the cases were ready, I filled them with the prepared meat and potato mixture.
Chicken & Potato Spring Rolls
Next I made a chicken filling for homemade spring rolls.
I prepared the potatoes in the same way as for the samosas, boiling them until just soft.
I then cooked chicken mince in a little oil until completely cooked through.
To the chicken I added salt, red chilli flakes and spices such as cumin powder and garam masala, followed by mixed herbs, garlic paste, chopped tomatoes and sweetcorn.
I then added the cooked potatoes, some lemon juice and chopped spring onions.
Once everything was combined, I used a potato masher to gently mash the mixture together. This helps the filling bind together.
I then used the mixture to fill ready-made spring roll pastry before preparing the spring rolls for the freezer.
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Another useful freezer snack I prepared was homemade chicken nuggets.
I started by cooking chopped chicken breast in a little olive oil.
I seasoned the chicken with spices including garam masala, cumin powder and paprika, along with garlic paste and mixed herbs.
Once the chicken had cooked and cooled, I processed it in my food chopper until it was finely chopped.
I transferred this to a mixing bowl and added:
- Eggs
- Plain flour
- Milk
- Breadcrumbs
I mixed everything together and refrigerated the mixture. Chilling it is important because it makes the nuggets much easier to shape.
Once chilled, I pressed the mixture onto greaseproof or baking paper and used a round cookie cutter to cut out my nugget shapes.
I coated each one in breadcrumbs and repeated the process until I’d used all the chicken mixture.
Homemade Kebabs
No Ramadan freezer prep in our house would be complete without some homemade kebabs!
For these I combined lamb mince with chopped onion, chilli, tomato, garlic and ginger.
I then added egg, gram flour (besan), fresh coriander and my usual spices and seasoning, including salt, red chilli flakes, cumin powder and coriander powder.
I mixed everything thoroughly before pressing the mixture onto greaseproof paper.
Just like the chicken nuggets, I used a round cutter to create individual kebab shapes.
I removed the excess meat from around the kebabs and stacked the prepared kebabs between sheets of greaseproof paper before putting them into the freezer.
This makes it much easier to separate and remove individual kebabs once frozen.
Preparing for Ramadan
After a good meal-prep session, I had a freezer stocked with homemade samosas, spring rolls, chicken nuggets and kebabs ready for Ramadan.
Preparing foods like these beforehand can save so much time during the month. Instead of starting everything from scratch when you’re tired and hungry, you already have some homemade options waiting in the freezer.
You don’t have to prepare huge quantities either. Even having one or two homemade snacks prepared in advance can make things easier.
I hope this gives you some ideas for your own Ramadan food preparation.
May you have a beautiful and blessed Ramadan, insha’Allah.
