How I Make 4 Curries in 1 Hour
Making four different curries in under an hour might sound ambitious, but I’ve found that preparing the ingredients together and using the same basic curry base can save a huge amount of time.
In this weekly meal prep, I made four curries for my family:
- Chicken and pepper curry
- Minced meat curry
- Lamb curry
- Aubergine and potato curry
That’s four main meals prepared in one cooking session, ready to serve during the week with rice, chapatis or whatever sides we fancy.
Here’s how I did it.
Start With One Big Batch of Onions
Rather than preparing the base for every curry individually, I started by chopping all of my onions together.
I use two onions per curry, so for four curries I needed eight onions altogether.
My food chopper is particularly useful when I’m batch cooking because it makes preparing this amount of onion much quicker.
I added some oil to a large pan and cooked all eight chopped onions together until they were soft and beginning to brown.
Next, I chopped together several chillies, plenty of garlic and some fresh ginger.
I added this mixture to the cooked onions and continued cooking everything for another few minutes.
And just like that, the basic onion mixture for all four curries was done at the same time.
Prepare Everything Before You Start Cooking
This is probably one of the biggest time savers.
While preparing the curry base, I got the remaining ingredients ready for each individual curry.
This included chopping:
- Chicken breast
- Aubergine
- Potatoes
- Mixed peppers
- Tomatoes
- Lamb
I use approximately four tomatoes per curry, so I prepared around 16 tomatoes altogether.
I separated the ingredients for the different curries onto individual plates and into bowls so that everything was ready to go when I started cooking.
It might look like a lot of preparation initially, but once everything is chopped and organised, putting the four curries together is surprisingly quick.
Prepare the Spices Together
I also prepared four individual plates of spices.
For each curry, I used approximately:
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- Around ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
We don’t make our curries extremely spicy because I’m cooking for the children too, but you can obviously adjust the chilli to suit your family.
Turning One Base Into Four Curries
Once everything was prepared, it was time to get all four pans going.
For the minced meat curry, I started by browning the mince.
For the chicken curry, I cooked the chicken breast until it had turned white.
I then divided my large batch of cooked onion, garlic, ginger and chilli mixture between four separate pans.
This is the trick that makes the whole process so much quicker.
Instead of starting four curries individually and repeatedly chopping and frying onions, garlic and ginger, that job has already been done in one large batch.
I added tomatoes to each pan and allowed them to cook before adding the individual ingredients and prepared spices.
One pan became chicken and mixed pepper curry.
One became minced meat curry.
Another became lamb curry.
And the final pan became a vegetarian aubergine and potato curry.
I added some water to each curry and brought them to the boil. I then covered the pans and allowed them to cook for approximately 30 minutes.
The lamb needed a little longer, but otherwise my four curries were done.
Four Family Meals in One Cooking Session
For us, these four curries meant the main part of four dinners was already prepared.
All I needed to do during the week was decide what we wanted alongside them – rice, chapatis or another simple side.
That’s the part of meal prepping that I find particularly helpful. You don’t necessarily have to prepare every single component of every meal.
Simply having the main dish ready can make dinner much easier.
Homemade Chicken Stir-Fry Prep
I didn’t stop at the curries!
For another meal during the week, I prepared chicken and vegetables for a quick homemade stir-fry.
I chopped some chicken breast and coated it with a mixture that included egg, salt, sesame oil, garlic paste, cornflour, plain flour and lemon juice, along with some seasoning.
I then refrigerated the chicken ready to cook later.
Rather than buying a bag of ready-made stir-fry vegetables, I also made my own mixture.
I used:
- Mixed peppers
- Red onion
- Spring onions
- Mushrooms
- Sweetcorn
- Garlic
Making my own means I can choose vegetables I know my family will actually eat, and everything is lovely and fresh.
I stored the prepared vegetables separately in the fridge.
When it was time for dinner, I simply needed to cook everything and add some noodles.
Marinated Chicken Drumsticks
I also prepared some chicken drumsticks for the children to have during the week.
I made a simple marinade using yoghurt along with seasonings including paprika and tandoori masala, plus lemon juice, oil and salt.
I coated the drumsticks thoroughly and then baked them on an oven rack for around 30 minutes.
Fish & Chips Prep
For another meal, I prepared some frozen cod and haddock fillets.
I made a seasoned coating using ingredients including plain flour, salt, crushed black pepper and lemon juice.
I coated the fish and left it covered in the refrigerator overnight, ready to cook the following day.
Seasoned Mince for Easy Lunches
Finally, I had some minced meat left and decided to cook it ahead for quick lunches.
I browned the mince and seasoned it with garam masala, paprika, cumin powder, salt, garlic paste and a little chilli powder.
Once cooked and cooled, I stored it in a container in the fridge.
This is really handy for serving with toast or a jacket potato when you need a quick lunch.
The Secret to Faster Batch Cooking
Making four curries at once sounds like a lot of work, but the real time saver is combining all the repetitive jobs.
Instead of chopping onions four times, I chop them once.
Instead of preparing garlic, ginger and chilli four times, I prepare one large batch.
I measure all the spices together, chop all the vegetables together and have everything waiting before I start assembling the individual curries.
Once you’ve done that, you’re essentially taking one big curry base and sending it in four different directions.
For a large family, having four main meals plus several other bits of food prepared ahead can make the rest of the week so much easier.
And getting four curries done in under an hour isn’t bad going!
