Ramadan meal prep has become something of an annual tradition in our house. Every year before Ramadan, I try to prepare a selection of foods for the freezer that will make life easier once fasting begins.
For me, the purpose isn’t to spend days preparing elaborate food for Ramadan. It’s actually the opposite.
I want to spend less time in the kitchen during Ramadan.
If I can do some of the chopping, cooking, rolling and preparation beforehand, then inshaAllah there will be more time during Ramadan for prayer, reading Quran and simply enjoying this special month without worrying about what needs preparing for iftar.
This year I decided not to overwhelm myself by attempting everything in one marathon cooking session. I spread my Ramadan meal prep over several days and gradually filled the freezer.
By the end, I had prepared 10 curry bases, homemade garlic, ginger and chilli cubes, more than 60 samosas, around 70 chicken spring rolls, lamb kebabs and three portions of pizza dough.
Starting With 10 Curry Bases
One of the most useful things I prepare isn’t actually an iftar snack at all.
It’s my batch curry sauce.
Most curries begin with roughly the same process: onions, garlic and ginger, tomatoes and spices need to be cooked down before you add your meat or vegetables.
Instead of repeating that process every time I make a curry, I do it once in a huge batch.
For this Ramadan prep I used 20 onions and 30 tomatoes, along with garlic, ginger and spices. Once everything had cooked down into a rich curry base, I divided it between 10 freezer bags.
That gives me the beginnings of ten different curries.
On the day I want to cook one, I can take a curry base from the freezer, put it into a pan and add chicken, meat, vegetables or whatever else we’re having.
It’s such a simple idea, but for me this is the kind of meal prep that genuinely saves time.
Curry Sauce Ingredients
2 cups sunflower oil, 20 onions, 30 tomatoes, 10 tablespoons garam masala, 10 tablespoons ground coriander, 10 tablespoons ground cumin, 5 tablespoons ground turmeric, 5 teaspoons chilli powder, 5 tablespoons salt and 10 tablespoons garlic & ginger.
Homemade Garlic, Ginger & Chilli Cubes
While I was preparing my cooking basics, I also made a batch of garlic, ginger and green chilli cubes.
I blended 8 garlic cloves, 250g ginger and 12 finger chillies in my food processor until everything formed a paste.
I spooned the mixture into an ice cube tray and froze it inside a sealed freezer bag to contain the smell. Once solid, I removed the individual cubes and transferred them to a freezer bag.
Now whenever I’m cooking, I can simply grab a cube instead of peeling and preparing garlic, ginger and chilli each time.
Little shortcuts like this make such a difference.
More Than 60 Homemade Lamb Samosas
It wouldn’t really feel like my annual Ramadan prep without samosas!
For the filling, I used 2kg of lamb mince along with potatoes, red onions, garlic and ginger, spices, tomato purée, lemon juice and tamarind sauce.
I also made the samosa pastry completely from scratch.
My dough is very simple: plain flour, sunflower oil, water, salt and coarse black pepper. I used my stand mixer to make life a little easier, then allowed the dough to rest.
I rolled the dough into small, thin chapatis and lightly cooked each one before shaping them into samosa cases.
It’s definitely one of the more time-consuming parts of my Ramadan preparation, but seeing them all lined up ready for the freezer is incredibly satisfying.
This batch gave me just over 60 generously sized samosas.
Around 70 Chicken & Vegetable Spring Rolls
Next came the spring rolls.
For these I used 1.2kg chicken breast along with carrots, celery, spring onions, mushrooms and sweetcorn.
I cooked and shredded the chicken before combining it with the vegetables, tomato purée and soy sauce.
My food processor was particularly useful here because I could use it to prepare the vegetables and shred the chicken rather than doing everything by hand.
I used one whole spring-roll sheet for each roll rather than cutting the sheets down.
By the time I’d finished, I’d made around 70 chicken spring rolls.
I even had some wrappers left over, so I used those to make a few tuna spring rolls too.
Easy Lamb Kebabs for the Freezer
Another Ramadan freezer staple for us is homemade lamb kebabs.
I combined lamb mince with blended onion, tomato, garlic and ginger before adding eggs, gram flour, lemon juice and spices.
Rather than individually shaping every kebab with my hands, I use a much quicker method.
I place the kebab mixture between two sheets of greaseproof paper, roll it out with a rolling pin and then use a round cutter to cut out the kebabs.
The same paper can then be used to separate the kebabs when they’re stacked for freezing.
When we want some during Ramadan, I can simply remove however many we need and cook them.
Freezing Homemade Pizza Dough
The final thing I prepared was pizza dough.
Pizza might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Ramadan meal prep, but having dough already prepared gives you so many options.
It could become a quick pizza for the family, a side for iftar or simply an easy meal when you don’t feel like cooking something more complicated.
Once my dough had risen to more than double its original size, I divided it into three portions, wrapped each portion and froze them.
When I need one, I can take it from the freezer ahead of time and allow it to defrost ready for use.
You Don’t Have to Do It All at Once
One thing I did differently this year was spread my Ramadan preparation over several days.
And I think that’s worth emphasising.
Ramadan prep is supposed to make life easier — not leave you exhausted before Ramadan has even begun!
You don’t need 60 samosas or 70 spring rolls. You don’t even need to prepare all of these things.
If all you manage is a few curry bases, a batch of kebabs or some garlic and ginger cubes, that’s still future cooking you’ve made easier for yourself.
Choose the things your own family actually eats and the jobs that take up the most time in your kitchen.
For me, having these homemade foods tucked away in the freezer means that when Ramadan arrives, I’m starting the month feeling a little more organised.
May Allah allow us to reach Ramadan, make it a blessed month for us and accept our fasting and worship. Ameen. 🌙🤍
