Ramadan always seems to come around so quickly, and one thing that makes the month much easier for me is getting some food preparation done beforehand.
This year I decided to do another big Ramadan food preparation session, making and freezing a mixture of meals, snacks and basic ingredients that I can pull out of the freezer when needed.
This wasn’t a quick afternoon of meal prep! I spread the work over a couple of days because there was quite a lot to get through. But once everything was finished and I saw all that food ready for the freezer, it was definitely worth the effort.
Starting With the Basics – Onions & Curry Sauce
I started with one of my favourite jobs… peeling and chopping 19 onions!
I sliced five onions and froze them separately. These are really handy to have in the freezer because I can simply grab some whenever I’m making a curry or another meal during Ramadan.
The remaining 14 onions went into a large batch of my basic curry sauce.
For the curry sauce I used:
14 sliced onions, 18 sliced tomatoes, 2 cups sunflower oil, 6 tablespoons garlic & ginger paste, 3½ tablespoons salt, 4 tablespoons each of garam masala, ground cumin and ground coriander, 2 tablespoons ground turmeric and 3 teaspoons red chilli powder.
I cooked the onions until softened before adding the tomatoes, garlic and ginger, salt and spices.
This curry base is one of my favourite things to prepare ahead because it can be turned into lots of different meals, including chicken, lamb or vegetable curries.
I managed to make six portions for the freezer, as well as keeping some aside for a curry that day.
Marinated Chicken Drumsticks
Next I prepared 2kg of chicken drumsticks.
For the marinade I used sunflower oil, tandoori masala, salt, chilli flakes, ground cumin, garam masala, lemon juice and Greek yoghurt.
I made a few slits in the drumsticks before coating them thoroughly in the marinade. These are such an easy freezer option because they can become part of a main meal or be served as a starter or side.
Homemade Keema & Potato Samosas
It wouldn’t really feel like Ramadan prep in our house without samosas!
I made a large filling using 2kg lamb or mutton mince and 1kg potatoes, along with onions, garlic and ginger, spices, tomato puree and lemon juice.
I also made my samosa pastry from scratch using:
1.5kg plain flour, 1 cup sunflower oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper and approximately 800ml water.
After making the dough, I allowed it to rest before rolling and lightly cooking the individual samosa cases.
One little tip I’ve learnt over the years is to shape the samosa cases while they’re still slightly warm. They’re much easier to fold and stick together that way.
Chicken Spring Rolls
Next were the chicken spring rolls.
I made a simple filling with 2kg chicken mince, spring onions, sweetcorn, paprika, mixed herbs, chilli flakes, lemon juice, garlic and ginger paste and tomato puree.
The filling was enough for around 60 spring rolls, which made a lovely batch for the freezer.
Chapli Kebabs
For the chapli kebabs I combined 2kg lamb or mutton mince with processed onions, tomatoes, green chillies and garlic.
I added garlic and ginger paste, eggs, gram flour, coriander, lemon juice and plenty of spices.
Instead of shaping every kebab individually by hand, I use a little shortcut. I roll the mince mixture between sheets of greaseproof paper and cut out the kebabs using a round cutter. The pieces of baking paper between them also make the frozen kebabs much easier to separate later.
Chicken & Vegetable Pies
I also wanted some proper meals that could go from the freezer to the oven, so I made two chicken and vegetable pies.
The filling contained chicken breast, onion, frozen mixed vegetables, garlic and ginger paste, tomato puree, stock, flour and milk.
I divided the mixture between foil trays and topped each one with ready-rolled puff pastry.
When it’s time to cook them, I can simply add a little milk, oil or egg wash to the pastry before baking.
Chicken Tikka Pasties
Another easy freezer snack was chicken tikka pasties.
I marinated 1kg chicken breast in Greek yoghurt, tandoori masala, chilli powder, lemon juice, garlic granules, cumin and salt.
Once cooked and cooled, I used the chicken to fill puff pastry and shaped them into triangular pasties.
The chicken tikka itself is also a useful recipe to prepare without the pastry. You could serve it with chips, put it into wraps or enjoy it in pitta bread.
Chicken Kebabs & Burgers
My final big batch was made with 2kg chicken mince.
I kept these quite simple, seasoning the mince with onion and garlic granules, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, gram flour and lemon juice.
I shaped some around skewers to make chicken kebabs and turned the rest into round kebabs or burgers. The burgers can simply be pulled from the freezer whenever we fancy an easy burger meal.
A Few More Freezer Basics
Finally, I didn’t want the prep to be only about complete meals and snacks.
I froze some fresh vegetables that needed using and made my own garlic, ginger and chilli mixture. I froze some of this in an ice cube tray so I can simply take out a cube whenever I’m cooking during Ramadan.
It’s these little bits of preparation that can sometimes save the most time.
Ramadan Food Prep Complete!
After a couple of days of chopping, cooking, rolling, filling, shaping and washing what felt like endless dishes, my Ramadan freezer preparation was finally finished!
The aim isn’t to spend days exhausting ourselves in preparation for Ramadan. For me, doing some work beforehand means that during Ramadan I can spend less time preparing food from scratch and have plenty of convenient homemade options waiting in the freezer.
I hope my Ramadan food preparation gives you some ideas for your own freezer, whether you make everything here or simply choose one or two things that would make your Ramadan a little easier.
May Allah allow us all to reach Ramadan and make it a peaceful, productive and blessed month. Ameen. ❤️
