Looking for Ideas to meal prep in batches, and store away for the rest of the week? This can be extremely useful during the current global situation, where many of us are looking after children, attempting to work, or managing our mealtimes using quite basic ingredients, often a combination of all three. When it comes to meals that suit batch cooking for families, they don’t get much better than curries, stews, and chillis. These three cuisines are easy to prep and store, while containing lots of nutrients, and can be made without the need for shopping trips to a variety of speciality food stores! So without further ado, here are three recipe ideas that once prepped, may leave you with a few extra hours to pile into work, or homeschooling the kids.
Aloo curry
Serves: 3
Total cook time: 40 minutes
- 250 grams of potatoes
- 2 medium onions
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 green chilli
- 2 tbsp oil
- Chopped garlic (or paste)
- Coriander leaves
- Curry powder
- Chilli powder or paprika
- Cumin
- Mustard
- Turmeric
Aloo curry is a simple Indian dish, that is quick and easy to make, and contains ingredients that most curry fans will have a supply of in their cupboards. Simply boil your potatoes to the point they are still al dente, then peel and chop them into cubes. Proceed to wash and chop your onions, green chillies, and tomatoes, and place them in a bowl of water until they are needed. Heat some oil in a pan, and add your cumin and mustard (along with an optional bay leaf or curry leaf), and cook until the seeds begin to crackle. Now it is time to throw in the onions and chilli, while continuing to fry and stir the dish until the onions start to turn golden, which is when you should add the garlic (or garlic paste), chopped tomatoes, turmeric, and a little salt. Continue cooking until the tomatoes start to soften substantially. At this point, add the rest of your spices, cook for a further 3 minutes, and as the aroma starts to fill the room (it should be smelling rather delicious at this point), add your cubed potatoes and a little water to give the curry the desired viscosity. Cover the pan, and cook until the potatoes are soft. Taste, and add more salt or spices if desired, and remove the lid if the curry is a little watery. Once you are satisfied with the taste and texture, remove from the heat and serve with either rice or roti.
Simple chilli
Serves: 4
Total cooking time: 2 hours
- Two pounds of ground beef
- 1 large onion
- 10 ounces of canned tomato
- Green chillies
- Beans of your choice
- Rice (to serve with)
For this one, we are looking to keep the ingredients as simple as possible. If you have some ground beef, then you most probably have everything else you need for this delicious chilli. Grab yourself a large soup pot, and heat one tbsp of vegetable oil until it is nice and hot. Add to the pot a finely diced onion, and saute until it goes slightly translucent (roughly 10 minutes or so). This is when you add the ground beef with just a touch of salt and pepper, and cook until the meat is no longer red in colour. Then throw in the tomatoes (around 20 ounces) and as many green chillies as you tastebuds desire. Now comes the time to add your beans (kidney, pinto, cannellini, haricot, whatever you have in your pantry will do), along with a little water and simmer gently for around half an hour. Give the chilli a little taste test, and add seasoning if you desire. You can now let it simmer away on a low heat until the consistency is to your taste (which can take anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes), and serve with a sprinkling of grated cheese (if you have any) and a side dish of rice.
Greek bean stew (Fassolada)
Serves: 6-8
Total cooking time: 1 hour
- 150 grams of beans (cannellini, or other white beans)
- Olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 big potato
- 3 to 4 celery stalks
- 1 courgette
- 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste
- 4 carrots
This is a hearty dish that is low in cholesterol, low in sodium, and high in dietary fibre and vitamins. It also happens to be even easier to cook than the two already simple enough recipes above. Firstly, take your beans and rinse them under cold water. Dice your celery, carrots, courgettes, onion, and potato. Pour all of the ingredients into a saucepan with the chopped tomatoes, add enough water to just about cover the ingredients, bring to the boil, and then simmer for around an hour, or if you are short on time simply until the veg is nice and soft. With the only real work after the preparation being to stir the pot occasionally, this is a great dish to serve when you have a hundred and one things to do, but need to attend to family or work matters.
So there you have it, three dishes that are relatively simple to make, full of goodness, and should keep you well-fed during the quarantine. Don’t forget, when it comes to storing these meals, Igluu has you covered with our range of meal prep containers, in various shapes and sizes! Visit our shop to see which version suits your needs.
