During the Covid Lock-down, one is likely to be working from home and all members of the family being at home, the demand on the cooking time is high.
One of the major ingredients of most North Indian cooking, whether veg or non-veg, is Onion, Garlic and tomatoes.
Well, there are various options. One option is to use liberally the ready-made ginger-garlic paste and packed tomato paste but don't they contain too much preservatives and may not be advisable for the good health of the family?
Second option is to chop everything afresh each time one has to cook. Well it takes a lot of time. Doesn't it?
Third option which many people use is to prepare the bhuna masala en masse and store it in the freezer. I do not approve of this as it makes the flavour of all the dishes the same, whether it is daal or chicken.
During Covid lock-down period, we avoid going out frequently and procure veggies in bulk, and if not used within a specific time-frame, onions and garlic start sprouting, tomatoes start rotting and ginger starts drying up. Therefore, one of the methods used by me is to devote some time, peel and blend all the items individually in the chopper or mixer-blender and freeze them individually.
The advantage of this system is that one can vary the combination of various items as per the requirement of that particular dish, eg,One may not need garlic for making aloo parathas but will need ginger. One may like to put only tomatoes in aloo sabzi and no onion and garlic.
TOMATOES: Wash tomatoes, remove the stem part, cut into large pieces and liquidise them in a blender. Empty the contents in an ice tray and leave in the freezer over night.
On the next day, take the cubes out and put them all in a zip lock bag and store in the freezer. As the cubes are already frozen, they will not stick to each other and you can take out one or many as per your requirement.
If one has excess of open puree pack/can, which cannot be consumed immediately, same procedure can be used for that also.
GREEN CHILLIES: Wash and dry green chillies and cut them into small pieces. If you have a chopper, you can mince them also. Then freeze them in a Zip lock bag. Once they are cut, they will not stick to each other and can be taken as per one's need.
ONION, GARLIC & GINGER: All these can also be blended, chopped or minced as per your requirements and availability of gadgets with you and frozen in separate Zip lock bags but in a thin layer.
If these items are kept in a container, it will be impossible to dig out a small quantity out of that without thawing the entire packing, which is not advisable.
But if it is kept as per the suggested method, one can simply break a piece as per one's requirement. Being thin, they thaw also very quickly in the pan itself.
TIPS & TRICKS:
1. Ask the family members to chip in and extend help at the time of chopping and freezing.
2. The system may not work, if there are long power outages in your area. Consuming thawed and refrozen food is not advisable.
One of the major ingredients of most North Indian cooking, whether veg or non-veg, is Onion, Garlic and tomatoes.
Well, there are various options. One option is to use liberally the ready-made ginger-garlic paste and packed tomato paste but don't they contain too much preservatives and may not be advisable for the good health of the family?
Second option is to chop everything afresh each time one has to cook. Well it takes a lot of time. Doesn't it?
Third option which many people use is to prepare the bhuna masala en masse and store it in the freezer. I do not approve of this as it makes the flavour of all the dishes the same, whether it is daal or chicken.
During Covid lock-down period, we avoid going out frequently and procure veggies in bulk, and if not used within a specific time-frame, onions and garlic start sprouting, tomatoes start rotting and ginger starts drying up. Therefore, one of the methods used by me is to devote some time, peel and blend all the items individually in the chopper or mixer-blender and freeze them individually.
The advantage of this system is that one can vary the combination of various items as per the requirement of that particular dish, eg,One may not need garlic for making aloo parathas but will need ginger. One may like to put only tomatoes in aloo sabzi and no onion and garlic.
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| Tomato Cubes taken out of Ice Cube Tray |
If one has excess of open puree pack/can, which cannot be consumed immediately, same procedure can be used for that also.
 |
| Chillies cut and frozen in a Ziplock bag |
GREEN CHILLIES: Wash and dry green chillies and cut them into small pieces. If you have a chopper, you can mince them also. Then freeze them in a Zip lock bag. Once they are cut, they will not stick to each other and can be taken as per one's need.
 |
| Onion minced & stored in a thin layer |
If these items are kept in a container, it will be impossible to dig out a small quantity out of that without thawing the entire packing, which is not advisable.
 |
| Small chunks of onion, garlic & ginger in the pan |
But if it is kept as per the suggested method, one can simply break a piece as per one's requirement. Being thin, they thaw also very quickly in the pan itself.
TIPS & TRICKS:
1. Ask the family members to chip in and extend help at the time of chopping and freezing.
2. The system may not work, if there are long power outages in your area. Consuming thawed and refrozen food is not advisable.
*****
Excellent advice. I too have done this.. and then forgotten that I have packed away various combinations of onion, garlic, ginger and tomato. Of course, the last few years saw me out of my home on many occasions, which is the likely cause of the lapse in memory.
ReplyDeleteYour advice on how to pack the items for easy access are the prime essential to make these accessible. I keep jalapenos and thai chillies whole in the zip lock bags and take out one at a time.. If a full jalapeno is not required, the remainder can be re-packed before it thaws, as after thawing it becomes hard to cut.