practicality (
practicality) wrote2019-06-16 04:31 pm
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Freezer Cooking
There was a day for the December posting meme about food, which I skipped and meant to come back to later and then never did, which is what this post is.
Basically, about a year ago, I got fed up with buying frozen lunches/dinners to bring to work that just left me feeling sad and disappointed because they were too small to be filling and/or not actually very tasty (only exceptions: the Marie Callendar chicken and broccoli alfredo, and the white cheddar mac and cheese. Which are usually like $5/each when I can even find them). Solution: once a month or so, cook three or four big dishes and divide them into containers and stick them in the freezer.
It's worked out pretty well so far, except for the problem of variety - I really only want recipes that I can re-heat in the microwave (rather than 'pull this out and bake it for an hour before serving'), and a lot of recipe resources are geared towards people who follow very specific Anglo-centric diets (paleo, keto, whole 30, etc), which I'm not really interested in. My dad enjoys both cooking and traveling, so I grew up eating Indian and Tex-Mex and Lebanese and Chinese, with only a smattering of 'typical' American food, and I haven't had much luck finding freezer-cooking resources more varied than Tex-Mex and Italian - both of which I like, but I'd really like some curry recipes and rice recipes and I am not skilled or knowledgeable enough to adapt things myself.
Basically, about a year ago, I got fed up with buying frozen lunches/dinners to bring to work that just left me feeling sad and disappointed because they were too small to be filling and/or not actually very tasty (only exceptions: the Marie Callendar chicken and broccoli alfredo, and the white cheddar mac and cheese. Which are usually like $5/each when I can even find them). Solution: once a month or so, cook three or four big dishes and divide them into containers and stick them in the freezer.
It's worked out pretty well so far, except for the problem of variety - I really only want recipes that I can re-heat in the microwave (rather than 'pull this out and bake it for an hour before serving'), and a lot of recipe resources are geared towards people who follow very specific Anglo-centric diets (paleo, keto, whole 30, etc), which I'm not really interested in. My dad enjoys both cooking and traveling, so I grew up eating Indian and Tex-Mex and Lebanese and Chinese, with only a smattering of 'typical' American food, and I haven't had much luck finding freezer-cooking resources more varied than Tex-Mex and Italian - both of which I like, but I'd really like some curry recipes and rice recipes and I am not skilled or knowledgeable enough to adapt things myself.
Mutton Curry
1 kg stewing mutton, chunked
oil
3 or 4 red onions, finely chopped
150g yoghurt
salt
For the marinade:
150g ginger and garlic puree
150g red chilli puree
400g yoghurt
For the garam masala:
2 or 3 bay leaves
3 or 4 blades mace
5 or 6 green cardamoms
1 cinnamon stick
4 or 5 cloves
For the garnish:
1 tbsp ghee or butter
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
Directions:
Marinate the lamb for 2 hours.
Fry the onion until golden brown.
Add the garam masala and stir-fry for a few seconds.
Add the lamb and saute for 10-12 minutes.
Add water, cook until done.
Stir in yoghurt, season and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Before serving stir in butter and coriander leaves.