How to Freeze Curries & Gravies – Freezer Friendly – Ready to Eat Indian Dishes

Written by Mullai

Modest, friendly and hardworking.  "Virgoans Rule"..

42 Comments

  1. Kshama

    HI,

    Loved your post. I plan to cook some dishes before heading to India and this will be very helpful. I had a quick question regarding Biryani Mix though. Can you please share the recipe for the mix and freezer. Will be very helpful.

    Thanks in advance Kshama

    1. Mullai

      I dont have any post special post on that.. check any of my veg biryani post..i make the same gravy but saute till it becomes kind of thick with less liquid content, cool it and freeze. I add rice, water and meat(chicken / seafood only) (if adding mutton then cook separately and add) or veggie if needed when cooking. Thank you so much!

  2. XXX

    Am a silent follower to ur blog.wowwww u r posting so many soooper doooper dishes.I like ur insta food pics and i like to read your stories the way u describe.Please keep rocking gal

    Here i want to know how to do rasam gravy and freeze the same.
    If possible plz share step wise pic about the freezer recipe which u mentioned like brinjal gravy/biriyani masala. and packing method like u posted for spring onion.

    Hope u will reply for my comment.Thank u once again and all the best

    1. Mullai

      Awwww ? xxx silent follower… That’s so nice of you to come out of your cozy nest to comment here. ? Well, I would post it sometime but meanwhile here’s to head start, this is how I do it.
      Temper oil.. may be a little ghee with mustard, cumin, dry red chili, asafoetida & curry leaves. I also like to add few freshly ground coarse raw dhania and black pepper. Saute crushed garlic and very little tomato along with hint of turmeric, sugar and salt. Add in thick tamarind extract ( no water) and simmer until it thickens like a paste. Switch off, cool completely and freeze. When you are ready to make, thaw the paste, dilute it with water, add in salt to taste, bring it to one boil and garnish with coriander leaves. A good rasam should taste good without rasam powder…if you like you may add some. Hope this helps..and do comment only then this lady knows what her readers like and join the insta fun? thank you ???

  3. Shan

    Hi Mullai,
    I usually freeze a portion of whatever I cook at home for my daughter who is studying in uni and the travel time in the flight is 2.30 hours to her place. It stays preety much frozen all the way and she keeps them at times up to 3 months. So the freezer food is really a life saver for the kids who are in uni and who doesn’t have much time to cook! Yes it is really a life/ time saver for many???.

    1. Mullai

      Hi Shah,
      Thanks for your feedback. Yeah, very true college goers might benefit a lot. My fav thing to freeze is any kind of paratha, its just too easy, early in the morning when packing lunch box for my son. i just thaw them in microwave and cook just enough to warm it up and apply ghee, voila! lunch box ready. I do freeze yogurt culture, soups, uncooked samosa and much more! Thank you dear!

    2. Shaheen

      Hi Shan….this is shaheen.. me n my two small kids are going on a vacation to India for 2 full months.. n want to prepare some foods n freeze for my husband in US.. can you tell me some dishes which I can freeze…
      Can I freeze mutton biriyani, chicken biriyani, mutton green capsicum gravy, chicken gravy, chicken karahi, mutton okra gravy,matar paneer, sambar, palak mutton, palak chicken,palak paneer,
      Beetroot poriyal, beans poriyal,carrot beans poriyal, okra fry, chicken drumsticks tandoori

  4. Ramya

    Can I make milk based gravy and aloo paneer kofta and freeze/refrigerate in separate containers 2-3 days prior to a dinner party? Will it be crisp/fresh after taking it out ? I understand nomally dairy and potatoes are not supposed to be frozen.. but just wondering if you or anyone has tried it.
    thanks for your tips, very very handy. Ramya

    1. Mullai

      Hi Ramya, milk based gravy will be a problem… better avoid, not that it cannot be frozen but never reliable as the other. Kofta will definitely become too mushy when u take it out. You may make the gravy base ahead and freeze but add the cream and kofta at the time of serving. Hope this helps!

  5. Ruchi sharma

    Appreciate your efforts for such a nice detailed post.Will you please suggest me basic gravy recipe which freezed well. And later used for kofta, paneer etc

  6. gunjan

    I am about to cook a big batch of frozen meals. want to know if storing in glass containers /pyrex works just as good as plastic bags?

    1. Mullai

      Hi Gunjan, that”s a good question…Pyrex glass containers come with a instruction on the inside saying its oven safe, microwave safe and freezer safe but its not advisable to freeze in glass containers for the following reasons…
      1. First of all, i usually make these for my husband if I’m out of town, like say… during long trip to India. In general, most hubbies (atleast mine) won’t care to read any of the instructions given in the box and gets the pyrex box straight from the freezer and pop it in the microwave, this is very dangerous… as the glass cannot be exposed to extreme shock from cold to hot and will make the glass to crack or burst. Hence i put individual portions in freezer safe ziploc bags, as he cannot eat straight from the bag, he needs to transfer to a microwave safe container and reheat it…. lol
      2. Second reason – glass pyrex always come with plastic lids which once goes to freezer will tear or rip off when you try to apply force and open the lids.
      3. In general, my 2 cents- glass is not that safe to put in the freezer but is good for reheating in microwave compared to plastic which is good for freezer or refrigerator storage but not for reheating.
      4. Ziploc bags are so easy for thawing, also easily folds and packs up tight to take less freezer space and once you transfer the content to a container- toss them in trash, no clean up required.
      Hope this helps and good luck with your cooking- cool the food completely before packing and freezing. Thanks Gunjan for your feedback and share a picture if you have time!

  7. Rekha

    I am searching for freezer friendly food and came to your site. I am planning to prepare some stuff for my husband as I am leaving to India on long vacation . This is very helpful to me . Could you please let me know how many days we can freeze the food on an average?
    like chapathi, paratha and home made spices?

    1. Mullai

      Hello Rekha,
      Freezer foods should last for few months, I wouldn’t recommend too long. These are just plain home cooked food with no preservatives and its advisable to finish in 2- 3 months. Freeze them in small individual portions that way you don’t have leftovers and finish once they are thawed. Thanks dear and have a fun vacation!

  8. EP

    Hi ,

    I am starting to freeze stuff and wanted to know if we can freeze potato cauliflower sabzi(not gravy) dry without frying.

    Also what all veggies freeze well; cabbage, capsicum etc.

    1. Mullai

      Hi Ep, freezing actually works well with most vegetables. I didnt quite get you whether you were asking for raw vegetables or stir fried. If freezing raw vegetable…you may blanch them first, dry them in a kitchen towel to drain all the water and then fill in ziploc bags and freeze. make sure you squeeze all the air out from the zip loc bag and then freeze it. (This method will keep the veggies color and taste intact for few months) Freezing without blanching, veggies tend to loose color, to some extent the taste goes off and also good for few weeks. Most fo the dry curries freeze well, they do release some water content when thawed but you may have to saute for sometime over the pan. I suggest you partially cook and then freeze, that way when they come out of the freezer you can finish them perfectly by cooking for some more time on the tawa. Hope this helps and write to me if you have any questions. Thanks!

  9. kothai

    Hi Mullai. Your recipes and ideas are very good. Tried a few and they came out excellent. I was wondering if you could post some slow-cooker indian recipes. I was unable to find good ones on the internet. Thank you!

  10. Laxmi

    Hello,

    this was very helpful!
    I would like your suggestion as I am planning on making green bean poriyal for about 30-35 people- I am just planning to add coconut when I warm up the beans for the gathering.
    The gathering is in 1 month so please let me know if this method will work

    many thanks!

    1. Mullai

      Lakshmi,
      Ofcourse you can freeze poriyals but its for our own convenience something like a temporary arrangement. Frozen foods has its own downfalls too right?? definitely its not going to taste as good as fresh beans. When you prepare for a big crowd or gathering it is advisable to prepare fresh. All you have do is saute the onion and garlic and throw in a big pack of frozen cut beans and garnish with coconut. This will only take about 10-15 minutes and you can make this a day ahead, refrigerate and reheat in the microwave. My 2 cents! Thanks.

  11. nitin

    Can anyone suggest if we can freeze milk based mithai like barfi,ladu in the freezer.how long can we freeze? if anyone has tried it ,please share experience.

    1. Amanda

      I would definitely think you can freeze milk and yogurt based dishes because I know several people freeze whole gallons of plain milk and its fine plus I freeze my milk in ice cube trays for my coffee every morning! If still not sure make a mini meal and freeze then you can see how you like it for yourself :)…hope this helps..

  12. Suba

    Generally when i store any food item in a ziploc cover.. i feel a plastic kinda smell when i reheat.. sometimes the odour is so strong that i better throw them away.. can u suggest something on this? why this happens?

  13. Anandhi

    Hi Mullai

    Could you please let me know the recipe of making biriyani mix. I love biriyani and I wanted to freeze the masala for regular use.

  14. Saipriya

    Thanks for these ideas! I will definitely try this out this week. What I usually do is make a paste of raw onion and raw tomato and store it in separate containers in the freezer and use this as a base for several north Indian curries/gravies. Stays good upto 4-5 days

  15. Vaishnavi

    Gr8 ideas…excellnet writing, awesome pics and overall it’s a real treat…Mullai Ma’am, I’m a strict vegetarian but I sneak into your non veg recipes to take a look at ur pics and ur writing style….u rock…

  16. VSIMPSON

    Simply suberb!!!!! comes handy especially on extremely busy days and when unexpected guests arrive for a meal. what can I say mullai….you are a very organised spouse I must say..your hubby is really blessed to have u for a wife. ur blog is my inspiration. wanna be as good as you in managing my kitchen and home and my hubby will be pleased. God bless you for sharing and inspiring through your work. hope all your readers realise that it takes a lot of effort to put up such a wonderful, genuine and original recipes blog.

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