Batch cook

Batch cooking is the art of cooking once and eating well for days. Instead of starting from scratch every evening, you set aside a couple of hours, fire up the biggest pot in the kitchen, and walk away with a fridge full of dinners. It's how busy families, working couples, and weekend planners quietly buy back their week.

What you'll find here

Big-pot, big-tray, big-pressure-cooker recipes built to scale. Think simmering chillies and ragouts, weekday dals cooked in 5kg pressure cookers, mountains of pulao and biryani for hungry households, slow-cooked curry bases, soups, sauces, and tray bakes that feed a crowd or stock a freezer for weeks.

When to reach for batch cooking

• Sunday afternoons before a long work week
• Cooking for a family of four or more on a weekly rhythm
• Stocking up sauce bases, dals, or curry pastes you'll riff on later
• Festive prep when guests start dropping in unannounced
• Tight grocery weeks where one big pot needs to stretch

Tips for cooking in bulk

Season in layers — under-salt the pot and finish portions individually so reheats taste fresh, not flat. Cool in shallow trays before refrigerating, label with dates, and freeze in single-meal portions so future-you doesn't have to thaw the whole batch. Aromatics like ginger, garlic, and tempering oils are best added at reheat, not at the start.

If you're stocking the freezer, pair this with freezer friendly recipes. Cooking on a careful grocery budget? Budget friendly ideas slot in beautifully here.