Batch Cooking and the Weekly Rhythm

Many readers over fifty cook for one or two. Ayurveda prefers freshly cooked food, but sensible batch cooking of components — not finished meals — keeps food fresh while saving effort.

Component	Make ahead	Keeps	Use in
Ghee	500 g at a time	3 months at room temperature, sealed	Everything
Herb ghee (9.05)	100 g	1 month	Soups, grains, vegetables
Vegetable–kombu stock	2 litres	4 days refrigerated, 3 months frozen	Soups, risottos, stews
Sattvic tomato sauce (9.02)	1 litre	4 days refrigerated, 3 months frozen	Pasta, cannelloni, lasagne, tian
Cooked legumes	500 g dry weight	3 days refrigerated, 3 months frozen	Hummus, soups, stews, salads
Lemon–tahini dressing (7.06)	1 jar	5 days	Salads, grains, roast vegetables
Apple–ginger chutney (9.06)	2 jars	1 month refrigerated	Lunch plates
Date–almond bites (10.07)	16 pieces	1 week	Afternoon snack
Soaked grains and legumes	Night before	—	Morning porridge, lunch dal

A weekly rhythm for one or two

Day	Fresh cooking	From the batch
Sunday	Roast vegetables, risotto or pie; make stock and tomato sauce	—
Monday	Porridge; soup	Stock; roast vegetables
Tuesday	Pasta with quick sauce	Tomato sauce
Wednesday	Kitchari day — the weekly light day	Ghee
Thursday	Stew or tagine; flatbread	Cooked legumes
Friday	Grain bowl or pilaf	Tahini dressing, chutney
Saturday	Baking day: soda bread, muffins	—