How to Prep One Week of Cooking Bases in Under 1 Hour Using a Mixer Grinder

There’s a point in most kitchens where daily cooking starts feeling repetitive. Not because of the recipes, but because of the prep work. Peeling garlic, chopping onions, grinding tomatoes, doing the same steps again and again every single day.

After a while, you realise most of the time is not spent cooking. It’s spent getting things ready before cooking even begins.

One simple way to make things easier is to prep a few basic cooking bases in advance. Nothing fancy. Just the everyday things you use almost daily. Once these are ready and sitting in the fridge, cooking feels much lighter.

A mixer grinder makes this whole process quicker. Something like the Ultra Stealth Mixer Grinder works well here because you’re not just grinding one thing, you’re doing multiple small batches one after the other.

You can explore the range here:
https://www.elgiultra.com/mixer-grinder

If you set aside about an hour, you can get most of your week’s base prep done in one go.

What You’re Actually Prepping

Instead of thinking of it as “meal prep”, it helps to keep it simple. You’re just preparing three things:

Onion base
Tomato puree
Ginger garlic paste

These three alone cover a large part of everyday Indian cooking.

Ginger Garlic Paste

This is usually the most repetitive job during the week, so it makes sense to finish it first.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Grinding time: 3–4 minutes
Storage: 5–7 days in fridge

Ingredients:

1 cup garlic cloves
½ cup chopped ginger
2–3 tablespoons oil
Pinch of salt

How it’s usually done at home

Peeling garlic takes a bit of time, so that’s where most of your effort goes. Once that’s done, the rest is quick.

Add everything into the jar and grind to a smooth paste. You don’t need to add water. The moisture from ginger and garlic is usually enough.

A mixer like the Ultra Stealth Mixer Grinder handles this well because ginger can be slightly fibrous. You’ll notice the paste comes out smooth without needing too many attempts.

Store it in a glass container and keep it refrigerated.

Once this is ready, you’ve already cut down a lot of daily effort.

Tomato Base (Simple and Useful)

Tomato puree is something that goes into gravies, curries, and even some chutneys.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Grinding time: 2 minutes
Storage: 3–4 days

Ingredients:

6–8 ripe tomatoes

Method

Just chop tomatoes into medium pieces and grind them directly.

You don’t need to blanch or peel unless you prefer a very smooth texture. For everyday cooking, this works perfectly fine.

If you want, you can lightly cook this puree for a few minutes before storing. It helps it last a little longer.

Onion Base (The Real Time Saver)

This is where you actually save the most time during the week.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Grinding time: 3–4 minutes
Storage: 3 days

Ingredients:

4–5 onions
Optional: 1 tomato, small piece ginger

Method

Chop onions roughly and grind them into a slightly coarse paste.

Don’t make it too smooth. A little texture actually helps while cooking.

You can either:

Store it raw and cook when needed
or
Lightly sauté it before storing

Most people prefer lightly cooking it once, so it reduces cooking time later.

How to Use These During the Week

Once these three are ready, cooking becomes more about assembling than preparing.

For example:

Making a quick curry → use onion base + tomato puree + ginger garlic paste
Making a masala → start directly with pre-made base
Quick sabzi → just add spices and vegetables

You’ll notice that half the work is already done before you even switch on the stove.

A Simple Way to Plan This 1 Hour

If you’re doing this for the first time, this order usually works well:

Start with peeling garlic and chopping ginger
Grind ginger garlic paste
Move to tomatoes
Finish with onions

This way, you use the mixer continuously without stopping too much.

Mixers like the Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder are useful here because they can handle multiple batches without overheating easily.

Storage Without Overthinking

You don’t need anything complicated.

Use glass or steel containers
Keep them airtight
Store in fridge

If you want to extend shelf life:

Add a little oil on top
Use dry spoons while taking out

That’s enough.

Small Things That Make a Difference

After doing this a few times, a few habits naturally help:

Don’t overload the jar, grind in batches
Use the smaller jar for better consistency
Clean the jar immediately after use
Label containers if you’re storing multiple bases

These are small things, but they make the whole process smoother.

Final Thoughts

This kind of prep doesn’t change what you cook. It just changes how you cook.

Instead of starting from scratch every day, you’re just finishing the dish. That’s a big difference, especially on busy mornings or late evenings.

A mixer grinder quietly becomes one of the most useful tools for this. Not for one big task, but for handling many small ones quickly.

If you’re looking for something that can manage daily grinding like this, you can explore the mixer grinder range here:
https://www.elgiultra.com/mixer-grinder

Once you get into this habit, you’ll notice cooking feels less rushed, and a lot more manageable through the week.

Elgi Ultra Grinder

Ultra is the pioneer in compact table top wet grinders and innovator of the patented conical stones. The patented conical stone design makes the batter smooth.