Make my batch cooks more interesting?

[Combusting]

FT working parents of two smalls. Saved by Sunday batch cooking of dinners for the whole week. Works great (for wallet, energy, health) except -

I am tired of curry+chilli+casserole on repeat.

Can anyone make the batch cooks more interesting? Would especially love Asian/African flavours and don’t mind using pastes/pots. Also after less “wet” meals. I can’t do any more casseroles and stews. Even dryer curries would work.

Did I says would really love Asian and African themes?!

Jamie Olivers jambalaya is one of my faves. I tend to tone down the spice as my kids dont love it but you can always add a bit at the end

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/chicken-sausage-prawn-jambalaya/

This is delicious and I make it all the time. It also freezes well (I cook the broccoli separately so don't freeze the broccoli)

https://www.tamingtwins.com/slow-cooker-beef-and-broccoli/

This is a set of flavours you may not have tried before. You can use dried cranberries if you can’t get barberries.
https://www.hamisharafi.com/free-recipes/khoreshe-khalal-recipe

These freeze well.
Meat balls in gravy.
Chicken Parmesan.
Lassagna.

Mattar paneer - Nigella's recipe is a decent starting point, although it needs more spice imo. If you made a big batch you could have it with rice on one day and then maybe wrapped in chapattis with salad and minty yoghurt on the next.

Maybe some sort of boboti, a sort of spiced African version of a shepherds pie?

The Batch Lady may have some recipes that would work for you. She has recipe books but also a website, I think, with recipes

I'm not sure if this is helpful, but we cook all meat as we buy it and then freeze. So, for example, a whole pack (or two) of bacon or sausages are cooked, cooled and then frozen straight away, or a whole chicken is cooked, portioned/ shredded and cooled and then immediately frozen. We then defrost and heat to piping hot in the microwave ( depending on what we're eating) or else add to a meal as it's cooking ( so say for instance a curry) to ensure it's properly heated through. This does seem to save lots of time. Also frozen mashed potato is brilliant ( once cooked)!

Thai fish cakes https://greatcurryrecipes.net/2023/04/19/thai-fish-cakes/

Re the mashed potato, I mean the shop bought version. Not sure about homemade- never tried it.

Jamie Oliver’s Spicy Meat Gumbo is beautiful, serve with frozen micro rice.

Moroccan lamb tagine (spice to your liking), serve with flavoured packet couscous (only takes five mins to soak while the tagine is in the microwave.

Get into ramen and noodle dishes (I know you said you wanted less wet but this is so easy for batch cooking!). Make the broth on Sunday, it's easy but takes time. Shred some veggies and cook, shred and freeze the meat. Then it's just a case of heating the broth, adding the defrosted meat and veg and some noodles or frozen dumplings (buy ready made from an Asian supermarket).

The thing the Batch Lady does is grab bags, so you get a lot of stuff sorted into freezer bags then defrost as needed. You can do, for eg a traybake that's all chopped and ready to go, add spices and flavourings to taste.

Dryer curries - I wouldn't batch cook, I'd use a paste and cook as you go.

Wow that’s loads of lovely ideas! I’m carefully making notes from the links you’ve shared or googling things !

I make tomato,mushroom and curry sauces and freeze it in bags. Then I either just defrost some to have with pasta, or with chickpeas, frozen cooked supermarket seafood, grilled fish or chicken. I found it was much nicer and more versatile than making whole meals and only takes a few minutes more.

Oh, another one. I make a Shakshuka base in huge quantities, freeze it in portions, then just defrost, reheat in a pan, and add eggs. I add any leftover veg to the gloop - mushrooms and spinach are good.
https://downshiftology.com/recipes/shakshuka/

Here’s some other things I have batch made and frozen:

Quesadilla filling
Pulled pork
Moroccan chicken tagine
Soup
Lentil & sausage stew (sorry you said no stews but a little different)?
Massaman lamb curry
Chinese BBQ marinade for pork/chicken
Chicken stock, used mainly for noodle soup
Falafel (I use a box mix to make a whole load of falafel then freeze)
Meatballs
Mash
Keema
Tomato sauce
Satay sauce

I don’t think dry foods freeze so well generally.

Pulled pork, add bbq sauce when serving
frikadellers (like meatballs, sauce freezes separately)
morrocan lemon chicken breasts
christmas stuffing with pork and chestnuts
cheese sauce
baked risotto (add stock to loosen when you reheat)
quiche … cooked sliced and then frozen
Cook a joint, slice, freeze, freeze gravy separately

I haven't made this actual recipe, but spinach, feta and pine nut tart can be frozen https://epigram.org.uk/2021/03/11/spinach-feta-and-pine-nut-tart/

I know what you mean about "wet" batch cooking. It can be quite repetitive

Peri peri chicken with oven chips and coleslaw
https://mommyshomecooking.com/easy-peri-peri-chicken-breasts/#recipe

Meatballs
cooked chicken pieces