How to preserve Dhaniya and Pudina in the freezer

Many a times I have fresh dhaniya and pudina in my fridge but I don’t have the time to clean -wash- chop and use it. Or sometimes, when these herbs do not get used in time, they just rot or dry making it un-usable and I hate throwing veggies.

Therefore I started this procedure 😀

Now I can add these in my cooking in seconds (I do not generally use dhaniya or pudina for garnishing, but instead use it during my cooking, in dals, sabjis, or gravies) or I make instant dhaniya pudina chutneys now.

Let’s get started:

You will need-
Fresh dhaniya/ coriander leaves
Or
Fresh Pudina/mint leaves
Ice trays
Ziplock bags

Procedure:

Clean the dhaniya or pudina leaves properly.

Submerge in water in a deep pan ( generally there’s a lot of dirt in these leaves)

Wash at least 3 times until the water comes out clear.

Put in a colander or “chhalnee” Or a cotton cloth to remove most of the water.

Chop finely. I use my food processor.

Now fill the ice trays with these chopped up leaves, stuff it properly. Add some water over the leaves and freeze.

After a few hours, take out the ice trays, keep out for 5-7 minutes and try to take the cubes out ( it becomes very easy to remove the cubes after 5-7 minutes)

Place in a labelled ziplock bag and put back in freezer. Use as and when required.

These come very very handy and for making quick chutneys, just toss 4-5 cubes of dhaniya, 2-3 cubes of Pudina, green chilies, garlic cloves, jeera, and salt, and pulse (give the icy cubes 3-4 minutes to soften so that the blades of your jar doesn’t go bad). You got your green chutney in minutes……some people add ice cubes while grinding to retain the green color, here you already have these ice cold.

Check out a lip smacking Dahi Pudina chutney recipe here.

Warnings: Chopping and freezing of Pudina/mint releases a lot of color and the ice trays may get discolored so better to use extra not-in-use ice trays, of course, these can be washed but it will take a lot of time and effort to clean the trays.

Share with me How you preserve these amazing herbs. Tag me on Instagram as #shaheenreviews @shine2308 if you like and use this method👍

Storing herbs

storing herbs in freezer

Storing herbs in Ziploc bags

How to store excess herbs