| If
potatoes or carrots get over-cooked |
Just
mash them well and serve with butter or use it as
a batter for preparing cutlets. |
| When
soups and stews get burnt, you can renew its
taste. |
By
pouring the liquid gently and carefully into a
clean pan and flavour with curry powder or mustard
or some chutney to camouflage the burnt taste. |
| To
remove bitterness from karela |
Slit
it from the middle and rub a mixture of salt,
wheat flour and curd over it. Keep aside for 1/2
an hour, before cooking. |
| To
regain freshness in stale chapatis |
Just
wrap them in a clean cloth and pack them in an
airtight container that will fit into the pressure
cooker and pressure cook for two whistles and
serve fresh and hot. |
| For
crisp puris |
Add
a little rice flour to the wheat flour while
kneading. |
| To
prevent the insides of the cooker from turning
black |
Add
a piece of tamarind or lemon peel to the cooker
while boiling. |
| To
preserve the white colour in cauliflower and
cabbage. |
Add
a teaspoon of milk or milk powder while cooking. |
| To
prevent the burn sensation after grinding chilies |
Dip
the hands in cold milk. |
| To
prevent milk from curdling while boiling |
Add
a pinch pf baking soda to it and it will regain
its freshness. |
| To
save oil while frying |
Add
a pinch of salt to the oil while frying ‘pakodas’
or ‘koftas’ and you will use up less oil. |
| Boiling
Pasta & Noodles |
Boil
pasta/noodles in plenty of water and remove just
before it is fully cooked. They continue to be
cooked even after it is removed from flame and
drained. |
| French
fries - Sanjeev Kapoor style! |
First
blanch cut potatoes in hot water or medium hot oil
till tender, then deep-fry in very hot oil till
crisp. Take care not too add too many potatoes at
once to the oil. This causes the temperature of
the oil to come down and you will end up with
fries that are greasy, not crisp! |
| Retain
the green of vegetables |
Green
vegetables lose colour if subjected to continuous
heat. So, do not overcook them. |
| To
avoid stickiness in Rice |
Add
a few drops of lemon juice to the rice while
cooking, you will find that the grains of rice
will remain separate. |
| For
crispy lady fingers |
Add
a few drops of lemon juice while cooking for a
crispy taste. |
| For
crispy Pakodas |
‘Pakodas’
will turn out crisper and tastier if you add a
little cornflour to the gramflour while mixing the
dough. |
| Ladyfingers
will not stick to the vessel |
Adding
a spoonful of curd to the ladyfingers while
cooking while ensure that they do not stick to the
vessel or turn black. |
| To
thicken gravies |
Roast
groundnuts and sesame seeds and powder them. This
can be used to thicken gravies. |
| Serving
Boiled Noodles later |
If
noodles/pasta has to be used after some time, then
refresh the boiled noodles in cold water and
drain. This way they will not stick to each other. |
| "Carrot"
burfi |
Adding
a cupful of grated carrot or beetroot to the
coconut while making burfi will give you
"natural" colouring and nutritional
benefits. |
| Making
potato cutlets? |
When
boiling potatoes for cutlets add the salt to the
water itself as potatoes absorb salt better this
way. |
| To
remove excess oil in any fried vegetables |
Sprinkle
a little gramflour over the vegetables. Gramflour
absorbs the excess oil and makes the vegetable
tastier. |
| Curry
turned out a bit oily and pungent ? |
Take
two bread slices and powder them coarsely. Add
this to the curry and mix well. Bread absorbs the
excess oil and spice. |
| Hurry
to cook 'dal' ? |
Add
a little oil and turmeric powder to the dal before
placing it in the cooker. It will get done in 10
minutes flat. |
| Boil
potatoes faster |
Peel
and cut potatoes and boil them in water to which a
little vinegar is added . They will be done in no
time and will retain the texture as well. |
| Use
coconut milk for frying |
Coconut
milk when kept overnight in the fridge, forms a
white layer on top. This layer can be used as fat
instead of oil for frying mutton or chicken. |
| Make
a soft fluffy omelet |
Heat
a non-stick pan and add a little more butter than
usual. Now beat the egg and stir briskly (even
while frying) with a fork. This way more air goes
in your omelet, making it light and fluffy. Fry
till done and serve hot. |
| To
roll out bhatura easily |
Roll
out each ball of dough into a small puri and cover
with a damp cloth. When you want to serve roll
each 'puri' into a larger size. Keep it covered.
This way it will be easier to roll out the bhatura. |
| Prevent
onions from burning, frying |
Add
a little milk to onions while frying, this will
help retain a rich colour and prevent them from
burning. |
| Cook
pulses like chana etc. even if you have forgotten
to soak them overnight |
Just
put the chana in a flask full of boiling water for
an hour. They are ready for cooking. |
| Soft
paneer for children |
After
taking out the butter in the milk cream add a
little milk or curd to the remaining buttermilk
and boil. Voila! you now have a soft paneer which
is specially good for small children and those
with weak stomachs. |
| Instant
Lemonade |
Pour
lemon juice with sugar and a little salt into ice
trays, to make cubes which can be used for instant
lemonade. |
