Cooking Tips
When you soak rice and urad dal for idlis and dosas, wash everything thoroughly before soaking. Later use the soaked water while grinding. If you wash rice and dal after soaking you will lose most of the vitamins.
Excess salt in any dish can be brought down by adding diced potatoes, tomatoes or a teaspoon of sugar.
When you are making vadas, if the batter is watery - you will have the problem of oil splattering when you fry it. Add a tablespoon of ghee to the batter and your problem will be solved.
Don't salt meat before you cook it. Always salt meat halfway through cooking. (little less than what is required). Then taste the meat when it is done and then add salt as needed.
To thicken any gravy or soup add corn flour to it. It is an excellent thickening agent. Remember to mix it in good water before adding to avoid lumps.
While making any pasta add salt to the boiling water in which you are cooking it. That will be the only chance you get to salt it. Add salt after the water boils. If you add it before , it will take a longer time to boil.
To avoid sticky rice, soak washed rice in water for at least ten minutes before cooking. A teaspoon of oil can be added to get separate grains of cooked rice.
While make any deep fried dish, if the hot oil starts foaming and rises in the pan, add a small piece of tamarind to the oil. This will prevent foaming and spill over.
If you want to have soft idlis, do not beat the batter before pouring idlis. The air bubble sin the batter helps you to get soft idlis. Beating the batter removes these air bubbles.
Chill onion is refrigerator before cutting to avoid tears. One other way to avoid tears is to soak peeled onion is water before cutting.
To get crisp, golden dosas add a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds to the urad dal and grind it.
To make a healthy chicken dish remove the skin from the chicken. This will remove the major fat content on the chicken.
Add a pinch of sugar while cooking any green leaf vegetables. This will help maintain the bright green color.
For maintaining the bright color of any vegetable don't forget to put it in ice cold water as soon as you blanch them.
To keep apples from turning brown, add little citrus juice like the juice of a lemon or orange and toss apples in it.
A pinch of turmeric powder added to all kinds of dal when cooking hastens the cooking process.
Remove the stems from chilies before storing them. This will keep them fresher for a long time.
It is better to use round dishes in the microwave oven rather than square or rectangular dishes as round dishes spread heat faster.
Oil applied to dal before it is cooked helps it to cook faster by softening the proteins
Healthy Cooking Tips
Raw to RipeYou can ripen fruits quickly by wrapping them in newspaper and keeping them in a warm place for 2-3 days.
Wood Is Good
You can avoid kitchen knives from getting blunt by using a wooden board while chopping.
Sweet Corn
When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corns natural sweetness.
Extra Lemon Juice
To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.
Soup Scoops
To make your soup thicker, add corn flour to it.
Leftover Batter
To keep idli and dosa leftover batter fresh, place a betel leaf over it.
Dough solutions
Place the rolling pin in the freezer for a few minutes to avoid the dough from sticking to it.
Fresh Apples
To keep apples looking fresh for a longer time and avoid browning, apply some lemon juice on the cut surface of the apple.
Extra Salt
To reduce excess of salt put in curry, simply add potatoes to it.
Cooking Dosa’s
Apply oil to the pan the night before to avoid the dosas from sticking to the pan
Crispy Potatoes
Add salt to the oil before frying in order to make the fried potatoes crispy.
Crispy Dosas
To make dosas crispy, add soaked fenugreek seeds to the ingredients while grinding.
Microwave Safe Dish
Put the dish in the microwave with a measuring cup filled with water. Heat for one minute at the highest power. If the dish is cold and the water hot, then it’s safe to use as a microwave dish.
Boiling Eggs
To keep eggshells from cracking whilst boiling, add a few drops of vinegar to the water.
Substituting Egg
You can try using two tablespoons of mayonnaise for a large egg.Separate Eggs In One BowlTo separate many eggs at one time, break them all carefully into one large bowl. Wash your hands and then, gently scoop the egg yolks out of the bowl and place them gently into another.
Hardboil Eggs
To hardboil eggs, put them in a pan in a single layer. Add enough cold water to just cover them. Using high heat, bring to a rapid boil. Immediately remove from heat. Cover and let stand only 15-20 minutes. Extra-large eggs will need about 20 minutes, no more. When time's up, pour out the hot water. Run cold water over them or cool them in ice water. Cool eggs quickly and don’t overcook them. Do this and you won’t have that ugly greenish ring.
To Make Soft And Fluffy Idlis
Soak the Ural dal and Rice separately for about 5 hours. Grind separately too for 10 mins. Mix well and add salt to them. Place in room temperature for about 10-12 hours until the dough ferments.
To Make Soft Chappathis
To make soft chappathis or rotis, add fresh yogurt to knead the dough instead of water, and cover the dough with a light moist cloth. Even after rolling the dough into chappathi’s cover them with a soft cloth.
Baking Times
A good cooking tip is to always set your timer 5 to 10 minutes earlier than what the recipe calls for. Oven temperatures vary. Leaving your dish in for too long could cause it to overcook.
Separating Eggs
To separate egg whites from yolks, break the egg into a funnel. You'll find that the white goes through and the yolk stays behind.
To Make Upma’s Tasty
To enhance the taste of upma, add curds or tamarind water instead of plain water.
Cooking Sea Food
Do not over-cook prawns – they will loose their taste.
Fresh Eggs
Put the uncooked eggs into a bowl of water. If the egg settles horizontally, the egg is fresh enough for you to eat. If it rises to the top, please put it in the compost bin.
Prevent Fish From Sticking to Pan
Add a bit of gram flour (besan) to fish before frying it will make the fish crispy and nice. Also this will prevent the fish sticking to the pan.
Quick Cooking
Cooking in pressure cookers and flat-bottomed pans also helps in saving time. Besides, using non-stick ware for cooking is also a good idea as these utensils ensure that less oil is consumed.
Lemon Juice
Microwaving a lemon for 15 seconds will double the juice you get.
Crispy French FriesTo improve the crispness of French-fries, let the raw potatoes first stand in cold water for at least half an hour.
Cooking Cauliflower
To keep cauliflower white while cooking, add a little milk to the water.
Removing Onion Odour
To remove a strong odour of onions from your hands, hold a stainless steel spoon in your hand while running water through them. Rub your hands as though the spoon were soap.
When You Do Not Need The Yolk
Often recipes require the use of only the white of an egg, leaving you to decide the fate of the yolk! Here is a simple tip to store unbeaten egg yolk to be used later: Put the yolk in a small cup and cover it with cold water or milk and keep in the refrigerator. Drain off the liquid before using the yolks.
Getting Chewing Gum Off!
If you spot chewing gum stuck on your carpets or mats, get it off by rubbing the area with ice cubes till gum has frozen. Then scrape with a spatula. In case it leaves a stain get it off by using a dry cleaning fluid.
Tenderize Chicken
To tenderize chicken first marinate it in buttermilk.
Cooking Meat
When cooking meat, do so at a low temperature for a long time. This will keep the meat tender and also retain all the juices.
Separating Egg Whites
To separate the whites from the yolk, break the eggs in a funnel. The whites will go through leaving the yolk intact in the funnel.
Cooking Wheat Products
Noodles, spaghetti or pasta won't boil over if you coat the inside of the pot with vegetable oil.
Separate Eggs In One Bowl
To separate many eggs at one time, break them all carefully into one large bowl. Wash your hands and then, gently scoop the egg yolks out of the bowl and place them gently into another.
Marinating
Marinating means to soak food in either oil, spices or seasonings, to make it tender and enhance its flavour.
Sautéing
When you sauté an item, you cook it in an oil or substance, preferably flavoured, over medium heat.
Simmering
This means heating a substance to a high temperature. It comes close to boiling, but does not get hot enough to create bubbles. Keep stirring occasionally so that the food doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Preparing Pasta
When preparing pasta as a main dish, plan for two ounces of pasta per person. If there are hearty eaters you may consider cooking about four ounces.
