To avoid the unnecessary water coming out of the pressure cooker during
cooking curries, dal or any other watery gravy stuff,add one or two teaspoons of cooking
oil or ghee before putting it for whistle.
To make paneer soft and tastier use buttermilk or sour curd.
To keep paneer softer after frying, put it into lukewarm salted water.
Warm the mixing bowl slightly, before kneading dough which contains
yeast. This will result in A lighter fluffier dough, as the yeast will react
better.
Bake unused pizza bases partially and blind, in the oven, cool, cover in
cling film or clean Airtight freezer bags, and refrigerate. Use as required, after thawing
to room temperature. The base should get a bit stiff, but not browned.
Place clean kitchen napkins above and below a pile of hot chappatis in
the box, to keep the from Becoming soggy.
Crumble leftover bread, buns, etc. which may have become too dry or a bit
stale, add green Chillies, salt, ginger, garlic, onion chopped, and a bit of water. Mix to
form a sticky gooey Batter. Deepfry dumplings in hot oil, till golden and crisp. An
excellent alternative to bhajias.
If bread tends to feel too dry or stale, brush with some milk, cover in a
foil, warm in a preheated Oven for 5 minutes. It will be fresh and soft again.
Test to check if bread has been done completely. Invert and knock the base lightly with
your Knuckles. It is done if the sound is hollow. If base is soggy, then more baking is
required.
Never reshape dough once it has been shaped and rested after punching.
The risen dough must Not be disturbed or texture of the baked product may not turn out as
it should.
Never place breads on uppermost or lowermost racks of the oven,
especially the large ones, or the baking will not be even, and the insides might stay
underbaked while the crust will become too dark and hard.
To clean blender, mixer bowls easily, after emptying content, add a
cupful of water, run for a few seconds. All clogged particles will easily get flushed out.
Use this water to add to gravies, soups, etc.
Soyabean granules are a highly nutritional product, which may be used to
thick
gravies, soups, Etc. with ease. Soak a little in water beforehand. Crush to make smooth
texture. Add as required.
While cooking veggies with less water, in their own moisture, cover pan
with a deep lid, pour About 150 ml. water in lid. This will quicken the cooking process by
returning the steam formed inside back into the vegetable, as also it will retain the
nutrients better. Even the flavour of the vegetable is noticeably better.
To ensure that the griddle (tawa) is hot enough before spreading dosa,
sprinkle a little water over it. If it sizzles immediately, then the griddle is hot
enough.
Wipe with a clean rag, proceed. Wherever day old bread is required, and
you have only soft fresh slices, put in the toaster for A few seconds, till it is slightly
dry, but not browned. Remove and all to cool completely before Using to crumble.
Always use a standard set of measuring instruments for your cooking. This
Will save a lot of time on approximations, and additions-deletions. Also it will avoid
searching for measuring gadgets at the last moment.
Place a kitchen towel under the legs of a rolling board, while making
Chappaties. The board will not slip, and allow faster rolling.
If your oven glove is not protection enough and you hand still feels the
heat, or if it is too large to fit you comfortably, line it with a few layers of newpaper.
Prepare chillies for a garnish on spicy veggies as follows: Slit firm
green long chillies. Squeeze some lemon juice over them. Dust a bit of salt too. Rub them
a bit to coat properly. Before adding anything to hot oil in the kadai, fry these for a
few seconds, holding them down the back of a spoon or spatula. To clean you hands of the
sting chillies give, rub them with the skin of squeezed lemon and salt. Wash normally.
To peel tomatoes easily, keep covered in boiling hot water for 5 minutes.
Remove, make a careful 'X' at its bottom, peel off skin. Cool and chop as required.
Dry roast any extra crumbs that are got while scraping buns. These can be
used to thick gravies, etc. They can also be added to bhajia batters for making crisper
bhajias.
If buns are too soft to be stuffed for any recipe, bake them blind in a
hot oven for 4-5 minutes. Cool, and they will be much more easy to handle while proceeding
with the recipe.
When frying a variety of things at a time, plan the order, keeping the
lighter coloured ones first ones with chillies or darker ones towards the last. Since the
oil will get coloured by frying the chillied things, then the lighter ones will
discolour.
1 tiny boiled potato given to the child at least 2-3 times a week is
nutritious. Add seasoning or curds, but do not fry. Do a lot more good than fries.
Always keep cut or slit brinjals soaking in salt water, to avoid their
becoming
discoloured.
Cut bhindi an hour before frying or stuff to make stuffed okra and
refrigerate at least for half an hour before making, to cook it fast and blend the taste
well too.
To clean the surface of vegetables like potato, radish, sweetpotato,
carrots, etc. use a separate plastic scrubber or toothbrush kept for the purpose. Hold
under running water and scrub.
When very finely chopped greens or chillies etc. are required in a
recipe, use a pair of sharp Scissors instead of a knife. The job will be made faster, more
efficient and safe to cut.
Add a pinch of soda bicarb to green vegetables while steaming or boiling
or cooking in the microwave to retain the fresh green colour.
Use thick short grained rice for dosa and idli batter where ordinary rice
is asked for. This will give a netter texture than using long grained basmati rice.
Some useful tips to make a Gravy Tasty
Always use ghee or vanaspathi with or instead of oil, which gives a good flavour to
the gravy.
If oil alone used, it does not get separated easily from the ground mixture, as ghee
separates from it.
Fry the ground masala in reduced flame, so that it retains its colour and taste.
If masala sticks to the pan that shows quantity of fat included is not enough.
Never discard water in which vegetables are cooked, use it in gravies, soups, rasam or
kolumbu.
Pressure cooker or pressure pan can be successfully used for frying which minimises
cooking time.
Onions and masala are fried in the cooker body itself, raw vegetables are added to that
with enough salt and water. Cook under pressure according to the cooking time of the
vegetable. This method helps us minimise our cooking time, use of utensils and nutrients
are also preserved.
When coconut is used in grinding masala, do not fry for a longer time.
Little plain sugar or caramelised sugar added to the gravy makes it tasty.
When tomatoes are not in season, tomato ketch up or sauce can be successfully used in
the gravies.
To retain colour in the gravy always use ripe red tomatoes. Discard green portions if
any.
Good variety chillies and chilli powder also gives colour to the gravy. As far as pos
sible try to use long variety red chillies. Dry it under sun for few days and powder
coarsely at home. Always the coarse powder gives good taste in gravies and pickles.
If poppy seeds are used in grinding, soak it in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes, if you
are grinding it in a mixie.
