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| Curries |
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When
milk or curd is to be added to tomato masala of gravies,
bhuno tomatoes well till dry and oil separates before
adding the curd or milk. Bhuno-ing well lessens the sourness
of the tomatoes and the added milk or curd does not curdle.
If the tomatoes are not well bhunoed, there are chances
of getting a curdled gravy. |
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When
adding curd to curries, always remember to beat the curd.
Remove the masala from fire when adding the curd or milk
to the masala. Stir well to mix. Return to low heat. |
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If
your curry turns out a bit oily and pungent, take two
bread slices and crumble them coarsely. Add this to the
curry and mix well. Bread absorbs the excess oil and spice. |
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If
your gravy becomes too salty, make a few small balls of
atta (chappati dough) and put them in the gravy. Give
2-3 boils. Let them remain for some time in the curry.
Before serving remove these balls which have absorbed
the extra salt. |
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To
thicken gravies and also add flavour to the gravy, grind
1-2 tbsp of soaked cashew nuts or almonds or magaz (watermelon
seeds) or chironji to a fine paste. Add to the gravy and
relish the difference it makes. |
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1
tbsp of kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) added to
gravies enhances the taste but a little extra may turn
the gravy bitter. |
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| Onions
and Garlic |
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Place
onions in the fridge for ½-1 hour before chopping
them. Your eyes will not water. |
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Heating
the knife before cutting up onions can prevent you from
shedding tears. |
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Soak
garlic in water for sometime. It peels easily. |
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The
best way to keep garlic handy is to peel all the flakes
and store in a jar of oil. This flavoured oil is great
for salads and seasoning. |
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When
using pressure cooker place the days requirement of garlic
pods on its lid for 10 minutes. They will be easier to
peel. |
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Add
salt to onion when frying (browning), they will brown
fast and turn soft sooner. |
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For
garnishing pulaos, etc., fry onions with a pinch of sugar.
They will brown faster. |
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| Rice
and Dal |
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To
prevent water from overflowing while cooking rice coat
the rim of the vessel with butter or ghee. |
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Add
1-2 slices of lemon or a little lemon juice to rice while
cooking. It keeps it white and grainy. |
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Add
1 tsp of oil to rice while boiling, it will not boil over. |
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Add
a few drops of oil while cooking dals to reduce the cooking
time and frothing. |
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To
1 cup of dal, 3-4 cups of water are generally added depending
on the type of dal. |
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| Chappati
and Poori |
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The
dough should always be kept away covered for at least
½ hour after kneading. If chappatis are made immediately,
they are not soft. |
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While
making chappatis, use hot water to mix the flour. The
chappatis will turn out very soft and tasty. |
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Add
a little milk to the dough for fluffier puris. |
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Before
washing the milk utensil, knead the dough in it. You get
a softer dough and a cleaner utensil. |
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For
a protein rich diet add ½ kg of soya bean flour
to 3 kg wheat flour for making paranthas. |
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Do
not throw away the water after making paneer. Use it for
making dough for chappatis, which will give softer, tastier
and more nutritive chappatis. |
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Spread
newspaper under the rolling board (chakla) while making
chappatis. All the dry flour will fall on the paper and
it becomes easy to empty it into the dustbin. |
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| Snacks
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Add
a handful of puffed/crushed rice (chirwa or poha) to the
pakora batter for extra crisp pakoras. |
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Add
a handful of puffed/crushed rice (chirwa or poha) to the
rice while soaking for idlis. You will get fluffier idlis. |
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If
dosas stick to the tawa, cut an onion into half. Clean
tawa with the cut side of the onion and a little oil.
If this does not help, heat tawa empty very well till
almost fuming. Switch off the gas. Let it cool. Then reheat
and make dosas. Dosas will not stick. |
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To
add more flavour to dosas, add a few methi daana (fenugreek
seeds) to the batter. And taste the difference! |
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To
make neat and crisp dosas, everytime you apply oil on
the tawa, sprinkle salt water over it. |
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Salt
should be added to the dosa batter before it is kept for
fermentation. |
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Often
the first dosa sticks to the tawa and refuses to come
out. This can be solved by greasing the tawa with oil
and a pinch of salt. |
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Add
a little dahi (yogurt) to dahi vada batter to get softer
vadas. They will also absorb less oil while frying. |
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For
getting a thick, crisp coating on cutlets or rolls, dip
the prepared snack in eggwhite beaten with a few tbsp
of water and then roll in fine bread crumbs. If you do
not take eggs, dip them in a thin batter of maida and
water and then roll in bread crumbs. Fry till well browned. |
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In
the absence of bread crumbs, suji may be used to get a
crisp coating. |
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If
your cutlets fall apart, dip some bread slices in water
for a second, squeeze it and add to the cutlet mixture.
You may also add a raw egg to the cutlet mixture for binding
instead of the bread, if you take eggs. |
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Wrap
sandwiches without cutting the sides, in foil or cling
wrap to keep them soft. Cut the crust only at the time
of serving to prevent the edges from drying. |
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To
make crisp potato chips, soak them in cold water for 1
hour. Drain. Wipe dry and deep fry. |
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To
get extra crisp chips, sprinkle the soaked, dried chips
with some maida (plain flour) before frying. Maida absorbs
any excess water present. |
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For
deep frying any snack, add small quantities to the oil
at one time. This maintains the oil's temperature. If
too many pieces are added together, the oil turns cold
and a lot of oil is then absorbed by the snack. |
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After
deep frying, let the oil cool down. Add a little quantity
of fresh oil to used oil before reusing. This prevents
oil from discolouring. |
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| Important
Tips for Baking Perfect Cakes |
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Measure the
ingredients with great care. Using correct amounts of
ingredients is more important than the beating of the
cakes. |
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Invest in a
good electric hand mixer. It simplifies your work besides
giving good results. Always beat in one direction. |
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To beat the
egg whites light as air, they should be at room temperature
while beating. Always use a clean, dry bowl and beater
for beating. |
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While using
raisins or dry fruits or peels in a cake, first coat them
with a little flour (maida) and then add to the batter.
They will then not sink to the bottom of the cake. |
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Remember to
always sift the baking powder with the maida at the time
of making the cake. |
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Never use baking
powder which is more than a year old. Check the manufacturing
date on the container. |
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Always preheat
the oven at the temperature at which you have to bake
your cake for at least 10 minutes. |
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Always grease
your baking tin and dust (sprinkle) with flour (maida). |
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Baking should
always be done in aluminium containers. |
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Do not open
the oven door again and again to check the cake as this
causes variation in the temperature and hence affects
the baking. |
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Test your cake
with a clean knife at the place where the cake has risen
the most, i.e. at the highest point, before removing from
the oven. |
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Permit the cake
to cool for sometime before you remove it from the tin. |
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Never cool a
cake under the fan as this will make the cake hard. |
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| What
Went Wrong With Your Cake |
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A Heavy
Cake: Too little baking powder; too much flour;
mixture not creamed enough; flour mixed too vigorously;
oven too slow.
A Dry Cake: Too
much baking powder or flour; not enough fat or liquid;
too long in the oven.
A Sunken Cake:
Too much liquid, baking powder or sugar; too little flour;
oven door slammed or cake moved during baking; taken out
from oven too soon.
A Peaked Cake:
Insufficient fat or baking powder; too much flour; oven
temperature too high.
A Badly Cracked
Top: Oven too hot; cake tin too small; too much
flour; not enough liquid.
Fruit Sunk
to the Bottom: Fruit not properly dried; cake
mixture too thin; fruit added before adding flour. |
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| Microwave
Cooking Tips |
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Never
over-cook food in a microwave as it becomes tough and
leathery. Give the dish a little standing time before
you test it, to avoid over cooking. |
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Never
pile food on top of each other. It cooks better, evenly
and quickly when spaced apart. |
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Food cooks better
in a round container than in a square one. In square or
rectangular bowls, food gets overcooked at the corners. |
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Do not add salt
at the time of starting the cooking as it leads to increase
in the cooking time. |
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Do not add more
water than required, however a little water must be added
to prevent dehydration of the vegetable, which results
in the loss of natural juices. Addition of extra water
increase the cooking time. |
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Do not deep
fry in a microwave (the temperature of oil cannot be controlled). |
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Do not cook
eggs in their shells (pressure will cause them to explode). |
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Do not cook
and reheat puddings having alcohol (they can easily catch
fire). |
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Do not use containers
with restricted openings, such as bottles. |
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Use deep dishes
to prepare gravies, filling the dish only 3/4 to avoid
spillage. |
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Do not defrost
canned foodstuff. |
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Do
not use aluminium foil for covering dishes. Do not reheat
foods (sweets like ladoos, burfi etc.) with silver sheet,
as it leads to sparking. |
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Fill the cake
tin 3/4 with cake batter, allowing space for cake to rise. |
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