EASY COOKING TIPS

These tips will help you manage food items like bananas, chocolate, tomatoes, onions and various other ingredients.
Cooking Tops #
- To make one cup of dal, add atleast 2-3 cups of water, depending on the type of dal.
# Soak whole pulses overnight and other dals for one hour before cooking. Always add hot water to the gravy to enhance the taste.

# Always use heavy bottomed vessels to make desserts, in order to avoid burning.

# Make desserts with full cream milk, to get thick creamy texture.

- Whenever curd is to be added to the masala, it should be beaten well and added gradually.

# Never discard water in which vegetables are cooked, use it in gravies, soups, rasam or kolambu.

# Onions and masala are fried in the main cooker vessel 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.

# 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.

# Add a tsp. of hot oil to homemade pastes of garlic, ginger or green chili, along with salt to make it last longer and taste fresher.

# You can leave a spoon in the vessel in which the milk is being boiled at low heat so that it does not get burnt at the bottom

# Immediately after boiling noodles put them in normal cold water to separate them.

# If you forget to soak chana/Rajma overnight. Just soak the chana/Rajma in the boiling water for an hour before cooking.

# Potatoes soaked in salt water for 20 minutes will bake more rapidly.

# Never discard the water in which vegetables are cooked, use it in gravies or soups.

Put tomatoes in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave it for about 5 minutes. Take out one by one, piercing them with a sharp knife, the skin will peel off easily.

Tips on various ingredients:

1. To avoid browning of apples after cutting, apply a little lemon juice on the cut surface. The apples will stay and look fresh for a longer time. 2. Keep coriander leaves in a muslin (cheese) cloth bag in the refrigerator. They will remain fresh for a longer time. 3. Wash vegetables before peeling or cutting to preserve the water-soluble vitamins. 4. Peel vegetables as thinly as possible to preserve the minerals and vitamins. 5. Soak potatoes and brinjal after cutting, to avoid discoloration. 6. If you boil vegetables in water, do not throw the water, keep it to make gravies. Cutting Vegetables7. Remove the stems of green chilies while storing them. This will help them to stay fresh for long. 8. After peeling onions cut in half and soak in water for about 10 minutes before cutting to avoid crying. 9. Soak almonds in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes .The skin will peel off easily and so there is no need to soak them overnight. 10. Chopping/Cutting on a marble slab will blunt your knives. So use a wooden cutting/ chopping board.