Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Cooking tips - Part 1



Some of the tips i had been following, learnt from my mistakes, from my grandmother, mother, mother-in-law, husband (yes, you heard it right), and online friends.

1) When making tea, always simmer the flame after adding tea leaves. Never let boil, that will reduce the taste and flavour of tea.


2) Always make tea fresh and use it immediately. Do not store tea decoction, it is not advisible.


3) To make filter coffee very tasty and flavourful add a very very tiny pinch of salt to the decoction before adding the milk.


4) If you excess have decoction add 1/2 teaspoon sugar and mix well. You can store the decoction for few hours and make coffee later. But filter coffee always tastes great with freshly made decoction and boiled milk.


5) Add few drops of oil while cooking rice to make rice non sticky. This works well especially if the rice is new and starchy.


6) While making mixed rice varieties like lemon rice or coconut rice, take the cooked rice and spread it on a plate. Add few drops of oil, 1/4 tbsp of trumeric and fluff up with a fork or back of a spoon. Cool thoroughly before using in the recipe.


7) While making pulao or biryani, make sure to wash the rice very well till it runs clear of starch,soak the rice for at least 20  minutes, drain and spread on a plate for 5 minutes before using in the recipe.


8) While purchasing toor dal, make sure it is not shiny. Shiny dal will take forever to cook and you cannot mash it easily. Similarly purchase only if the dal is small and flat.


9) While pressure cooking toor dal, add a small pinch of salt (optional) and turmeric powder. This helps in cooking the dal very well and easy to mash. Soaking the toor dal in water for 20 minutes before cooking reduces the cooking time.


10) If you want to heat the leftover rice, sprinkle some water over the rice and simmer in pressure cooker for 5-7 minutes. The rice will be fresh and soft.


11) Soak channa dal atleast for 30 minutes before pressure cooking. This reduces the cooking time.


12) While cooking potatoes, add water to the pressure cooker and place potatoes in a vessel without water. By this method, potatoes do not turn mushy and crumbly after cooking. If the potatoes are very big, cut them into half and pressure cook for fast cooking.


13) Place the chopped potatoes / chopped eggplant (Brinjal) in water until use. This will stop the Oxidation process.


14) Try to steam cook the vegetables as far as possible to preserve the nutrients.


15) Cut vegetables in uniform shape and size for any recipe. This will help in quick cooking and also save gas.


16) Cooking vegetable in high flame for brief time will seal the nutrients and also save fuel.


17) Keep chopped Raw banana / Plantain in buttermilk until use to avoid discolouration. Do the same with banana flower too.


18) Sometimes brinjal or eggplants will be bitter. You can keep the chopped eggplants in water and squeeze slightly before using.


19) To remove bitterness to an extent from bitter gourd, sprinkle some salt over the chopped bitter gourd, mix well and set aside for 15 minutes. Squeeze and discard the secreted water before cooking.


20) To break open the coconut easily, place it in cold water for 15 minutes.




To check More, Click Cooking tips - Part 2

                                  Cooking tips - Part 3
                                  Cooking tips - Part 4
                                  Cooking tips - Part 5

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