Cooking Tips

• Add a pinch of turmeric powder to the oil before adding green vegetables. The vegetables will retain their greenness better even after cooking.
  
• Blanch green leafy vegetables (fenugreek, spinach, etc.) in boiling water for 2 minutes. Hold under cold running water, press out excess water, and store in freezer for about 2 weeks without spoiling.
  
• If there is a lot of leftover paneer crumbs, dry in a warm oven. Fry till crisp and store in the fridge. Soften in boiling water, drain and add to thicken gravies of any vegetables and curries.
  
• Wrap potatoes etc. which you may want to bake in the coals, in foil, to retain moisture and also to avoid becoming sooty black.
  
• To bake potatoes crisp and brown, soak the peeled potatoes in hot water for a while, pat dry and pierce all over with a fork before placing them in hot fat along with the roast.
  
• Always soak cauliflower in warm salted water for some time to get rid of the tiny insects sometimes present deep inside the florets and not visible to the eye.
  
• Use chilli oil instead of the ordinary oil, if you want to make the dish spicier.
  
• If you happen to put excess salt in the curry, cut a raw potato into about 10 pieces and drop them into the curry & leave for 15 min. They will absorb the excess salt. Remove the pieces before serving.

• Grease the grated on both sides with oil before grating sticky items like cheese or boiled potatoes, to allow for smoother grating.
  
• Always hold silver foil with edges, invert over the dish. Never attempt to hold with hand. It will stick to the fingers. If small bits are required, cut folded in paper and then apply as above. Smoothen out with the paper itself.
  
• Place a tsp. of soda bicarb in a corner of the fridge in a small crucible. This will keep smells of foods in the fridge from permeating each other.
  
• To allow free flow of sauce from a sauce bottle to a pourer, insert a drinking straw half way, into the bottle and hold it there lightly with one hand while pouring with the other.
  
• To prevent moulding of papads during monsoons, slip in a piece of blotting paper under the papads in the container.
  
• To keep coriander and other leafy greens fresh longer, wrap in newspaper and place in a perforated container in the fridge.
  
• Insert a hairpin into grapes to deseed them without cutting.
  
• If the milk begins to boil over, quickly sprinkle a little cold water over it and the overflow will subside.