Tips , tips , tips.

Chitvish · Nov 30, 2005

Answer to your query.

Hello Vatsi,
Varalimanjal is the thin long variety of turmeric used in cooking - the other is gundu manjal used in giving thamboolam. If you can't get it where you live, substitute 1 tsp haldi powder for 1 varalimanjal.
Regards,
Chithra.

vatsi · Nov 30, 2005

Thanks

Hi Chitra,
Thanks for yor responce.
Vatsi

Chitvish · Dec 11, 2005

Tips on freezing a few things

Peas & mochai paruppu:

You can buy a few kilos during season & freeze them at home – it lasts for one year in automatic defrost refrigerator.

Buy fesh stocks.

Depod them.

Boil plenty of water in a big wide mouthed vessel, like a pressure cooker.

Loosely tie about 3 cups of the pulse in a thin towel & secure with a knot – it should not open away, halfway through.

When the water in the vessel starts boiling vigorously, lower this bundle in water.

Boiling will stop & resume after a few mts.

When it starts boiling again, note the time & allow it for exactly 2 mts.

Meanwhile keep a large basin of cold water ready by the stove side.

After 2 mts, remove the bundle & immediately plunge in cold water.

Take it to the sink & untie the bundle.

Transfer the contents to a strainer & show it under running water.

From very hot to very cold is the principle.

When the pulses have become cold, dry them on a cloth under the fan.

Pack ½ -1 cup in ziplock covers & put in the freezer.

If you take out a cover & thaw, don’t refreeze again.

I have been using this method successfully for many years now.

Mangoes:

Buy fresh mangoes.

Cut through & remove the pulp completely.

Liquidise it without adding anything, till smooth & free from fibres.

Freeze in small boxes or ziplock covers.

This can be used for cooking, desserts etc.

Lime juice:

Buy fresh lemons & take out the juice.

Add about ½ tsp salt to ½ cup juice & keep in a bottle in the fridge ( not freezer).

You can use it for 2-3 weeks.

Remember there is a little salt in it.

meenaprakash · Dec 11, 2005

very useful tip, that was.....

Dear Chitra,

Now that its mochai season, followed by mangoes, that was a useful tip.

thanks a lot and I never knew u can store these for such long period.

Chitvish · Dec 12, 2005

Kitchen Management - Some Tips

By writing this, I pay a tribute to my mother who insisted on every small thing to be done "perfect" in the kitchen.

I am giving this in a nutshell, “rather the tip of the iceberg”.

The essential ingredient for good cooking is an organised kitchen.

Srtictly follow “ A place for everything & Everything in its place “ !

It is a challenge to organise things in a kitchen built according to the builder’s idea. Anyway I shall attempt to give just a few points.

Keep all electrical gadgets near the power point – mixi, hand blender, electric coffee maker, food processor etc. Every time switch off the main point as soon as the work is over. IMMEDIATELY WASH THE GADGET, WIPE & ALLOW TO DRY. Never leave this undone since the jars become dry & cleaning involves more work later.

The same holds good for grinder. Fill it with water to soak till you finish your cooking & as soon as cooking is over, scrub with a sponge all crevices & wash well. Always wiping with a dry cloth is very important to prevent rust forming.

Automatic defrost fridge should be cleaned at least once a month. Do this very fast before thawing of the frozen things start.

The electric chimney should also be cleaned atleast once a month.

If you use microwave a lot, clean it atleast on alternate days. Boil a cup of water with a cut lemon in it & leave it for sometime to loosen the grease. SWITCH OFF.Using a mild diluted liquid soap, clean with a sponge. WIPE DRY IMMEDIATELY.

Next is, “where to keep what ?”.

Within the reach of both hands (upward as well as sideways ! ), keep the minimum necessary things you will need to use when you do the cooking.

On one side, keep the vessels like pressure cooker or pan, kadai, tempering ladle & the minimum vessels one uses for cooking (to boil water, milk etc).

On the other side keep, salt, sugar, tamarind, tur & moong dhals, sambar, rasam,red chilli, hing & haldi powders. This is the bare minimum.

Keep whatever oils you use for tempering etc in 2,3 small service containers. The main lot can be kept in the cupboard. Every time, the service container is fully used up, clean, wipe dry & refill immediately. Otherwise when the dosai is cooking on the tava, you will have to run refilling the oil container !

An immediate item next to the stove should be our “ masal dabba” containing – red chillies, dhaniya, pepper, jeera, methi seeds & gram dhal – generally used for tempering. Ofcourse, this varies with one’s style of cooking.

Before you start cooking, take out the necessary things from the fridge – vegetables you want that day, tomatoes, onions, curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies & ginger. This way, you save on fuel as well.

Cut the vegetables, grind masalas etc before you light the gas & start cooking.

If any dhal has to be cooked that day, when you boil milk first thing in the morning, boil water & pour on the dhal in a closed vessel.

I usually plan the menu the previous night, keep the dhal (whatever I want to use that day) in a container ready by the stove side so that I will not forget to soak.

For paruppusili, paruppurundai kuzambu etc, soak dhals last thing in the night & drain them, first thing in the morning. By the time you grind them, they will be well drained & ready.

One can boil necessry quantities of tur & moong dhals once in 4,5 days & keep in the fridge – with this, cooking one whistle rasam & sambar is very fast.

At the end of cooking, do the tempering for all dishes, one by one.

For those who use microwave for cooking:

I always boil milk in this. Normally it takes 10 mts for 1 litre & 5 mts for ½ litre.You will have to determine the time taken by your microwave oven only by trial.Wait for a few mts after it is done, to take it out. Splashing of liquid is very much written about, nowadays. So be careful.

Vegetables can be steamed or cooked in that.

Ofcourse one whistle method of cooking vegetables is already given in tips.

Another important thing is keeping wipes ready by the stove side. Anything spilled should be wiped IMMEDIATELY. Never allow it to dry.

Besides wipes, keep 2 kitchen towels around, one for wiping your hand & the other for cleaning the counter top. Always hang it in its hook so that it will get dried everytime after use. Every night put it for wash & keep a new set ready so that in the morning, a set of washed towels will welcome you in the kitchen.

Washing the kitchen sink twice a day is a must – once with cleaning liquid, thoroughly & another time with plain water. If you enter the kitchen after an interval, the sink should look dry. If you have no help, do not clutter the vessels in the sink, wash them when they are still moist & drain them immediately. Otherwise, once you leave the kitchen to attend to other work, this will get accumulated.

Always wipe vessels with a dry cloth & store, to prevent “ smelly vessels”.

I repeat, please follow “ A place for everything & Everything in its place “ !

A small tube of anti-burn cream within reach is a must for an emergency.

A note pad & pen is a must in the kitchen to note down immediately if any provision gets over. Also you can note some other errand which crosses your mind half way through cooking !

Whenever you want to use the grinder, plan & soak so that when you are cooking, grinding will go on simultaneousy & all work will be over fast.

If you freeze grated coconut for 3,4 days, in the night take it out from the freezer & keep in the fridge compartment to save on thawing time.

It is a good idea to cook small quantities of channa, moong & black eyed beans ( karamani) in small ziplock covers in the freezer & keep in the fridge compartment the previous night to save on time. Unless you plan & soak you cannot get them for immediate use. This is useful for kootu etc.

This topic is so vast that any other queries will be answered individually in tips.

Jaya · Dec 12, 2005

Dear Chithra,

It was really useful tips given by you especially newcomers to the kitchen, who have not done any kitchen work before marriage.

Regards

meenaprakash · Dec 13, 2005

query

Dear Chitra,

is it necessary to use a towel while cooking the peas or can we use a strainer?????????? dip inside and remvoe after 2 mins. - pls help.

what other veggies or nuts do you freeze?????????

how do we make sweet corn in syrup at home - heard the corn niblets shld be removed and pressure cooked with some sugar & salt and later mashed or unmashed and stored. can u give a proper step to do this???? what do you use to remove the corn niblets; running a knife doesn't look easy and result also wouldn't be that good - in a cookery prog I saw a plastic kitchen aid used to remove the corn niblets and was wondering where to get that? do u have any idea about that?

Now coming to butter, how do we store butter that we use everyday. I normally buy butter or sometime prepare at home and keep in a glass bowl filled with water. use butter whenever needed and place it back in the fridge and don't cover it. do share ur way of doing it, pls????????

storing cooked dal might come in handy but does it taste okay??
can u share about the storage jars used by you. in which container do u store dal - in steel or foodgrade plastics?????

like dal, is there anythingelse that u cook & store ??
My hubby hates maid in the kitchen and I do everything on my own and I don't know anything about these cook and store stuff; and sometimes I do get tired but still have to start from scratch for any recipe. the only help I take is to grate coconuts and store them as I find it difficult, after my fracture of my right hand few yrs back).

Also, whenever I plan for a chinese menu, my day starts early as cutting veg. takes all my time - could u pls give me the name of a good processor that can do this job for me??????????? cutting onions, beans, carrtos, greens, etc. or any other gadget that will make life in the kitchen easier?? do get see a lot of such things in the teleshopping and telebrands but wonder if it can perform all those functions..

thank you in advance, Chitra... pls do take ur time as I see a lot more queries scattered all over.

Chitvish · Dec 14, 2005

Hello Meena!

Dear Meena,
I shall post answers to all your queries in course of the day.
For peas, only bundling in a cloth is a must, as otherwise from a strainer, they will all " jump into the water " !
Regards,
Chithra.

meenaprakash · Dec 14, 2005

query.......

Dear Chitra,

I'm just adding on one more question - which is the best way to store pineapple?
Is it the pa in syrup that u've already given ?? if so, then which container would be good for storing pa.

can we also make palak puree and store in fridge??

I started from scractch and am a decent cook now but only after going thru ur postings, I prepared tamarind gravy and its so useful. Likewise do share any tip that might come in handy related to kitchen, cooking, storage etc.
pls don't think "IT IS TRIVIAL" and everybody might know - there are a lot of things we learn everyday - however small....

thank you again and pls do it at leisure. Hope I'm not piling up queiries.....

Chitvish · Dec 14, 2005

Hello Meena !

Dear Meena,
Some problem in the computer - got rectified only now & hence the delay in replying you.
I buy whole corn 4,5 at a time ( we now get the American Sweet Corn variety which is very good & soft). I pressurise for 3 whistles. I remove the corn kernels with the help of corn remover which is now available in shops like Currimbhoys. I pack kernels in small ziplock covers & freeze for 2-3 months. Just taking out one cover is easy for one time use likecorn on toast etc. I use it for upma, kuruma, pulao etc.
I have never made corn in syrup.
Butter - I buy & keep in butter box , wrapped in butter paper. I think, if you make butter at home also, after straining water completely, keeping in butter paper in a closed tupperware box is better.
Pineapple - I boil in sugar syrup & keep in syrup for maximum 1 week in the fridge, not freezer.
Palak - as soon as I buy, cook for 2,3 mts & blend. Freeze it just for a week, not more, because there is no need. But my sister freezes for more than a month. In fact she always stocks cooked vegetables in freezer in small ziplock covers.
Big brinjal - I roast, peel & mash, as soon as I buy. Keep in 2,3 ziplock covers, for not more than a week.
Dhal, I cook once in 4,5 days & keep in tupperware boxes. There is no loss of smell at all. Just take it out with a dry spoon whenever you need & put it back immediately.
I always stock sugarless khoa in the freezer.
Because there is no need for the same, I don't freeze cooked food for long. But my
ditecian friend (from U S) says you can freeze in individual servings for upto 3 months in a n automatic defrost fridge.
For Chinese food _ long time back, I bought the telebrand gadget. It is ideal for cabbage. But, carrot & onion get chopped too fast & we tend to chop our dear fingers as well ! They show it so nicely which is not so easy for us. Now in Chennai a shop called Surya sells, Chinese chopped vegetables - without onions.
Refrigerating & freezing in foodgrade plastic, particularly Tupperware is my routine.
Regards,
Chithra.