Modern Microwave Cooking

Sweet potato - 250 gms

Bombay rava - 250 gms

Sugar - 500 gms

Water - 750 ml

Ghee - 200 ml

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Cut sweet potato into 3,4 pieces & boil in 1 cup of water – MW hi for 5-6 mts till it becomes soft.

Peel & finely mash the sweet potato.

Mix with half of the ghee & MW hi for 10 mts or a few more mts till the colour changes.

Remember to stir it every 3 mts.

Next in another vessel, mix the remaining ghee & rava & MW hi for 5 mts, stirring once in between.

Mix water & sugar in a big bowl & microwave for 10 mts or more, stirring well, till the sugar dissolves completely & the syrup becomes slightly sticky.

Remove & add roasted rava & sweet potato paste.

Mix well & MW first for 10 mts on hi, stirring intermittently.

Then MW medium till the water is completely absorbed.

Remove, add cardamom powder & decorate with nuts.
SP halwa.JPG

This is purely based on my personal experience in M W cooking for the past 12 yrs.
The timings will vary slightly depending on the wattage and size of the oven.
By experience, it can be easily judged over a period of few days & made note of - this is very important.

1 – Milk can be boiled in M W. Do not use the ordinary plastic mugs. Use special mugs available for this like Borosil , Pyrex etc. Usually for 500 ml, the time is 5 mts Hi and 5 Lo., if the milk is taken from the fridge, cold. Wait for a min and then take out . Any liquid if it is vigorously boiling, should be allowed to stand for a few secs and then taken out. This prevents splashing on your face - this is least likely, so do not worry.

2 – A MW steamer is one of the best investments. When steaming vegetables, it gives a crisp-soft texture. Always give 3,4 mts resting time before taking out.
Vegetables like Ladies’ finger, brinjal etc can be steamed for 5-6 mts. Steamed this way, they need less oil for shallow frying.
For Ladies’ finger, sprinkle 1 tsp lime juice, add a pinch of haldi , mix well & steam. This way, stickiness will go away.
For brinjal, just a pinch of haldi is enough.

3 – Other vegetables that can be steamed are – avarakkai ( broad beans), French beans, carrot, kovaikkai, cubed yam ( chenai), cubed raw banana, chow chow,cubed potato ( I use with skin), peas, cauliflower, broccoli, babycorn etc. The last 3 will cook faster than the others. Cluster beans should be very tender. The average timing for steaming the above vegetables is 8-10 mts, depending on the oven and your preference. Test the time in your own MW oven & the desired softness.
Potatoes should be cut into 4, seppankizangu into small size – they should be boiled in just enough water in a shallow vessel, for 8-10 mts, rested & then taken out. Cover loosely.

4 – For cooking safest is to use glass like Corelle, Pyrex, Borosil and ceramic. Never cook in plastic, use it only for reheating.

5 - If you do not have a steamer, add about ½ cup of water to vegetables, cover with a clingfilm(or plastic wrap), make a few slits on it & cook. But Ladies’ finger & brinjal cannot be cooked this way. Remove plastic wrap carefully from hot food. Lift up the farthest edge and pull it toward you so the steam will be released away from you.


6 - For masoor dhal and moong dhal, first soak in boiling water for 30 mts- 1 hr. Then cook in just enough water with one drop of oil (to prevent overflow) for 6-8 mts or more if you want it very soft.
For gram dhal & tur dhal, to be used in curries ( cooked, but not mashed), I usually soak for 6 hrs & cook with just enough water with haldi & a drop of oil for 8 mts. Remember, this softness is not sufficient for sambar.

7 – For paruppusili, steam the raw coarsely ground dhal mixed with little oil for just 3 mts. More time will make it dry.

8 – Idlis can be reheated by steaming for 2 mts or more, if from the freezer.

9 – For daily cooking I add 2 tbsp of water to tamarind paste + chopped tomatoes + haldi in a shallow vessel. M W Hi for 3-4 mts. Cool & blend. Use this for rasam, sambar, vathakuzambu etc.

10 – I use M W for making ghee from butter – this is purely subjective. If you are scared, please do not go ahead !
2 litre shallow bowl is ideal for 500 gms unsalted butter. MW for 12 mts, till honey colour comes. Use only store bought and moisture free butter. Homemade butter is likely to overflow. I use it for Aavin butter.

8 - Sweets like halwas, kesaris are best made in M W, since very little ghee is needed.

9 – For oats porridge, take oats in a shallow vessel, add twice the volume of water, MW for 2 mts. Ten MW LO for 2-3 more mts, if you prefer. I usually soak oats in water for 15 mts & then MW – it is just perfect.
Dalia porridge can be made the same way, but takes 5, 6 mts on Hi.
Any fine flour will become lumpy without constant stirring & so it is not possible to make ragi kanji etc.

10 – When you cook potatoes, brinjal etc whole, poke a few slits, to prevent bursting.

11 – Standing time is important after cooking.
It allows the food to finish cooking and gives the flavors time to blend, thereby improving the taste of the food.

12 – Round dishes are better because the utensils with rounded edges will absorb microwave energy more evenly.

13 – Never use aluminium foil since it is metal based.

14 – Chopped spinach, well washed can be cooked without adding extra water. It will cook in about 5 mts. Turn it over once, halfway through.
The colour of spinach & tomatoes, when cooked in MW is unbelievably good !

15 – Mine is a 700 watt oven & my timings go by that. So if yours is less or more than 700 watts, learn how to increase or decrease cooking times. When you try a new recipe, note down the results right on the recipe so that next time you will know the changes or adjustments you need to make.

16 – When cooking pulaos, use a slightly big vessel so that there will not be overflowing halfway through.
If you are assembling all cooked ingredients, say as for a layered pulao, correct size vessel can be used. Cover with a plastic film with 1 or 2 slits, so that the flavour will be retained better.

17 - You can reduce the liquid used in cooking soups, vegetables, fruits, and main dishes by about one third because less evaporates in microwave cooking.
Fat required in M W cooking is also less.

18 – For fresh copra to be powdered:-
Spread say, ½ cup of grated coconut in a plate & MW medium for 5 mtes. Test if it is crumbly. Otherwise MW for a mte more.

19 – We can roast raw peanuts. Spread on a plate ½ cup raw peanuts. MW on med-high for 5 mts, just mixing once halfway through. If it is not crisp enough, MW foe a few more secs.

20 - When sauteing, use least fat. It is sufficient in MW.

Love,
Chithra.

If you want any photos of MW shallow vessels etc, I can do it.

After reading the tips, try the recipes I have given. You can follow all of them without difficulty.
So, you have become the proud owner of M W ?
Love,
Chithra.

dear Chith,
You tips are wonderful. There will be no room for doubt for anyone regarding microwave. awaitng photographs of your containers and vessels.I am overwhelmed!You clear doubts before asking!
Regards,
Meenu

If you want the photos of vessels
1 - tell me what exactly you want
2 - there heve to be more requests!!!
See, suddenly I have become very demanding - ha ha ha !
Love,
Chith.

Dear ChitVish,

The tips for MW is very useful. I have always wondered how to cook dhals (esp payatham paruppu) in MW. I shall take a printout and stick it on top of my cabinet adjacent to the MW. Thanks so much!!

Btw, I tried MW Semia uppuma and it was very delicious.

Regards
Vidya

Thankyou very much for the F B.
Infact I love "லேசா முழிச்சுண்டு இருக்கிற பருப்பு" in my curries like carrot, cabbage, beans etc. MW cooked dhal is ideal !
Next I will post MW Manathakkali Keerai curry with moong dhal - it is very nice, that you can make a meal out of it ! Any keerai curry ( sundal, we say) can be made that way.
Love,
Chithra.

Thanks Chithra for the amazing tips. I am taking a printo out of it. Wld make use of the tips to make my cooking effective in a MW oven.

BTW tried MW chocolate Fudge and it came out excellent. The timing was little lesser becos my oven has 950W at High output. Kids just loved it and vanished immediately, did not give me time to wrap it beautifully as given in the photo.
Also I feel that fudge would have been better if powdered sugar was used, what say?
also how to melt butter or chocolates( for baking and cookies recipe) in oven?

My kids request to Chithra Aunty - More chocolate recipes.
Please take your time.

I am very glad that you loved the tips !
I feel it is not necessary to powder sugar, but there is nothing wrong in doing it, as well.
I have 2 more chocolate recipes ready - I shall send you by P M.
Thanks for the F B, Laxmi !
Love,
Chithra.

Dear Chithra,
My MW has my daughter's age.But still I do use it only for heating and some times for grilling..Here, tips you have given is very useful, have copied it..Planning to try some MW recipes.. Seeing the fudge's pic children are asking could we make it at home, How aunty learned all these ..THANKS DEAR..
love you,
Seena.