Tips , tips , tips.

Heat milk to boiling stage, add any one of - lime juice, citric acid, vinegar, sour whey or sour curd, stirring continuously till the clear whey separates. When the entire paneer is separated from the whey, leave covered for some time .Meanwhile fold thin muslin cloth twice or cheese coth folded twice on a colander, pour the mixture & drain out the whey. Most of the whey will be drained. Now pat roughly into a rectangle, place with cloth on a cutting board, cover with another cutting board over which, a heavy weight should be placed. You can keep a vessel full of water or a clean brick. After a few hours, remove weight, board & muslin cloth – a slab of paneer is ready. If necessary, give a run in the small mixi jar for 2,3 secs( to make it soft & smooth) & shape into a square.

If you use citric acid or lime juice, mix with some water & add for uniform distribution.

For 1 litre of milk,

If using curd, upto 3/4 cup sour curd– 2 tbsp lime juice – ¼ tsp citric acid – upto1/2 cup vinegar will be required.

If using whey, keep adding till the milk curdles completely.

In my personal experience, I find that sour curds give smooth paneer.

I salute you Mrs.Chithra, for literally spoiling us by readily answering our doubts and giving us one goody after another. Thanks for the response on Paneer -- it is my kid's favourite item, so was keen on making it at home. Will give it a try, in a couple of days.

I have started cleaning out & re-arranging all my shelves in the kitchen. Your pointers are exactly solving my probs. esp. of 'what to keep, where'; so I've printed out a word sheet of your tips and stuck it on my fridge-- thanks for inspiring me. For the first time ever my husband is also noticing the hustle-bustle in the kitchen and also looks like he's impressed --- though he will not openly tell it.
I'm having a few queries in regard to storing some items;

1] What containers are best suited for storing dal, rice, flours etc. , esp. without getting chokkam poochi in rice ? My friend stores all nuts, flours , in their original plastic pkt. itself , in the freezer !!!!
2] How to ideally store vegs. & herbs in the fridge ?
3] How to keep almirahs & floor around the cooking range clean ? As my range doesn't have a stand, I have to drag it out physically from it's hole in the wall, and clean around it--- as the area is otherwise too tiny for either my broom or mop to go around it. Esp. when I do some frying, next day itself I can see grease build-up on the floor area, how to avoid it please ?
4] How to season iron(irumbu) vessels before using initially ??? Which kind of pan is best suited for dosa, chapathi, deepfrying --- nonstick or iron ?

Your valuable advise is worth waiting for, so no rush at all,
With many thanks,
K K .

Just now saw the previous post, Mrs.Chithra, so curious to know how to make butter at home ? Using mixi ? Also, some guidelines on how to make proper ghee also will be useful. I'm using the commercially available block of unsalted butter, in freezer section of supermarkets. Can homemade butter also, be made into ghee ?
Sometimes my ghee gets an extra roasting [little theenjufied] brown colour & smell, so if I take it out a few min. earlier from the gas, it is still little buttery. Some pointers in this aspect also will be useful.

One more doubt I wanted to ask you, but kept forgetting. It is about idli-- what proportion & soaking time is best ? I do 4:1, rice :dal & soak overnight, but always get slightly moist , flattened idlis --- how to get puffed up and white colour idlis like hotel, don't know what I'm doing wrong ? Must I mix the entire fermented batter thoroughly & then make or just scoop from top & make the idlis.

Sorry for bothering with silly doubts,
Thanks & bye,
K K.

Dear KK,
No doubt is silly to ask or to be answered ! I can see in you " a budding cookery enthusiast " if you are not already one.
I was hoping, nobody will ask me the " idli recipe" because I follow a highly unconventional recipe, of my own ! Anyway, now the cat will have to be out of the bag !!!!!
Shall take time & answer all questions.
Regards,
Chithra.

Hi Mrs.Chithra,

I too have a few doubts-like how to maintain the stove top without getting oily and haldi stains. Nowadays, I use a steel plate or siever to close while boiling or frying the curries, but during deep frying, what to do? Is there any vessel available to close the vessel, vanalies to avoid the stove top and the sides.

Also, in the wooden cabinets and side of the walls, there are slightly oil stains. Anyone or Mrs.Chithra, pls suggest me in removing the same.

Thanks in advance.

Dear Ami,
Except wiping very promptly as soon as the cooking is over, there is no other way. when deep frying also,there are more tissues around than other things. I buy an Amway product called L.O.c - dilute it very much - it works like magic & does'nt leave a foam behind.
For any grease or stains, I find this very good. Immediate cleaning before it becomes obstinate, is the only solution.
Regards,
Chithra.

Dear Chitra,

thank you so much for your time and help.

If u happen to come across a good food processor, pleeeeeeease do inform me. Or even any small gadget that is useful in kitchen. I’ve got a good mixer, a table-top grinder, hand blender, etc. Nowadays I see a small mixer that is used in cookery shows (to grind small qty grinding like cashew, almond, etc.- wet grinding) but here in Mysore, I could only find small mixers for dry grinding, grinding powders like coffee bean powdering, etc.

We do see a lot of ads on processors in magazines but would like to get a feedback from somebody who has used it. I don’t want to keep it as a showpiece.

I shld pick up one corn remover. I’ve a query at this point.

Shld you cook American sweet corn for 3 whistles or less??? – Sometimes these corns become soggy after pressure-cooking; is there any ways of avoiding it. The corn kernels which look so golden and full look dulll and soggy after cooking. Do we need to add salt while cooking these corns?????????

Dal shld be refrigerated and not freezed, and what about the brinjal ? these need not be freezed, I suppose…

Let me try to stock few of these and see how it works..

sorry to bother you so much, Chitra..

Thank you soooooooooooooooooo very much for your help.

Love & Regards,

Dear Meena,
I have a Braun handblender which has 2 attachments extra - a mincer & an egg whisk. The mincer is very "versatile" - chops fine onions, carrots, capsicum, nuts, green chilli & ginger, purees tomatoes & grinds small quantities of pudina chutney, tomato chutney etc. I have a Preeti chef pro mixi - it has a small jar as well, ideal to grind dry & wet masala.
I pressurise A S corn for 3 whistles just to make sure to cook it soft ( we both are oldies, you know !).
Brinjal also, I keep in the freezer, to be on the safer side ! I may not use in 2,3 days consecutively . But I use up within a week.
Regards,
Chithra.

Dear Chitra,

I feel so embarassed to keep asking you so many things and what makes me even more conscious is the way you respond in super speed.

I feel you don't need any gadgets in the kitchen your hands can chop and do things much faster than any machine.

how do I thank you, Chitra???????????

You are just great. I just feel like hugging you now.....

thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much.

Love & regards,

Hello Meena,
You really made my day !
The hug is reciprocated - thank you !
Regards,
Chithra.