Tips'n'Tricks 4 Food

Food tips 1. Rubbing the inside of the cooking vessel with vegetable oil will also prevent noodles,spaghetti,and similar starches from boiling over. 2. Give mashed potatoes a beautiful whipped cream look by adding HOT milk to them before you start mashing. 3. To test if the consistency of your dahiwada batter is correct, drop a little batter into a cup of water. If it floats it is ready to be fried. 4. Run your ice cream scoop under hot water and it will cut through the ice cream more easily and make neat smooth scoops. 5. To ripen tomatoes-put them in a brown paper bag in a dark pantry and they will ripen over night. 6. To keep cauliflower white while cooking, add a little milk to the water to cook it. 7. Tender corn : When boiling corn, do not add salt to the water, add a little sugar, salt toughens the corn. 8. When a recipe calls for adding oil, garlic, and onions to a pan, always add garlic last. This keeps it from burning and tasting bitter. 9. To help gelatin hold its shape when unmolded, add a teaspoon of white vinegar to the recipe. 10. Turn a thoroughly heated bowl over hard butter and in no time you will get soft butter.

11. Dough sticking to the rolling pin - Keep it in the freezer for a few minutes before using.

12. Add a lump of butter or a few tea spoons of cooking oil to the water. Good for Rice, noodles or Spaghetti.

13. To cook rice without sticking add a spoon full of vinegar in it.

14. If noodles/pasta has to be used after some time, then refresh the boiled noodles in cold water and drain. This way they will not stick to each other.

15. Want a quick salad dressing - Blend a cup of curd with little lime juice and seasoning and toss the salad into it.

16. Be Alert Of Stainless Steel Sink - When using the garbage disposal, make sure your hands are dry, and do not touch your sink when turning it on as it may lead to serious injuries due to electrocution . If hands are damp, use a dry towel to flip the disposal switch, but remember to LIFT YOUR OTHER HAND OFF OF THE SINK.

17. Use a dry erase marker to write messages on your refrigerator. The shiny surface is easy to wipe clean with a paper towel.

18. No fresh bread - Just keep leftover hardened bread on the lid of a pan containing hot water. The slices will become soft in no time.

19. Stale bread - Sprinkle a little milk over it and place it in a moderately hot oven for 15 minutes. It will regain its taste & crispness.

20. Curd in winter - Set in a ceramic container and place it on the voltage stabilizer of your refrigerator

21. When making bread, substitute non-dairy creamer instead of dry milk.

22. To increase the quantity of curd for 'raitas' grind freshly grated coconut to a fine paste and mix with the curd.

23. Use an ice cream scoop to easily remove the seeds from melons.

24. No chili sauce - Grind little bit of chili pickle in the mixer for 2-3 minutes so as to obtain a smooth paste and then mix with your ordinary tomato ketchup to obtain a chili sauce.

25. Biscuits - Keep a piece of blotting paper at the bottom of the biscuit jar.They will remain fresh for long time.

26. Overripe tomatoes - Make them firm by dipping them in cold water,add some salt and leave overnight.

27. Substitute of wine in recipes is grape juice.

28. To get rid of the smell of eggs in the cakes, add one tablespoon honey to the cake batter while beating it as it will make the taste better, too!

29. Yogurt - Always beat the yogurt with a fork first and then add it to the bowl slowly & gradually, stirring continuously, to prevent it from curdling.

30. Burnt Food - Remove the top portion carefully without stirring and throw away the rest. If any burnt smell remains, place a slice of bread over that food ,cover the vessel and leave for five minutes.

Food tips

31. Chilled cucumber soup serve as a appetizer in hot humid climate. Serve by putting a little powdered nutmeg in it.

32. Lady Finger- For a change, slice the bhindis lengthwise and dip in a thin besan batter. Deep fry and love eating it.

33. Want to decorate a Salad - Use hollowed halves of orange, grapefruit or melon halves for perfect salad and dessert bowls.

34. Store soft cookies tightly covered, and crisp cookies loosely covered.

35. Instead of throwing away bread heels or leftover drybread, use them to make bread crumbs & store them in the freezer.

36. For clean storage of radish remove there tops before putting in the refrigerator.

37. Stale Chapatis - Just wrap them in a clean cloth and pack them in an airtight container which fits into your pressure cooker.Cook it for two whistles and serve fresh.

38. Store spices in a cool, dry place as heat and light may deteriorate them.

39. Papads - Wrap them in a polythene sheet and store along with rice or ‘dal.They will not break or crack.

40. To ripen the bananas quickly for a recipe - Enclose them in a brown paper bag with an apple for 2-3 days.

41. Slice meat/ chicken when partially frozen you'll get thin slices.

42. Thirst Quencher for Summers - Serve the fruit cubes of watermelon and pour into tall glasses and garnish with mint.You can also take out the juice of it & serve.

43. Once the Cucumber has been cutted ; wrap it in a paper towel & it will not get soggy for up to 2 weeks.

44. Removing a cooked squash from its shell:- Use an ice cream scoop .

45. Crispy Pakodas - Add a little cornflour to the gramflour while mixing the dough.

46. Save Oil - When you begin frying "Puris, Pakodas," add a pinch of salt to the oil and will absorb less oil.

47. Preserving white color in cauliflower and cabbage - While cooking add a teaspoon of milk.

48. Crisp puris - At the time of kneading add a little rice flour to the wheat flour .

49. Unbleached all purpose flour is much better & more nutritious than the bleached flour.

50. Avoid stickiness in Rice - Add a few drops of lemon juice & a pinch of sugar to the rice while cooking.

51. White chocolate is not really chocolate at all but a combination of cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids and other flavorings.

52. Chopping dry fruits - Freeze them first for one hour & then dip the knife into hot water before cutting them.

53. Don't whip the Heavy cream once it has thawed or butter will form .Cream will whip faster if you chill the bowl and beaters first or whip over a tray of iced water or ice cubes OR just add a couple drops of lemon juice. Whip in sharp upward strokes till soft peaks form.Keep in refrigerator till used.

54. Check whether your kitchen measuring scale is accurate by placing nine pennies on the scale. They should weigh 1 ounce.

55. Hurry to cook 'dal' - Add a little oil and turmeric powder to the dal before placing it in the cooker. It will be done in just 10 minutes. Guaranteed!!!!!!

56. Instead of oil sauté meat and vegetables in fruit juice or Worcestershire sauce.

57. Slicing fresh mushrooms - Use a metal egg slicer.

58. Grating or cutting citrus fruits - Use it directly from the refrigerator as the fruit will be firmer and easier to handle

59. To pour out Honey easily from the measuring cup just dust your measuring cup with flour or cooking spray .

60. Boiling potatoes - Peel and cut potatoes and boil them in water in which a little vinegar is added . It will retain their texture & will be done in no time.It will also avoid bad odor and to give a good color to old potatoes .

Food tips

61. Hurry to make pulses like chana, Rajma etc - Just put the them in a flask full of boiling water for an hour & then they are ready for cooking.

62. Measuring Pans - Sizes may vary from top & even from rim to rim,like a 10-inch pan might measure 9-3/4" or 10-1/4 ".

63. Always use grated tomatoes as they’ll cook faster.

64. Muffins - Always use an ice cream scoop to fill muffin cups with batter.

65. Once baking soda has lost its punch, use it in the refrigerator or freezer to absorb odors.

66. Easy way to roll out Bhatura - Roll out each ball of dough into a small puri and cover with a damp cloth. At the time of serving roll each 'puri' into a desired size; & then fry them till done.This is the easier way to roll out the bhatura.

67. Crispy lady finger - While cooking add a few drops of lemon juice OR a spoonful of curd to the ladyfingers for a crispy taste as they will not stick to the vessel & will not turn black.

68. Grilling -It saves cooking time and energy & is healthier than frying , and usually involves less clean up.

69. Store raisins in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will stay fresh for much longer. Pour very hot water over them if they had harden, after that drain them immediately, and spread on a paper towel to dry.

70. Curry a bit oily and pungent - Take two bread slices , powder them coarsely & add this to the curry and mix well.Bread will absorb all the excess oil and spice.

71. Excessive oil in vegetables - Sprinkle a little gramflour over the vegetables. Gramflour absorbs the excess oil and makes the vegetable tastier.

72. Potato cutlets - Add salt to the water in which the potato are boiling as potatoes absorb salt better this way.

73. Carrot burfi - While making Burfi add a cupful of grated carrot to the coconut & it will give you "natural" coloring and is very nutritious.

74. Boil noodles, macaroni or pasta with little bit of oil till tender and drain. This way they will not stick to each other.

75. French fries - At the very first blanch & cut potatoes in hot water .Then deep-fry in very hot oil till crisp. remember do not add too many potatoes at once to the oil as this causes the temperature of the oil to come down and all that you will get is soggy & greasy fries.

76. To avoid Fish odor - Use one teaspoon baking soda with a quart of water.

77. Prevent papad from drying & breaking. HOW ? Just wrap them in polythene and store them along with Rice OR Dal.

78. Don't throw away bones of mutton or chicken. Use them for making stock for soup, gravy or curry.

79. Adding olive oil to pizza dough creates a crisp with tender interior. Swab the top of the dough before adding toppings to keep dough from drying out.

80. When cooking something in a pressure-cooker, add a little tamarind or a small piece of lemon along with water. It prevents the inside of the vessel from getting discolored

81. After opening a bottle of sauce, first introduce a drinking straw into the bottle all the way down, turn it clockwise and anti clockwise and then take out the straw.The sauce will flow freely.

82. For just a drop or two of lemon juice,dont cut the lemon and cause it to dry.Instead, pierce a with a clean thick needle and squeeze out as much needed.

83. While making paneer from milk, don't throw away the paneer water. Water can be used for making soft dough for chapatis or can be used in dals.

84. To prevent boiled potatoes from sticking to the grater, always apply little oil on the grater.

85. If Your food burns at the bottom of the saucepan then just fill up the pan with hot water and half a handful of salt. Then, boil for a while. This will loosen the burnt matter, which can then be easily scraped off.

86. If there is smell emating from the fish rub Gram flour (besan) thoroughly to it, keep it for sometime and then wash it under water.

87. Store curry leaves in silver foil, it will last as much as one month.

88. To make dosas more crispy add half a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds(methi dana) to the lentil and rice mixture while soaking.

89. Whenever a recipe calls for using ginger and garlic paste in curries, always use garlic at 60% ratio and ginger at 40% as ginger is very strong and may make your dish sharp and pungent.

90. If you have used the seeds of Cardamom for something DO not throw away the skin of cardamom instead put them in the teabox and your tea will start having the flavor of cardamom.

Food tips

91. Keep chapatis soft & fresh by place a few pieces of ginger in the container.

92. Add a spoonful of honey to your custard along with sugar for a better taste.

93. To cook your dhal faster, add a drop of Castor oil or Ghee.

94. While making chaats OR Bhel use cornflakes as a substitute for sev or papdis. It is available everywhere and give the same crunchiness to a dish.

95. Smear your hands with a little tamarind juice while collecting butter from churned cream. The butter will not stick to the hands.

96. Always use a clean pair of kitchen scissors to trim edges of bread. Much neater and less messy edges as compared to those trimmed with a knife.

97. Deep fried dish can be decorated with slices of lemon OR sliced onions OR sliced Eggs.

98. Spinach based gravies can be garnished OR decorated with cream.

99. Dals & Gravies especially light colored can be garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

100. While making burgers, make a hole in the center of the burger about the size of a dime. This allows the burger to cook from the inside as well as the outside and will cook more evenly. You bet it tastes really good. 101. Add little milk while boiling potatoes to soften and to cook faster. 102. Salt toughens eggs so add it to the egg dishes only after they're cooked. Also Remember cook all egg dishes at low or moderate heat to avoid toughing. 103. Ice-cream won’t form ice crystals in the freezer if you cover the container tightly with a plastic wrap, before putting on the lid. 104. If your curry or gravy becomes very salty just cut a raw potato into cubes and add it into the curry. Leave in for 15-20 minutes. Remove before serving. The potatoes absorb all the excess salt. 105. Never beat idli batter too much because the air which has already incorporated during fermentation is lost and results in not-so-soft idlis. 106. Add a little freshly beaten cream into curds for a creamier raita. 107. To avoid the mouldy smell in your breadbox, wash your breadbox once a week with a piece of cotton wool dipped in vinegar. 108. Soak lentils in water an hour before cooking. Which reduces their cooking time & as well as helps in taking out damaged seeds which float on the top. 109. Don't use soda bicarbonate for boiling vegetables as it destroys the vitamins present. 110. Use aluminum containers instead of steel to set the ice-cream faster.