General cookery-related queries & Tips

Originally Posted by poojarajoria

hi ! my name is pooja and i live in hyderabad.i find cooking very difficult since i dont know lots of things to cook.i need some easy recipes on everyday dals,north indian curries etc to give me some confidence and generate my interest in cooking.

hi,
Initially cooking does seem to be difficult but when u are at it then it turns out to be easy and later even fun . i'll give u a simple veg recipe. try it out and then see.

take 4-5 medium sized potato and cut it out into small pieces.
In a cooking vessel heat some oil. Put Methi seeds when oil is hot so that it crackkles and starts turning brown.add the potatoes and then fry it for 2-3 min. Add ginger garlic paste (abt 1n1/2 tsp). stir to mix well. add 1/2 tsp of turmeric(haldi) powder, 1/2 tsp of chilli powder,1/2 tsp of zeera (cummin) powder and 2 tsp of coriander powder(dhanya), 1 green chilli, salt to taste and a little pepper powder or garam masala powder. mix well, bhunofy. add water and let it cook. when its tender as in done then add 2 tomatoes and some chopped dhanya patti( kothmir) . let it again cook so that tomatoes are cooked well into the gravy. when oil comes out of the gravy then the gravy is ready.
hope it turns out well.

hi friends

i find tilda american long grain rice very good for every day and sometimes when i make biryani i use basmati rice.

i tried easy cook rice but it was very dry and also tried massoor rice yuck....

which kind of rice are u eating?

Hi,
i use sona masoori for rice.
Par boiled rice for idly and dosa.
It works out fine in both the cases.


Reg,
Shantha Kasiarunachalam

Hi,
I use sonamasoori (raja/lakshmi/mayur) brand every day for rice and same rice for idly also.

thanks,
Punitha

Hi,

I use Sonamassori rice for cooking and american brand long grain rice for making idlies and dosa.Sometimes i use the longgrain rice for cooking too.It comes out well.

i saw most of u cook massoor rice.

when i cooked it, it was dry. how many glass of water i have to put?

for 4 glasses of rice i put 6 and half water, is it right?

thanks

and what is the best rice for u?

Hi,

I use Sona masoori rice for everyday cooking. Usually for rice the water should be double i.e. rice:water should be 1:2 and sometimes a little more than that. For mixed rice etc.. a little less than double should be fine.

I totally agree with Naveena.

Water amt shud be double the rice quantity.This proportion is for regular rice(little spongy) to be used with kulambu and rasam.For making fried rice i use little say 1/2 tumbler less than the total amt of water so that it is grainy enough for making fried rice.

hi friends,
I have an extra freezer in the garage where I store food.. especially pickles which brought from India. I have pickles i bought 2 years before...just
getting scared can i still use them? they really tastes good once i thaw it...
please share your experiences...

Thanks in advance

Dear Tulasi,

Yes you can use them. I have 2 year old pickles that i store out in room temperature and they have not got spoilt. So just thaw, i would suggest that you add a little extra oil ( that which has been used to make the pickle like mustard oil or gingelly oil ) an mix it thoroughly before using. As long as the oil does not give off the stale odour, it is good to use.

Vandhana