Tips and Tricks

  Some tips on Cooking, Baking and Grilling. Some passed on to me from my mother, mother in law, sister and friends and some that I learnt the hard way.

Cooking with vegetables

  • v Wash all vegetables before using  
  • v Wash orkra and let the water dry completely or pat dry with a kitchen cloth before you begin cutting else they become one big gooey mess
  • v Saok whole bitter gourd in salt water for 15 minutes some time before cutting this might get rid of the sulphur based pesticides that are used on these vegetables
  • v Soak fruits especially grapes and berries in salted water for 10 minutes.

  • v Remove the stems of green chilies while storing them .This will help them stay fresh for long
  • v If you forget to soak Chana/Rajma overnight. Just soak the chana/Rajma in the boiling water for an hour before cooking.
  • v If you have some vegetable or meat curry that is burnt or stuck to the bottom of the pan you can salvage whats left of the dish by placing the entire vessel in water for about 20 minutes to remove the burnt smell and scrape of what you can save and throw the rest. (Believe me this works saved and entire pot of aviyal this way just had to throw what stuck at the bottom but was the best dish of the sadhya).
  • v Always boil milk before using to make curd.
  • v For setting curd/yougurt in the winter use a ceramic/glass bowl and place in the oven with the light on.
  • v To ferment idli and dosa batter esp in winter never add salt after grinding and place it in the oven with the light on. Add the salt just prior to cooking.
  • v Fry the ground masala in reduced flame, so that it retains its colour and taste



Cooking with Seafood and Meat

  • v Thoroughly wash all seafood and meat in water even the frozen seafood and meat before cooking.
  • v Always wash seafood with sea salt to get rid of the smell or slime on their skin.
  • v Use separate set of utensils and tools (knifes and cutting board) to handle raw seafood and meat.
  • v Remove as much as fat meat (I know fat makes it delicious) from the meat before cooking because all the bad stuff that they feed the animals is always stored in their fat deposits.
  • v Pressure cook your meat and poultry without water if you want less gravy

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Author

singapore, Singapore
Hello, Welcome to Eleventeen Recipes and counting authored by me, Shibi. This blog is an outlet to share my love for food, cooking and clicking. It includes a collection of traditional recipes from my mom, mother-in-law, sister and friends kitchens, and a few from cook books, other food blogs, and a few of my own experiments. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. Thank you.