I have compiled 100 handy hints which you folks always wanted to know, but did not know whom to ask. Do not forget to thank me after reading this.
1. Do not throw away hard pieces of stale bread. Dry them in the sun or on the tawa and grind and use as breadcrumbs.
2. Add a little milk to the onions while frying. This will help to retain the rich color and prevent them from burning.
3. While frying mushrooms, add a tsp of lemon juice to the butter. This will prevent them from breaking
4. While cutting hardboiled eggs, the yolk often tends to break. To avoid this dip the knife in ice cold water for a few seconds and then cut smoothly.
5. To 5 kg basmati rice of cheaper qlty add 1 kg of superior qlty and sprinkle a little oil and mix well with your hand. Store in airtight container for 6 months. All the rice will now taste like the superior qlty one.
6. Add wheat flour to the leftover rasagulla syrup and mix to a smooth batter. Keep overnight. Treat yourself to sweet chelas (pancakes) for breakfast the next day.
7. If home made gulab jamuns have not turned out soft and fluffy, steam them in a pressure cooker using the weight along with the syrup for 10 minutes
8. If a recipe requires self raising flour you can make your own by sieving each cup of maida with 1 Ω tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt.
9. To make softer idlis and dosas mix a little cooked rice while grinding the batter.
10. To increase the quantity of fresh cream by say 250 grams add half a cup thick curd and half cup of milk and beat well. This will double the qty and also the taste will be better
11. To boil cracked eggs add some vinegar to the water. In this case the egg wonít leak out.
12. For making soft chappatis add a mashed boiled potato while mixing the dough.
13. To make a quick sauce for boiled chicken or fish stir 2 tsp curry powder into 1 cup of curd and add a little salt. Heat to serving temperature and spoon over each serving.
14. When the sauce is almost over in the chilly sauce bottle. Add some limejuice and shake well and use as a salad dressing.
15. While cooking bitter gourd add a few pieces of raw mango to remove the bitterness and add a little tang to the curry.
16. Liquid glucose when added to ice cream mixture makes it smooth and velvety.
17. Rub your hands with some salt to remove the odor of garlic.
18. To avoid the nauseating smell while cooking cauliflower try one of the following:
19. Sprinkle a little milk powder.
20. Cook with vinegar and salt and turmeric.
21. Wrap half slice of bread in a muslin cloth and place it in the cooking pan.
22. Add a few drops of lemon.
23. Season the oil with cinnamon and clove or add sugar.
24. Cook with piece of ginger.
25. Add 2 or 3 tbsp of buttermilk.
26. Add a few mint leaves while cooking
27. To avoid malai or film formations on custard sprinkle a little sugar and cover the dish.
28. Ladyfinger curry wonít turn out sticky if you add amchur to it.
29. If the curd is excessively sour add some fresh pieces of coconut to reduce the sourness.
30. Make raisins at home. Add 1 tbsp ghee and 1 tsp soda bicarb to 1 liter of boiling water. Break 1 kg of seedless grapes into small bunches and dip each bunch in the boiling water counting up to ten. Remove from water and spread on a muslin cloth to dry
31. After taking out the butter from milk cream (malai) add a little milk or curd to the remaining buttermilk and boil. You now have soft paneer, which is good for small children and those with weak stomach.
32. While making fresh salad cut the toms vertically and not horizontally to get firmer slices. If the toms are soft keep them in a bowl of iced water before cutting.
33. Potato peels can make tasty wafer. Immerse the peel in warm water to which a pinch of salt is added and then dry and deep-fry it.
34. If you want the lemon to last for a month apply coconut oil over them and place in an open tray in the fridge.
35. To prevent the ladyfingers from being sticky toss the chopped pieces in 1 tab of lemon juice before frying or cooking.
36. To get rid of the eggy smells in cakes add 1 tab of honey to the cake batter. The cake will taste better too.
37. To make tasty banana bread beat 250gm flour, 250gm sugar and 60 ml fat, 3 bananas and 1 Ω tsp baking powder and bake till done.
38. If you need to use toms in any curry just grate them in. they cook faster as the skin peels automatically.
39. Add some bay leaves to the raw rice when storing it. Besides keeping worms away it is very fragrant.
40. For any paneer curry add a little grated paneer to the gravy for a delicious taste
41. Add one tablespoon of water to an egg before beating it for an omelet. The omelet will turn out fluffier and larger.
42. When you put chapatis in a container place a few pieces of ginger in the container. The chapatis will remain softer and fresh.
43. When frying fish add a pinch of turmeric powder to the oil to prevent the spluttering out of the pan.
44. If you want to keep the salad fresh first chill the bowl in which you intend to serve the salad.
45. Concentrated fruit juices can be used as sauces for plain vanilla ice cream.
46. When there is any excess oil in any fried veggie add some gram flour over it.
47. Add 10 cloves to the container in which cashew is kept to keep worms and ants away
48. To left over dhal curry add 10 ñ15 small onions fried in ghee. Then grind together 1 medium sized onion, º cup coconut grated and 2 tsp coriander powder and add this to the dhal and keep on high heat till it boils. Now tasty onion sambar is ready.
49. To left over carrot and beans poriyal add some leftover snake gourd koottu. Then add Ω cup coconut milk, turmeric powder, chilli powder, rasam powder, salt and corn flour and bring to a boil. Add chopped coriander leaves to get a fine korma.
50. Add 1 cup grated coconut and 1 cup of sugar to the idli batter to make sweet idlis
51. For the sambar instead of using whole toms etc. add ground green chillies, toms and onion to the otherwise normal mixture.
52. Soak old tamarind in water in which rice has been washed to give the tamarind juice a lighter color instead of the dark color which the tamarind imparts to the water.
53. Chop an onion finely and add a tbsp of sugar and a small piece of ginger to it and mix well and leave overnight. The syrup that collects in the morning is a safe and effective cough mixture for small children.
54. Make ice cubes of diluted whisky rum etc. and use these instead of ice cubes to chill the drink. This preserves the concentration of the drink and helps retain its original flavor.
55. Boil a few flakes of garlic with the mushrooms and if they are poisonous the water will turn black.
56. To retain the green color of veggies, sprinkle some sugar over them while cooking.
57. To remove the stickiness off your palm after cutting cucumbers apply a little coconut oil and wash with soap and water.
58. A little lemon juice and a spoonful of ginger juice in a bottle of soda help relieve indigestion.
59. Add a pinch of soda bicarbonate to the milk to prevent it from curdling.
60. To remove vanaspati from a packet first cut the packet and remove the contents and place the packet in the fridge for 5 hrs and now you can scrape out the contents easily.
61. Mix one tbsp milk with one level dessertspoon of custard powder as a substitute for each egg to be used while making the cake batter.
62. While preparing egg less cake, curdle half a cup of milk with lemon and mix this with the other ingredients. This makes the cake soft.
63. If it is difficult to whip cream add a little egg white to it and then beat it. One egg white is enough for 2 cups of cream.
64. To quicken the process of stringing beans wash them and put them in boiling water. Cover and keep aside for 10 minutes. Now it will be easy to string them.
65. If you run out of yeast while making naan or roti add a few slices of bread without the crust and knead the dough and set aside for half an hour. The yeast in the bread is enough to ferment it.
66. Roast rawa and moong dal on low heat for 10-15 minutes to keep them insect free.
67. Banana skins will not turn black if they are wrapped in a wet cloth and kept in the fridge.
68. Knead flour with hot water to get fluffy and soft rotis.
69. To remove strong fish odor from the oil add a few slices of peeled raw potato to the oil and reheat stirring occasionally. Cool and strain the oil. Now it can be reused.
70. To prevent hair loss mix castor coconut and mustard oil on equal proportions and apply to scalp.
71. Mix leftover mango pickle masala with roasted gramflour. It makes an instant stuffing for parathas. Or roll this mixture in flour to make tasty kachoris.
72. Roast 1 tab each of basil leaves and fennel seeds. Add a few pieces of dry ginger. Roast lightly and when cool powder it. Store the powder in an airtight container. Just º tsp will solve gas problems.
73. To prevent potato chips from becoming soft, immerse them in cold water and then dry them and fry.
74. Cut ginger into neat pieces and soak them in limejuice and salt. This will turn pink and add it to pickles or salads and it makes a good garnish item as well as good digestion.
75. Add a few drops of mustard oil while grinding red chilies. The chili paste will be deep red in color.
76. When the jelly is almost set, churn it lightly with a little fresh cream in a mixer and let it set again for a fluffy and unusual sweet.
77. To make fizzy jellies heat a little quantity of water to melt the jelly crystals. For the remaining qty substitute water with sparkling wine, ginger ale or lemonade.
78. To avoid garlic skin from sticking on to your hands while peeling it soak the garlic flakes in a cup of water for 5 minutes.
79. If the bread is too soft to cut into pieces, hold the knife close to a flame till slightly warm and then slice the bread with it.
80. After peeling pomegranates don't throw the skin away. It can be powdered and a tsp of the powder taken with water in the morning will not only purify the blood but also serve as a good deworming agent.
81. To preserve lime juice squeeze lemons and strain through a piece of cloth and fill clean dry bottles and add 2 aspirin tabs to each bottle and close the caps tightly and keep in a cool place.
82. If you need to use the egg whites only and not the yolks, cover the yolks with water or milk and keep in a cool dark place and drain off the liquid before using the yolks.
83. While cooking rice add 2 drops of lemon juice. The rice will remain fluffy and not stick together.
84. Do not add raw oil to the pickle instead boil it till smoky and then cool and use. This prevents the formation of fungus.
85. While storing green chilies remove the stem and then store, this way they stay fresh longer
86. To keep curd fresh for a long time, add water to the brim of the container and refrigerate. Change the water daily. The curd will neither turn rancid nor yellow. This can be kept for a week.
87. To keep fruits and veggies fresh longer, wrap them in newspaper before storing them in the fridge.
88. Mix a little boric powder from the chemist along with the rice to prevent worm and insects.
89. To grind a small qty of cardamom grind it with some sugar. Not only is it easy but the flavor will also be uniform.
90. To find out if veggies like brinjal (eggplant) and bitter gourd have too many seeds in them look at the opposite side. If the perforation is small the seeds will be less.
91. Add 2 tab of home made paneer and milk instead of water to wheat flour to get smooth and soft and nutritious dough for chapatis or parathas.
92. Roast your papads in the toaster. It is less cumbersome and they come out really crisp.
93. Hold a peeled banana under the cold tap water to prevent discoloration. Alternatively sprinkle some limejuice before adding to fruit chaat or salad.
94. Add a tsp of condensed milk when making icing. The icing will be firm and soft and will not crack.
95. To preserve eggs for a longer period wash them and put them in limewater or mustard oil.
96. If the toms are overripe and difficult to use, dip them in cold water and apply some salt and leave overnight. They will be fresh and firm to touch the next.
97. To enjoy a hot meal place a soup plate of steaming hot water under your plate to enjoy a piping hot meal till the last bite.
98. Remove the excess salt from the gravy by adding a morsel of cooked rice to absorb the excess salt.
99. Add a tsp of corn flour to the curd and then mix with warm milk. Your milk will till out thicker and set faster especially during winter.
100. Cake has burnt a little on the top, or risen unevenly - don't panic. Slice the top off which removes the burnt piece and levels the surface, turn the cake over using the bottom of the cake as the top. Coat with icing as usual. Use dental floss to slice the top off.
Did you guys ever reach the bottom, I thought half of you escaped in the middle!
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