Helpful Tips

Cooking Tips

Deep-fried sweet like pineapple triangles, karanjia, choorma ladoo, etc., taste as good as fresh, if placed on a tissue paper in the microwave for 8-10 seconds.
To get a smooth cream from top malai of milk, run in a small mixie for just 4-5 seconds, before chilling. This will give a smooth texture cream, which may be used exactly like commercial fresh cream.
Hard gulab jamoons will soften by pressure-cooking briefly, less than one whistle is fine.
To avoid a layer form on any thick liquid preparation while cooling (for e.g. Basundi, tamarind chutney, custard etc.), sprinkle some granules of sugar over the surface of the dish.
If garlic bread is not available, crush a few cloves of garlic to a fine paste, cream it well into some butter. Spread this on slices of bread and toast it. Serve with piping hot soup.
Add a few drops of lemon juice to rice, while it is cooking. This will keep the grain from breaking easily.
To make soft tomatoes regain their hardness, put them in cold water to which a liter of salt is added. The tomatoes will turn hard in 10 mints.
Ginger Garlic Paste Freshness: Mix a pinch of salt to the Ginger/Garlic paste and refrigerate it for a fresh cooking. Paste will last longer and fresh for months.
Browning Onions :Add a little salt, onions become brown faster.
Frying Fish: Put in a pinch of salt in the oil before frying a fish. The fish will not get stuck to the frying pan.
To make soft puris and chappatis, the dough should be mixed properly and rested for at least 20 minutes. Measure 1 cup atta to 1/2 cup boiling water. In a shallow dish, pour 1/2 cup water and 2-3 drops of oil and salt to taste.. Sprinkle the atta over it, stirring gently with the end of a ladle or serving spoon, till a mass is formed. After a minute, knead with your hand to make a soft ball. Cover for 20 minutes, then use as required
Chicken becomes especially tender if you marinate it for and hour in curd (raw yogurt) mixed in with some of whatever spices your recipe calls for and salt. Half teaspoon of sugar is also an excellent tenderizer.
To skin whole tomatoes easily, put them in boiling water, cover and keep aside for a few Minutes. Remove and peel off the skin easily.
Soak tamarind in warm water for making fast and smooth paste.
When you are cooking brinjal add a spoon of milk so that the brinjal retain its color without becoming black.
You can add it while cooking banana or any other vegetable to retain the color and taste will remain good.
Wet the inside of pan before putting milk for boiling. This will keep the pan from scalding the milk at the bottom of the pan. Also use a fairly heavy pan.
Any mashed potato stuffing’s, etc. tend to have water crystals on thawing after removing from the freezer. After thawing take in a heavy pan, and cook on medium flame, stirring all the time, till the water evaporates. The texture, on cooling a bit will come back to the original.
Add a pinch of sodabicarb to spinach while boiling to retain its bright green color. Also never overcook greens, as they will lose their color taste and vital nutrients too.
Use aluminum containers instead of steel to set the ice cream faster. Also, place a thick plastic sheet or spread some salt under the container to keep it from sticking to the floor of the freezer.
Never try to refreeze ice cream, which has melted completely due to reasons like electricity breakdown. The result will taste disastrous. Instead, add you favorite flavor or fruit and run in a mixie to make delicious milk shake.
Always mash potatoes when they are still quite hot. They mash more easily and can be finely mashed too.
Never beat idli batter too much just before spooning into moulds. Just spoon as is. The air already incorporated while rising is lost and idli may not be as soft as they should be.
To make creamier raithas, add half a cup of fresh cream to one recipe of raitha. Makes the dish much more rich.
Add a few tsps. of milk to cauliflower while boiling to rid it of the raw smell. Drain and wash before adding to the recipe.
To keep salt from becoming lumpy in moist climate, add a dash of rice flour to it. Add a few rice grains in the saltshaker.
If batter of any bhajias tends to become too thin, wet a slice or two of bread, press out all excess water, and mash it into the batter. This will help greatly in thickening the batter.
Store chopped vegetables in airtight plastic containers in the fridge to keep from browning and drying up.
Add some salt or vinegar drops while washing vegetables and greens to make them clean and germ free, e.g. cauliflower, spinach, etc.
Blanch green leafy vegetables (fenugreek, spinach, etc.) in boiling water for 2 minutes. Hold under cold running water, press out excess water, and store in freezer for about 2 weeks without spoiling.
Wrap potatoes etc. that you may want to bake in the coals, in foil, to retain moisture and also to avoid becoming sooty black.
To bake potatoes crisp and brown, soak the peeled potatoes in hot water for a while, pat dry and pierce all over with a fork before placing them in hot fat along with the roast.
If fish is to be stored for more than a day, clean it, rub with salt, turmeric and if liked, a dash of vinegar before freezing.
Always soak cauliflower in warm salted water for some time to get rid of the tiny insects sometimes present deep inside the florets and not visible to the eye.
Add a few pinches of turmeric, a small spoon of ghee, to dal before pressure-cooking. This will impart a better flavor to the dal.
Add a few drops of limejuice and a tsp. of ghee to rice before boiling to separate each grain.

Top Time Managing Tips
- Always plan your lunches or dinners, even regular ones ahead. A little time spent on that is worth a lot saved through haphazard planning, searching for ingredients you have and don't have, and even simulating dishes to work on more than one dish. This was you save a lot, lot more time than you spend on planning ahead. It will in the long run, help reduce your stress, keep you enough time and energy for other things and hobbies, and generally keep you smiling.
- Always keep a couple of boiled potatoes, in their jackets, stocked in the refrigerator. They come in handy to make dishes in a jiffy, be a vegetable, chaat, pulao, or paratha. They keep good for 4-5 days if properly stored. Peel when required.
- Always store kitchen ingredients in see through containers of either clear glass or plastic, for ease in locating, cleaning and keeping track of what’s required to be refilled.
- Spend 10 minutes each morning (even if it is in the bathroom), to make a list of work to be done with approx. time required. Pin it on your refrigerator door. Your work will get much more organized and you will find a lot of time saved at the end. Beside none of it will be left behind due to forgetting.
  
  Top Cleaning Tips

Clean all your Silverware with toothpaste (You can use cotton for rubbing). They will sparkle like they were bought yesterday!
Soak dirty jogging shoes overnight, drain out dirty water and run in the washing machine for a gentle wash using detergent. They will come out very clean.
To bring a sparkle to metal fittings in bathrooms, taps, etc., apply a thin vim paste all over, keep for 1 hour and wash off with warm soapy water and scrubber. Finally wash with plain water and wipe dry with a clean absorbent cloth.
Pour a capful of liquid bleach in a stained commode. Keep for 1/2 hour. Add soap powder and brush, for a sparkle.
Place a large bowl half full of water, microwave on high till it comes to a boil. Remove and clean oven with a moist cloth, to remove grime and grease. Clean then as usual with warm soapy water dipped cloth.
Rinse white clothes in water to which some alum powder is added, for better whites.

Top Stain Removing Tips

Oil stain may be removed by rubbing the area with a piece of lime dipped in salt. Later wash off with soap

Remove crayon marks by rubbing cigarette ash over them.
A slice of cut lemon rubbed immediately over a paan stain, and then washed, will leave the fabric free of all traces of the stain.

Top Beauty Tips

Place thin slices of potato over and around your eyes. Relax lying down with them for 15 to 20 minutes. Wash face with cool water. This helps remove tiredness and puffiness of the eyes.
Save a teaspoonful of urad dal while grinding for idli, before adding salt. Rub this dal between palms, apply on face and rub gently. Add a few drops of olive oil if desired. Keep for 5 minutes, wash off with running tap water, dab dry. Leaves you face clean, and flower fresh.
Have an invigorating bath by finishing off with a bucketful of water to which 3 tbsp. of white vinegar, 2 tbsp. rose water and a few drops of your favorite flowery essence has been added. The vinegar makes skin supple and avoids the dryness and scaliness of skin
To get bushy eyebrows, apply hair conditioner to eye brows at night everyday and leave overnight wash off in the morning. The nutrients in the conditioner work wonders.
Add salt to a tsp. of lemon juice to make a paste. Apply all over teeth, brush to give a gentle massage, rinse. Makes teeth white. Repeat weekly for very yellow cases.
Cover hand with a single layer of thin silk or polyester scarf, before slipping through bangles, if they are tight fitting and there is fear of breaking them. They will slip through very easily. Or use the corner of you sari pallu of the same material.
To get rid of dandruff apply the following mixture of once or twice a week. Keep for 20-25 minutes before washing off with a mild soap or shampoo. Warm together, 1 tbsp. curds, 2 tsp. oil and 1 tsp. lemon juice.
Store nail polish bottles in the refrigerator to prevent the polish from drying up.

Top Miscellaneous Tips

Add a pinch of salt to hot water, to retain its heat for a longer period
To get crystal clear ice cubes use boiled water to make them.
Polish leather shoes and bags with castor oil or petroleum jelly to prevent drying and cracking.
Wrap woolens in newspaper while storing, since the ink in the newsprint acts as an insect repellent.
Rub a piece of lime (used) inside the lunch box to get rid of strong odours (like garlic) before rinsing off.
To get the best out of saffron: Warm saffron before crushing (you may use microwave: 10 secs on maxi.). Add 1 tsp. warm milk and stir well.
To get a dry sketch pen working again, pour three or four drops of hot water into the sponge tube inside and wait a while.

[Home] [Hemali] [Sambhaji] [Sachi] [Shahu] [Our Family] [Our special moments] [Latest Happenings] [Helpful Tips] [Guest book]