Cooking Tips: Meals, Veg

COCONUT ORDEALS 

Using skimmed milk powder made into a paste with water can be used as a substitute for coconut for thickness

BELL CAPSICUMS
A bell pepper can be used instead of capsicums in all recipes.

KASHMIRI PRAAN
Kashmiri Praan can be substituted by a small quantity of garlic.

CURDLING GRAVIES
Add the curd little by little, stirring vigorously at the same time. 

If adding to the gravy at the end, beat the curd till smooth. 

Add the gravy a spoonful at a time, stirring continuously. 

Add at least a quarter cup of the gravy thus, then add it to the rest of the gravy.

REDUCE THE HOTNESS IN STEWS AND SOUPS
If your dish has turned out far too chillie hot, you can add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt to mellow the flavours. 

Did you know that when using chilies you can reduce the amount of fire you add by discarding the white ribs inside the chili peppers.

SWEET STEW?
Is your soup or your stew too sweet? Just add a little salt and that should do the trick. 

And if your main dish is too sweet, just add a teaspoon of cider vinegar to it.

EXTRA SALT
If you have added extra salt to your stew or your soup and it gets salty and unbearable, just pop in a couple of raw potato pieces. 

This absorbs all the salt and you may then discard them once they are cooked.

SOAK FAT
To soak up any fat that could be floating in a finished soup or stock, add lettuce leaves. Remove the lettuce and you will see that the fat will stick to the leaves.

CLEAN COFFEE STAINS
To clean an electric coffee grinder, just add a small amount of rice and turn it on until the grinder no longer has any odour. 

It works great for removing both coffee odours and pungent smells from grinding spices.

GRAVY MAKING
Make a rich cream gravy out of the drippings in a roasting pan: 

add about L cup cream to the drippings in the pan, and then stir over gentle heat for 2-3 minutes.

CURRY FAT
To remove fat from curries, soups etc., cool, then refrigerate. 

When cold, the excess fat will solidify and come to the surface so that you can remove it.

FIRM CUTLETS
While making cutlets, if you find the mixture too soft to shape, chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, and shape again.

For a big cooking session, keep a jug of hot water handy for rinsing knives, forks and spoons, so that they are ready for re-use immediately.

PREPARING A MEAL
When peeling and chopping vegetables, you can do so for two meals, keeping the rest in a sealed polythene bag in the refrigerator.

LEFT-OVER WINE
Keep leftover wine in a small bottle or screw-top jar in the refrigerator to be used for cooking.

CORN SYRUP
Two cups of corn syrup can be substituted for 1cup sugar.

While making cutlets, if you think the mixture is too soft to fry them, then refrigerate them for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

To make sure that you don't burn masala while cooking, 

it's a good idea to make the masala into a stiff paste before you fry it. 

All that means is that you add enough water to the masalas for it to become a stiff paste.

Cooking Tips: Baking and Grilling

OVEN FACTS 

Always place the ovens shelves in position before lighting the oven, as they expand when hot, and are often difficult to move.

REMOVE FOOD FROM GLASS DISHES
Put a couple of tablespoons of dishwasher detergent in the dish and add hot water. 

Stir the solution and leave it overnight. 

By morning, the baked on food will have lifted right off the surface of the dish.

BAKED DISH TOPPINGS
Add some melted butter to paneer crumbs or bread crumbs and you will end up with a great topping for baked dishes, if you have run out of cheese.

GRILLING TEMPERATURE
If your charcoal is not the right temperature, your food will end up black on the outside and raw inside. 

Wait until your charcoal has turned white outside, then wait for 5 minutes before placing your meat on the grill.

BAKING IN GLASS
When using glass pans instead of metal for baking, reduce the oven temperature by 25F or 10F.

BAKING TEMPERATURES
Remember in most recipes, the baking time that is specified is merely a guideline, especially since oven temperatures vary from oven to oven. 

It's best to check your dish a few minutes before the stated time. 

Do not leave the oven door open for a long time or you'll lose a great deal of heat.

AVOID CAKE MESS
When frosting cakes, always anchor the bottom cake layer to the serving plate with a dab of frosting. 

That way, the cake won't slide here and there as you frost. 

It also helps keep a cake from sliding on its plate during transit.

CAKE LINING
If a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, you can instead use a bit of the dry cake mix, and it will do the job.

BAKE CAKE
For best results in cake baking, allow the eggs, butter and milk to reach room temperature before mixing.

BAKING EVENLY
Turn the cake tin around between baking if the oven is not distribution even heat and the cake is baking unevenly.

BAKING SODA LUMPS
Baking soda and powder can have little lumps in them that don't break apart or dissolve while baking. 

To prevent lumps in baked goods, measure them into a small sieve placed over other dry ingredients. 

Then push any lumps through the mesh.

Cooking Tips: Fry, Stir-fry and Deep-fry

FRY 

When adding sauce or a cornstarch and water mixture to a dish, 

push the ingredients up to the side of the wok, forming a well in the middle. 

Then add the sauce in the middle and stir to thicken.

STIR-FRY IT RIGHT
For stir-frying, cut the ingredients in uniform-sized pieces so that they all cook at the same rate. 

A safe rule is to cut everything into bite-sized pieces. 

Cut the vegetables on a diagonal to maximize exposure to the heat.

UNSTICK FRIED FOOD
To ensure that your fried food does not stick to the pan, do not preheat the pan and oil before adding the food. 

Start with a cool pan and your bread mixture will stick to the meat or chicken.

FRY BACON
Sprinkle a little amount of salt in the frying pan before adding bacon to fry. 

That way it will not splatter all over.

PURIS
You can roll puris and place them between a wet muslin cloth at least an hour ahead. 

Fry them just before serving.

RIGHT TO DEEP FRY
To check if the oil is at the right temperature to deep-fry, drop a bread cube into the oil, if you see bubbles around the cube, the temperature is too low. 

If it browns, the temperature is just right. 

On the other hand, if the bread burns, then your oil is way too hot!

To make poori's consume less oil, put them in the fridge for a while before frying.

Cooking Tips: Fruits and Nuts

COOKING APPLES 

If you want to cook fresh apples, remember you will be left with only half the amount you started out with. 

I kilo of raw apples = 1/2 kilo cooked apples.

BLACK FRUITS
Add lemon juice after cutting fruits like apples and bananas

It will prevent them from turning blackish immediately.

UNSTALE YOUR NUTS
For stale nuts, place in a 250degree oven for 5 10 minutes. 

The heat will freshen them right up.

CUT FRUIT
While cutting fruit ahead of time, add some lemon juice to the pieces so that they will not darken.

REFRESH RAISINS
If you have stored raisins in the refrigerator for long, they tend to become hard. 

Put them in a pan with cold water, bring the water to a boil, 

and then remove pan from heat as soon as the water boils. 

Let it stand for 5 minutes and then drain.

JUICE INTACT
To keep juice from running out of fruit pies, 

bind the edges with a 2 cm wide strip of cotton, dipped in milk.

BUYING CITRUS FRUITS
While buying citrus fruits, keep in mind that the heavier the fruit, the better. 

Do not buy any with the skin wrinkled.

CHOP DRY FRUIT
Place dried fruit that needs to be chopped in the freezer for an hour. 

It will chop more easily.
BLANCHED ALMONDS
To get blanched almonds, place them in a saucepan, add just enough water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. 

As soon as the water reaches a boil, drain the almonds. 

Then cool them by pouring cold water on them. 

To peel, just pinch them they will pop right out of their skins

RIPE FRUITS
To test if a melon or papaya is ripe, press gently with the thumb at stalk end. 

If it gives in slightly, it is ripe; if it remains firm, it is not.

GRAPES
To seed grapes, sterilize a new hair pin by pouring boiling water over it, and push the loop end of the pin into the grape from the stalk end, and pull out the speed.

ALMONDS
If almonds tend to break while shredding, soak them in hot water for about half an hour.

For maximum flavor and the best results when nuts are called for in a recipe, toast them before incorporating them into the batter or mixture.

Dust the nuts with some flour before adding. 

If your batter is too thin; you should add the nuts half way through the baking

Cooking Tips: Eggs and Dairy

SOFT and CREAMY CAKES 

Add a little of milk when the cake is baked. 

This will make the cake softer and creamier.

Low fat cream can be substituted for evaporated milk,

because when it is chilled it can be whipped like cream too. 

It is pretty much like unsweetened condensed milk. 

The ratio can be 1to 1. 

If you mix equal amout of water to it, it is like fresh milk

MAKING WHITE BUTTER
You could make white butter by whipping up thick cream, 

till the fat and water separate (better to do it at room temperature, 

because when cold, it does not separate). 

Put some ice cubes in it after that and squeeze out the butter.

CRACKING EGGS
If you bring eggs to room temperature before cooking, it prevents cracking due to the sudden drop in temperature and ensures a properly cooked egg. 

If you do use eggs right out of the refrigerator, 

add a minute or two to the cooking time.

WATERY EGGS
If your eggs are watery, that's a sign that you've overcooked them at too high a heat. Cook them at a lower heat, and take them off as soon as they look glossy and moist.

To help you cut smooth slices of boiled egg dip the knife in cold water for a couple of seconds before slicing the egg

Prevent cheese from getting mildew, by storing cheese tightly wrapped in a plastic bag, keeping air away.

MELTING CHEESE
If you want to melt cheese; you should bring it down to room temperature first and then melt it over a low heat.

CHEESY DISH
To add cheese to a dish, grate it first, it will melt more quickly and spread more evenly.

GRATING CHEESE
To grate cheese easily, first chill it in the freezer for 30 minutes or so or till it appears firm.

HARD BOILED OR NOT?
Confused whether your eggs in the corner are hard-boiled or not??? 

Don't worry! Just spin the egg, and if it wobbles its raw. 

If it spins easily, its hard-boiled.

STORE EGG YOLKS
To store egg yolks, cover them with a thin layer of water, so that the top does not dry up.

EGG YOLKS
To prevent dark rings forming around boiled egg yolks, drain off boiling, 

when boiling time is over, crack the shells immediately and then cover with cold running water, until the eggs are completely cold.

STORE EGG-WHITES
Store egg-whites in a lidded jar in a refrigerator.

EGG-WHITE
To whisk egg-whites a little time ahead of use, cover the bowl tightly after beating, or turn it upside down. 

It is when air comes in contact with them that they become watery again.

CONDENSED MILK
Condensed milk is evaporated milk, to which sugar has been added; 

therefore it will keep for a week or so after the can has been opened, 

as the sugar acts as a preservative.

MILK
Evaporated milk has its water content reduced by heat, 

so that it becomes thicker than fresh milk, and then canned. 

Therefore, once opened, the milk lasts only slightly longer than fresh milk. 

Evaporated milk has its water content reduced by heat, 

so that it becomes thicker than fresh milk, and then canned. 

Therefore, once opened, the milk lasts only slightly longer than fresh milk. 

Evaporated milk has its water content reduced by heat, so that it becomes thicker than fresh milk, and then canned. 

Therefore, once opened, the milk lasts only slightly longer than fresh milk.