Basic Cooking Tips - 2

Some more essential tips on easy cooking...

• To slice meat into thin strips, especially for Chinese dishes, freeze meat for sometime to slice it easily.
• Add little milk to the water to keep cauliflower white while cooking.
• Microwave a lemon for 15 seconds and you will get double the juice when you squeeze it.In the same way, garlic cloves can be microwaved for 15 seconds to peel off skin easily.
• Bread will stay fresh longer if a celery rib is stored with it in the package.
• Pakodas will turn out crispier if a little corn flour is added to the gram flour (besan) while preparing the batter. 
• To get rid of the smell of prawns, apply salt and lemon juice to the prawns before cooking. Leave for 15-20 minutes, then wash off and proceed with the recipe. This is usually done with prawns, fish and all kinds of seafood.
• If you forget to soak chana/rajma overnight, just soak the chana/rajma in boiling water for an hour before cooking.
• For grinding poppy seeds, soak it in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes if you are grinding in a mixie. 
• While boiling milk, always add a little water at the base of the vessel to avoid the milk from sticking at the bottom.  

Basic Cooking Tips - 1

Cooking is no doubt an art which needs to be experimented often to keep your culinary skills up-to-date and innovative. Here are few pointers for easy and hassle-free cooking:

• Wash vegetables before peeling or cutting to preserve the water soluble vitamins.

• Peel vegetables as thinly as possible to preserve the minerals and vitamins.

• After peeling onions cut in half and soak in water for about 10 minutes before cutting to avoid crying.

• Soak almonds in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes .The skin will peel off easily.

• Chopping vegetables can be done in different ways using a sharp knife and a wooden chopping board. Cutting on a marble slab will blunt your knives.

• Heat a non-stick pan and add a little more butter than usual. Now beat the egg and stir briskly (even while frying) with a fork. This way more air goes in your omelet, making it light and fluffy. Fry till done and serve hot.

• Soak whole pulses overnight and other dals for one hour before cooking.

• If poppy seeds are used in grinding, soak it in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes, if you are grinding it in a mixie.

• Always use heavy bottomed vessels to make desserts, in order to avoid burning.

• Immediately after boiling noodles put them in normal cold water to separate them each.