Kitchen tips

What I have noticed over the years is women,do not share their best kitchen secrets with everyone.It could be a recipe or some miracle cleaning tip or some short cuts in cooking.Usually ,they would go like," You will learn eventually as you get better in the kitchen.",What they mean to say is," you want to be better,then do it yourself,Make mistakes,Hell can freeze over  before I just tell you all the secrets to the trade especially when I had to learn it the hard way."

Sometimes when I'm doing finding something difficult or appear tired,my in law goes," I had it harder.I had to do it like this and like that plus I also had to do this and that and that and this."I know she thinks we women or people have it much much easier than they had it,million years ago.But we cant change anything  as they were born then,and we were born in the age of the hippies.

But thanks to the Internet,everything is practically available at our fingertips.All we have to do now,is type it in and get the results and work on it.I'm lazy to do that even at times but Hey ! We aren't perfect.So much for too much blabbering,lets actually begin.

1. Adding a pinch of turmeric when cooking Dal can hasten the cooking process.

 2. Wrapping bananas in a newspaper and then refrigerating them can keep them fresh for longer.

  3.  Warm garlic cloves in the microwave slightly and you’ll see the skin peeling off without difficulty. Also, you can submerge them in water for about 10 minutes before peeling the skin.


4.  Pressure-cook tomatoes with salt to taste. When cool, churn them in a mixer and strain the juice. Deep freeze the juice in an ice tray. Place the juice cubes in a box or a plastic bag and store them in the freezer. Use them to make tomato soup, vegetables and gravies when you’re falling short of time or have run out of tomatoes.

5.  Before you pour milk into the pot for boiling, rub butter along the top edge and the inside lip of the pot. Due to this, the milk won’t overflow when it foams up.

6. Excess salt in any dish can be brought down by adding diced potatoes, tomatoes or a teaspoon of sugar.

7.  Try peeling and cutting onions under running water or try chopping them near a gas flame. Refrigerating onions before cutting them is also a good idea.

8. To regain freshness in stale chapatis: Just wrap them in a clean cloth and pack them in an airtight container that will fit into the pressure cooker and pressure cook for two whistles. Serve fresh and hot.

1. Lemons, if stored at room temperature can only last a week before they start hardening. To preserve lemons for a longer duration, coat them with coconut oil and refrigerate them in an open container.

1. To retain the bright green colour of leafy vegetables, add a pinch of sugar while cooking them. You can also put the vegetables in ice cold water, as soon as you blanch them. When cooking eggplant, add a spoon of milk to a bowl of water and add the chopped pieces to that water. The eggplant will stay dark purple.

1. Wash the grains a few times until the water runs clear. Remove all the water and let it sit for 20 minutes. This will remove all the starch and also won’t make the rice sticky. You can add a few drops of lemon juice to the rice while cooking it to ensure that the grains do not stick to each other.

1. Try this trick. Cut the potatoes into thin strips and deep-fry (half done). Cool the fries and store them in the freezer for 5 to 6 hours. Make sure they are covered with a plastic wrap. Fry them just before you have to serve them.

What I also is,boil the potato wedges or frites a little bit and throw the water away.The starch is almost out.I dry them completely out and then after a while,I deep fry them.