General Tips

• Before making any food item, read the recipe carefully and keep all ingredients ready. Chop or slice vegetables if required. Measure the amount of liquid ingredients (like any sauce, milk, ketch up, oil, etc) and transfer them into small individual bowls. Prepare the paste or puree if required.
• Peel and cut onion into two halves and soak in a bowl of water for 15 minutes before chopping them. This will save you from burning eyes and runny tears.
• To keep each rice grain separate after cooking and to retain its white color, wash rice 4-5 times in water and add 2-3 drops of lemon juice while cooking.
• Do not throw away the nutritious leftover water into which vegetables were boiled. Use it to make dough of paratha or chapati or for making gravies.
• To make French fries crisp, first deep-fry them until half done and then store in a container or cover with a plastic wrap and place in freezer section of refrigerator for 4-5 hours. Deep-fry again just before serving.
• To make chapatis and rotis soft, always bind smooth and soft dough and let it rest for at least 20-30 minutes before making them.
• To peel the almonds easily, soak them in hot water for 10-15 minutes before starting to peel the skin.
• To make your daily breakfast parathas more healthy and nutritious, add either crushed sweet corn, pureed spinach, grated radish, grated cabbage, fenugreek leaves or boiled and mashed vegetables while preparing the dough.

Curry Related Tips

• To give extra richness to Indian curry, use cashew nut paste, milk or poppy seed paste as base for gravy.
• To prevent diced eggplant (brinjal) and potato from turning brown, put them in a bowl of water.
• If your curry or dal has become salty by mistake then do not throw it away. Just add peeled and diced half-raw potato in it and boil for 5 minutes and discard the potato. Potato absorbs the extra salt.
• Peel and cut onion into two halves and soak in a bowl of water for 15 minutes before chopping them. This will save you from burning eyes and runny tears.
• Add a pinch of sugar while boiling or cooking green leafy vegetables to retain their bright green color.
• To make melt in the mouth paneer curry, soak paneer cubes in hot water for 10 minutes and drain them before using in recipe.
• To retain the bright green color of spinach after blanching, immediately transfer them into a bowl of ice-cold water.
• Punjabi curries taste best when you prepare it’s gravy a day before and use it to make a curry. Prepared gravy should be stored in refrigerator to allow flavors of spices mingle together well.

Food Storage Related Tips

• To keep ginger-garlic paste fresh for long period, mix oil and salt while preparing it and store it in an airtight container in refrigerator.
• To keep green leafy vegetables fresh for 5 to 7 days, chop them and store in a thick plastic container in refrigerator.
• To remove the skin of garlic cloves easily, rub them with little amount of oil and dry them in sun for 20-30 minutes before peeling.
• To keep green chillies fresh for long period, remove and discard its stem before storing in refrigerator.
• Put 3-4 cloves in sugar tin (container) to keep ants away.

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