Cooking tips - Part 6

There are several such tips which i myself was surprised to see when i started writing it down.

To check More, Click Cooking tips - Part 1
                                  Cooking tips - Part 2
                                  Cooking tips - Part 3
                                     Cooking tips - Part 4
                                  Cooking Tips - Part 5

101) To overcome the problem of undercooked dal add a tablespoon of oil to it before boiling. The oil helps to cook the dal/pulses perfectly; if using a pressure cooker, it also prevents the dal from overflowing out of the vessel.

102) When barbecuing, place a whole whorl of garlic (unpeeled) on the grill. 

103) When seasoning a salad, use coarse sea salt mixed with a little olive oil; the salad will stay crunchy when combined with the vinaigrette, for a long time.

104) Don't overcook your vegetables. Their nutrition value lies in them being eaten as fresh as possible or lightly cooked

105) To set yoghurt, add a litre of lukewarm milk (30 C) to a tablespoon of culture. Let it sit in a warm place, like beside Stove or inside Oven for a day. then place this inside refrigerator for another day.

106) To keep honey from attracting ants in summer, keep the bottle in a bowl of fresh water on your kitchen countertop. Water prevents ants from getting to the bottle. Don't: Keep honey in the refrigerator where it will crystallise and be difficult to spread on your toast.

107) Microwave your head of garlic for 10 seconds. Remove it and peel the garlic with your hands — you’ll notice the cloves slip right out of the casings like magic.

108) Another easy method is to smash the garlic head with the heel of your hand, and then throw it into a metal bowl.

109) Heat up your lemon (or any citrus fruit) for 20 to 30 seconds. Apply pressure by rolling it on the counter or in your hands before cutting it in half and juicing. The fruit will be softer and easier to squeeze.

110) Another method, is to roll in between your palms to get more juice from lemons.

111) Toss a pinch of salt onto a cutting board when chopping herbs.

The friction and weight of the salt will keep the herbs from sticking to your knife and getting all over the board.
(Note:this tip is best with herbs like rosemary and thyme. Basil and mint should be hand-torn to avoid bruising.

112) Take your head of lettuce and slam it down on the counter as hard as you can onto its bottom. Turn it over, and remove the core.
Once the core is out, the lettuce will be easy to separate and chop up with a knife.


113) Place your uncooked rice in a sieve or mesh colander and run under cold water until it runs clear. This will remove a lot of unnecessary starch from the rice, which can cause it to stick and clump together. You’ll get fluffy rice every time.

114) After you make a big batch of rice, freeze it in multiple microwave-safe containers. Once you’re ready for rice again, sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of water over the rice and cover with dampened paper towels. Pop it in the microwave on high for 1-3 minutes before fluffing. Repeat until the rice is fully hot.

115) Prevent pots from boiling over by resting a wooden spoon across the pot.

This works because the dry, room temperature spoon will break the bubbles and send them back into the pot (there’s science behind it —  you can read about that here)    
Use a different wooden spoon from the one you were stirring with, however, because if you use a wet spoon, the wood will warp.

116) If your brown sugar is rock hard, there’s a really simple solution. Place the block of sugar in a bowl, sprinkle it with water, cover with a damp paper towel, and then microwave for 30 seconds. Continue microwaving, checking every 30 seconds, until the sugar is soft.
In the future to keep your brown sugar from clumping, place the bag in an airtight container or a resealable freezer bag and store at room temperature.

117) Remove excess fats from soups and stews with ice cubes.

Skim off the fat globules that rise.
Drop a few ice cubes into your finished soup, stew, or casserole. Scoop-able fat globules will rise to the surface where the fat has congealed in the colder areas where the ice cubes landed. You can skim these off with a spoon.  

118) Another simple method to try if you’re not eating the soup right away is put it in a container and let it cool in the fridge. Once the fat has risen to the surface and solidified, you can simply scoop it out and then reheat soup as desired.

119) Add pinch of sugar while cooking palak to retain green colour.

120) Add little milk while cooking cauliflower and cabbage to retain white colour. 


 To check More, Click Cooking tips - Part 7