Cooking tips

• Arrange all the items used for cooking, so as to be easily accessible.
• Label the containers for quick reference.
• Wash vegetables before cutting to avoid loss of soluble vitamins and minerals.
• Peel vegetables as thinly as possible to preserve the minerals and vitamins.
  Do not throw the water used to boil vegetables.
• Soak onion in water before peeling it.
• Soak rice for a while before cooking.
• The order of preference of food should be steamed, boiled followed by fried.
• To obtain maximum juice from lemon, soak it in luke warm water for a while before cutting.
• To reduce fat in the chicken, remove the skin before marinating it.
• The thicker the fish, the longer is the duration of cooking it.
• Don’t overcook fish if you don’t want to lose its flavor and texture.
• During non-season of tomatoes, tomato puree, ketchup or sauce can be used in gravies.
• Use thick bottom vessels to avoid burning.
• Before boiling milk, pour a little water in the empty vessel. This prevents sticking.
• Add a pinch of salt on oil while deep frying to have less oil consumption.
• To remove stains from cooking utensils, rub with a little salt while washing.
• To prepare crisp, golden dosai (Dosa), add a teaspoonful of fenugreek while grinding for it.
• To prepare soft dosai, add some old cooked rice while grinding for it.
• Add a few drops of lemon juice and a tsp of oil while boiling rice to separate one another.
• To remove the shell easy from boiled eggs, keep them in cold water for about 5 minutes.
• Don’t keep stainless steel spoons permanently with pickles.
• To Peel garlic easy, heat them for a while.
• To store green chilies longer, remove stems from them before storing them.
• To remove excessive salt in the dish being prepared, add a few pieces of potato.
• To retain the green color of spinach while cooking, add a pinch of sugar.
• To separate noodles immediately after boiling, put them in cold water.
• To prevent foaming and spilling over of oil while deep frying, add a small piece of tamarind to the oil.
• Keep your kitchen clean. It is essential to keep food safe. Otherwise bacteria can grow and spread.
• Always wash worktops before you start preparing food.
• Wash and dry kitchen cloths and sponges regularly and keep different cloths for different jobs.
• Wash knives, spoons, tongs, etc. thoroughly after using them with raw meat.
  Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before starting to prepare food.
• While boiling egg, add a little salt to prevent egg shells from cracking.
• Rubbing a slice of raw potato will take food stains off your hands.
• Carrots with green tops may be avoided as they are bitter to taste.
• Add fresh or leftover cauliflower to soups or stews.
• If soup is more salty, add small pieces of potato.
• For long time preservation of pickle, Use dry container and dry spoon only.
• To avoid wasting left over idlies and to have them later, cut them into pieces, fry in oil (Idly fry).
• Slice watermelon thin to separate seeds easily.
• To test whether honey is adulterated, take a glass of water, and add a few drops of honey. If the honey dissolves quickly, it is impure. Pure honey settles on the base of the glass.