Urdu Poetry/Shayari Forum - View Single Post

**Zakia** · #1 09-28-2007, 10:13 AM

Cooking Tips

To make soft tomatoes regain their hardness, put them in cold water to which a little salt is added. The tomatoes will turn hard in 10 mins.

Ginger Garlic Paste Freshness : Mix a pinch of salt to the Ginger/Garlic paste and refrigerate it for a fresh cooking . Paste will last longer and fresh for months.

Preprepare Ginger & Garlic paste : When you have free time, use it to prepare a bottle of ginger garlic paste, which can be used to be used later while cooking.

Freezing Fresh Ginger : When you buy fresh ginger, freeze it. When you need to use it use a cheese grater to get required amount u need, put rest back in freezer.

PrePreparing Masalas : Pre-Prepare most of your "masalas" ahead of time.
Defrosting First: First things first....Defrost the frozen foods first, then go on to doing the other cooking.

Safe Defrosting : Defrost sealed frozen food in the refrigerator on a plate instead of on your kitchen counter to prevent bacteria.

Prepare portions of a meal in advance :If there is a masala or paste or chopping of nuts that you can do a day ahead, do so as it will reduce the cooking time.

Crispy Samosas :To make crispy samosas add 1 tsp of rice flour to 1 cup of maida.

Crispy Pakoras : For crispy pakoras add little hot oil in the batter before frying.

Browning Onions : Add a little salt, onions become brown faster.

Quickly cooking half cooked rice: When you find that the rice which you are going to serve is not fully cooked, and you cannot add water again then ... add a small quantity of milk to it and steam it for some time the rice becomes soft without becoming smudgy.

Frying Fish: Put in a pinch of salt in the oil before frying a fish. The fish will not get stuck to the frying pan.

Frying : Always fry on a low or medium flame for even cooking.

Double or triple the recipe : if you are making an exclusive dish. This way you can divide it up and save some for another meal.

Store extra servings : Use Ziploc freezer boxes and bags.

Storing leftover rice : Rice is best stored in containers that can be re-heated.

Keeping drains unclogged : You can keep drains unclogged by pouring this mixture down your drains every week: one gallon of hot water, 1 tablespoon of powdered laundry detergent, and 1/2 cup of bleach. Pour into drain and let the tap run with warm water for a few minutes afterwards.

Keeping the cooker clean: To keep the inside of the cooker clean place a lemon piece in the cooker while using.

Cleaning Turmeric Stains : Clean the turmeric stained area with few drops of lime juice.The acidic content will clear the surface.

Cleaning of Ginger: Ginger can be soaked over night and next day morning clean it with a tooth brush (with a CLEAN tooth brush you can clean each and every corner) blend it and keep it in the fridge. this can be used anytime.

Removing Ink stains: If you want to remove an "ink stain" you should wash it with unboiled milk.

Clearing a clogged sink : Clogged sinks can be unclogged in an hour when a cup of hot water mixed with a tablespoon of white vinegar and a teaspoon or two of baking soda is poured into the sink.