FOODIES FACTS TIPS ON FRYING

 FOODIES FACTS TIPS ON FRYING

Tips On Frying :

• Heat the oil thoroughly before adding seasonings or vegetables.
• Fry the seasonings until they change color, to get full flavour of seasonings.
• If masala sticks to the pan that shows quantity of fat included is not enough.
• Add some hot oil and 1/2 tsp of baking soda in batter while making pakodas.
• When coconut is used in grinding masala, do not fry for a longer time.
• If you are making patties or tikkis of potatoes, always make sure that the potatoes are boiled well in advance and cooled before you use them. It would be better if they can be refrigerated for a short time. This helps the starch in the potatoes to settle down and the tikkis will not be gooey.
• Smoke Mustard oil first before using for preparing vegetables etc.. by heating to a point till light white smoke emerges from it. This would remove the potency from the oil.
• Poori can be rolled and place between well-rinsed wet muslin cloth at least an hour ahead and can be Fried before serving.
• To make pooris more crispy add a little rice flour to the wheat flour while kneading.
• Pakodas will turn out crisper if a little corn flour is added to the gram flour (besan) while preparing the batter.
• Heat a non-stick pan and add a little more butter than usual. Now beat the egg and stir briskly (even while frying) with a fork. This way more air goes in your omelet, making it light and fluffy. Fry till done and serve hot.
• Sprinkle a little amount of salt in the frying pan before adding bacon to fry. That way it will not splatter all over.
• When browning meat in fat, choose a large, deep pan. This will enable you to fry quickly, without splashing the stove with fat and meat juices.

FOODIES FACTS TIPS ON CUTTING & PEELING

FOODIES FACTS TIPS ON CUTTING & PEELING

Tips On Cutting & Peeling :

• Wash vegetables before peeling or cutting to preserve the water soluble vitamins.
• Peel vegetables as thinly as possible to preserve the minerals and vitamins.
• Soak potatoes and eggplant after cutting, to avoid discoloration.
• If you boil vegetables in water, do not throw the water, keep it to make gravies.
• To avoid browning of apples after cutting, apply a little lemon juice on the cut surface. The apples will stay and look fresh for a longer time.
• Keep coriander leaves in a muslin (cheese) cloth bag in the refrigerator. They will remain fresh for a longer time.
• Remove the stems of green chilies while storing them .This will help them to stay fresh for long.
• After peeling onions cut in half and soak in water for about 10 minutes before cutting to avoid crying.
• Soak almonds in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes .The skin will peel off easily.
• Chopping vegetables can be done in different ways using a sharp knife and a wooden chopping board. Cutting on a marble slab will blunt your knives.
• Remove the outer leaves and husks from the corn (bhutta). Holding the corn upright with the flat end firmly in a board, take a sharp knife and run it down between the kernels and the cob to strip them away.
• Wrap the fruits and vegetables in newspaper before refrigerating to keep them fresh for long.
• Chopping dry fruits - Freeze them first for one hour & then dip the knife into hot water before cutting them.

FOODIES FACTS BEST 14 COOKING TIPS

FOODIES FACTS BEST 14 COOKING TIPS

• Over roasting/burning/over frying any spice changes the taste of the dish. So be careful while handling the spices. (Mustard turns bitter when fried for a long time).
• Puri dough should be made little harder than chapathi dough. This prevents puri from retaining more oil when it is deep fried. Also once dough is prepared, make the puri immediately. 
• While adding tadka(seasoning) to any curry or dal, add it once the curry/dal is completely cooked. Close the lid immediately & remove from flame. This will retain the seasoning aroma. Do not cook after adding seasoning.
• Put the brinjal(eggplants) pieces or peeled smoked brinjal in water for around 10 mins. Discard the water. This removes any bitter taste from them.
• Do not hold any spice powder packets directly on the dish while cooking, the hot vapors get into the packet and spoil the powder. Take out the required amount of powder on a spoon and then add it to the dish.
• Always use a flat bottomed pan for cooking (except for frying puris, they need depth), this helps in equal distribution of heat. Also, use broader vessel compared to thin tall vessel.
• If your kitchen stove has got black mess on it, spread some baking soda and rub lightly. Leave it for around 15mins and give it a good rub and wipe off. The hard mess usually comes off easily.
• While cutting boiled potatoes, dip the knife in water. This avoids sticking to knife.
• While grinding coconut during cold days or while grinding frozen/cold coconut, use warm water. This helps in easy grinding and also avoids the fat floating on top.
• Add 1/2 tea spn of sugar while cooking beetroot in cooker. This avoids the spreading/splashing of color.
• To remove the black marks from the stove top (the kind of stoves in US particularly), spray some oven cleaner, leave for around 10mins and then gently scrub them off. Difficult marks come off easily.
• Never put garlic or cardamom, which are not peeled in hot oil. They pop up and can cause serious burns. If you need to use them whole, slightly open up the skin from one side.
• Add a little salt when frying tomatoes, this helps to get them mushy faster.
• To remove black stains in cooker or vessels, add a small piece of lemon and 1/2 cup water. Heat for few minutes and wash immediately.

FOODIES FACTS 7 COOKING TIPS

•  FOODIES FACTS 7 COOKING TIPS
• While cooking potatoes, Cut them into half and add a pinch of turmeric. This makes the potatoes cook faster.
• While cooking toor dal, add a pinch of turmeric and a drop of oil. Toor dal cookes faster.
• While cooking pulav, wash the rice in water and spread it on a cloth or paper for drying. Leave it for around 15-30 min. This makes the rice grains separate.
• While cooking pulav in kadai (i mean not using cooker), do not mix the ingredients frequently, if u mix it, the rice becomes paste. So after 10-15 min of cooking, just open the lid and have a look. If you feel it is cooked, gently mix the contents once or twice.
• Use water always in 1(rice) : 2 (water) for pulav. After 10-15min of cooking, if u feel water is less, just add little water.
• Always cook pulav on very low flame.
• While making chapathi, leave the dough for 30 min to make soft chapathis.