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Always hold fresh vegetables under running water for a minute, after boiling and draining, to enhance their colour, eg. carrots, greens, peas, etc. Hold in a colander or strainer so that the water passes through.
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Place some soda bicarb open in a small shallow dish in the fridge. This will disallow odours of one dish mixing into another. Eg. milk and guavas.
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Always add a teaspoon (at least, if recipe does not call for more) of wheat flour to the fat while popping gum crystals, to ensure their even popping of the crystals. They will also not stick together.
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Sprinkle a bit of salt in the frying pan before adding chicken. It will cut down on the amount of grease splattering.
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Wet the inside of pan before putting milk for boiling. This will keep the pan from scalding the milk at the bottom of the pan. Also use a fairly heavy pan.
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An open packet of tomato puree may get a mould or fungus. To store the puree for longer, pour it into an ice tray and freeze. This serves the dual purpose of storing as well as, a few cubes can be removed at a time as required.
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Wrap hands in either plastic kitchen gloves or just plain plastic bags while handling chillies. These will keep the hands from the burning sensation later on. Rub ghee on palms if chillies cause burning hands. After the sensation cools, rub the peel of a used lemon for 2-3 minutes and wash off.
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Eyes
Chill cucumber juice and apply pads soaked in them over tired and strained eyes, to release the tension and bring back freshness and sparkle. Repeat daily.
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Brown Leather Shoes - Stain Removal
Stains can be removed from brown leather shoes by rubbing them with the inner side of a banana skin. Then wipe with a clean cloth and polish.
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One may marinate the vegetables prior in some vinegar, garlic and chilli if desired. This will give a more piquant taste to the stew.
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If grilled doors or windows start getting rusty, scrape off the rust carefully and paint the area immediately. You can also use a metal primer instead of paint.
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Never beat idli batter too much just before spooning into moulds. Just spoon as is. The air already incorporated while rising is lost and idlis may not be as soft as they should be.
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Garnish casseroles after they are ready with decoratively cut vegetables like flowers from tomato skins, carrot curls, onions curls, etc.
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Before putting the cake batter in the tin sprinkle some castor sugar then put the batter. It will give the cake an unusual sheen.
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To keep cottage cheese fresh, wrap it in a muslin cloth that has been dipped in lemon water.For a sweet and spicy flavour, place a small piece of star anise in the cavity of the chicken or duck before roasting or braising.
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To retain the crispiness of leftover fried poppadums while refrigerating, keep them in a plastic polythene bag.
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Chop chillies, etc. either with a steel knife or steel scissors. Do not use iron knives, etc. since the Pastes will tend to turn blackish later on.
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To prevent lumps while adding flour to any liquids, eg. Water, buttermilk,etc. first mix the flour in a little bit of the Liquid to form a smooth paste. Add this to the remaining liquid and stir well.
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To bake potatoes crisp and brown, soak the peeled potatoes in hot water for a while, pat dry and pierce all over with a fork before placing them in hot fat along with the roast.
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Iron
Synthetic fibres stick to the bottom of the iron. Cool the iron, then rub the affected surface with nail polish remover to get rid of the stickly matter.
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