All Tips
- Almond Peels
Do not throw away almond peels. Sun dry and drygrind fine. Mix with gramflour, curd and use as a face wash. - Always use a clean pair of kitchen scissors to trim edges of bread. Much neater and less messy edges as compared to those trimmed with a knife.
- Keep a large black cardamom in the mouth, for relief from persistent cough.When it eventually softens, chew and swallow.
- When you are cooking brinjal add a spoon of milk so that the brinjal retain its colour without becoming black. You can add same while cooking banana or any other vegetable to retain the colour and taste will remain good.
- Grind cardamom along with skins to make powder. Pass through sieve. While getting more quantity and becoming economical the flavour is also enhanced. Mix the residue in tea leave or tea masala for beautifully aromatic tea.
- Any vada mixture should be beaten well with hand prior to frying, to incorporate air in the batter and make it light, as also soft on frying.
- Children Food
Make dosas a little less crisp. Roll in any desired filling like a frankie. Add chutney or jam if desired. Make very tasty rolls for your kids lunch box, with change from the routine sandwich too!!. - Scarpions or Centipedes
If insects like scorpions or centipedes enter the house, donot panic. Pour some kerosene on their faces as they advance. They will be immobilised, then kill. This technique can even immobilise a reptile. - Keep rolled puris in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes before frying them,they will consume less oil,and be more crispy when fried after 10 minutes.
- Sparking Gold And Silver
Clean embedded dirt from gold or silver jewellery by giving them a brisk brushing with some toothpaste and an old toothbrush.Then wash with water. Just like you brush your teeth! The effect is sparkling!. - To a cupful of leftover dal,add 2 leftover chappaties and a dash of leftover rice if desired, and further add some water, coriander leaves, and boil in a saucepan. Add any spices and salt if required. Garnish with a tsp. of fresh ghee. You have a tasty hot wholesome breakfast.
- To make creamier raithas, add half a cup of fresh cream to one recipe of raitha. Makes the dish much more rich, though.
- Always keep slit or chopped brinjals in salted water, till required. Remove and use as per recipe, when required. This will keep them from turning black, which happens when they are kept otherwise, in a matter of minutes.
- Wrap potatoes etc. which you may want to bake in the coals, in foil, to retain moisture and also to avoid becoming sooty black.
- Oil substitute - If you donot have any oil at hand when doors and hinges begin to squeak, you will find that a smear of butter or margarine is a good substitute.
- Prepare chillies for a garnish on spicy veggies as follows: Slit firm green long chillies. Squeeze some lemon juice over them. Dust a bit of salt too. Rub them a bit to coat properly. Before adding anything to hot oil in the kadai, fry these for a few seconds, holding them down the back of a spoon or spatula. To clean you hands of the sting chillies give, rub them with the skin of squeezed lemon and salt. Wash normally.
- Roasted wheat flour can be used in small quantities to thicken gravies, etc. Or reduce the Sharpness of extra salt which may have been added.
- Save a tsp. of mashed dal from above. Mix in a tsp. each of fine oatmeal, rosewater and cream. Apply on face. Wash off after 15-20 minutes. Makes an effective and refreshing pack.
- To soften the taste of any extra sharp vegetable eg. fenugreek leaves, radish leaves, etc., Chop them, sprinkle some salt all over and keep aside for 10 minutes. Press out all the water and wash well 2-3 times in a colander.
- Use the silver foil wrappings of used medicines to scrub greasy utensils like tawas, pans, etc. Embed them at the base of plastic scrubbers for easy use and grip.
- Use clean skins of boiled potatoes to place as a soothing pack over eyes to refresh and reduce their puffiness.
- Never reshape dough once it has been shaped and rested after punching. The risen dough must Not be disturbed or texture of the baked product may not turn out as it should.
- Any extra water in which vegetables have been boiled can be saved and used as stock for soups. Stock prepared in large quantities can be frozen in icecube trays and stored in a plastic bag as cubes. Use as required.
- I have a quick way to polish ur furniture without buying costly furniture polish from stores. Just take a tbl sp of vegetable oil in a bowl & add 1 tbl sp of lime juice to it mix them well & with a soft cloth apply it on your furniture & immediately wipe off with a dry soft cloth. your furniture will shine like new.
- Soyabean granules are a highly nutritional product, which may be used to thick gravies, soups, Etc. with ease. Soak a little in water beforehand. Crush to make smooth texture. Add as required.
- Sparking
Soak jewellery (eg. silver, copper, gold) in the water drained from curdled milk for 15 mins. wash them with soap afterwards. Get back the sparkle in them to look new. - Peel onions easily by dropping them into boiling water and covering. 3 minutes for small varieties, and 5 minutes for the large varieties. Cut a small cross in the root base for larger ones, to prevent from bursting in the water.
- To peel tomatoes easily, keep covered in boiling hot water for 5 minutes. Remove, make a careful X at its bottom, peel off skin. Cool and chop as required.
- Never make a paste of raw onions if you want to keep it for any amount of time. It will turn Bitter. Always fry them in a little oil, and then grind.
- If an onion is too sharp in taste, wash, drain and toss into some beaten curd. Add a dash of salt and pepper, it becomes a tasty raitha.
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