Weight, Measures, Cooking Times, and Cooking Tips, collected by Carlos Mirasierras
13) In case you forget to soak beans overnight, soak them in boiling water for an hour
before cooking.
14) To make homemade pastes of garlic, ginger or green chili last longer and taste
fresher, add a tsp of hot oil along with salt to it
15) If poppy seeds are used in grinding, soak it in hot water for 10-15 min, if you are
grinding it in a mixer grinder.
16) Whenever you add curd to the masala, beat it well and add it gradually, to avoid
lump formation.
17) While making potato patties, 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 patties will
not be gooey.
18) Always add hot water to the gravy to enhance its taste.
19) Do soak whole beans for overnight and other seeds for one hour before cooking.
20) While using ginger-garlic paste in curries, always use garlic at 60% ratio and ginger
at 40% as ginger being very strong makes your dish sharp and pungent.
21) Good variety chilies and chili powder also gives color to the gravy. Try to use long
variety red chilies. You may even dry it under sun for a few days and powder coarsely
at home. This coarse powder gives a good taste to gravies and pickles.
22) To retain color in the gravy always use ripe red tomatoes and remove any green
portions of them.
23) You need not knead the wheat flour everyday. Prepare enough dough that may
satisfy your daily needs for two to three days and store it in a refrigerator
24) Potatoes soaked in salt water for 20 minutes will become baked more rapidly.
25) To make noodles less sticky, put them in normal cold water immediately once
they're boiled.
26) Always heat the oil thoroughly before adding seasonings or vegetables.
27) To keep the fruits and vegetables fresh for a longer time, wrap them in newspaper
before storing them in the fridge.
28) To peel off the almonds’ skin easily, soak them in a cup of boiling water for 10
minutes
29) To avoid crying when cutting onions, peel them, peeling cut them in half and soak
in water for about 10 minutes before chopping them.
30) To avoid that milk sticks at the bottom, when boiling milk, add a little water at the
base of the vessel.
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