A Hint of Spice: MEALS COOKING TIPS

MEALS COOKING TIPS

CURDLING GRAVIES -Add the curd little by little, stirring vigorously at the same time. If adding to the gravy at the end, beat the curd till smooth. Add the gravy a spoonful at a time, stirring continuously.
REDUCE THE HOTNESS IN STEWS & SOUPS- If your dish has turned out far too hot, you can add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt to mellow the flavours. Did you know that when using chilies you can reduce the amount of fire you add by discarding the white ribs inside the chili peppers.
SWEET STEW? -Is your soup or your stew too sweet? Just add a little salt and that should do the trick. And if your main dish is too sweet, just add a teaspoon of cider vinegar to it.
EXTRA SALT -If you have added extra salt to your stew or your soup and it gets salty and unbearable, just pop in a couple of raw potato pieces. This absorbs all the salt and you may then discard them once they are cooked.
SOAK FAT- To soak up any fat that could be floating in a finished soup or stock, add lettuce leaves. Remove the lettuce and you will see that the fat will stick to the leaves.
CLEAN COFFEE ODOUR- To clean an electric coffee grinder, just add a small amount of rice and turn it on until the grinder no longer has any odour. It works great for removing both coffee odours and pungent smells from grinding spices.
CURRY FAT- To remove fat from curries, soups etc., cool, then refrigerate. When cold, the excess fat will solidify and come to the surface so that you can remove it.
FIRM CUTLETS- While making cutlets, if you find the mixture too soft to shape, chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, and shape again.
NO MESS PANCAKES- Make no-mess pancakes with the help of a ketchup bottle: Pour in batter, then squeeze out precise portions.
SAME SIZE PAKODE/VADE etc-If you want to make uniform size Pakode(fritters) or Vade (for Sambhar-Vada or Dahi Vada) or any deep fried dish using batter,the simplest trick is to use a Ice Cream Scoop or round shape tablespoon or round shape teaspoon (depending on what size you want).Dip the icecream scoop in plain water and then in the batter.The batter will slip easily from the scoop to the oil.