Kitchen tips

I have tried to compile some kitchen tips, which you keep hearing from friends often. These suggestions are never documented. I have requested two of my close friends, Jayanthi Adidam and Vijji Pasala to contribute, and tried to edit them. Jayanthi Adidam has been staying in USA, for longer periods. So she has lots of experience in storing and time saving tips. Vijji Pasala has always been an expert cook and has lots of ideas in cooking new dishes. So I wanted them both to share their experiences. Thank you Jayanthi and Vijji!

Many of the tips may not be needed for those living in cooler climates like USA. But in India we need to take some precautions when we have to store dals or powders etc. Also, some of the terms used here may be new to some readers who are not from India. I will try to include most of these  terms in the next edition of the glossary.


Precautions to be taken while storing dals, powders etc:

1. For those living in hot and humid climates, it helps to store maida (white flour) and besan (chickpea flour) in the refrigerator so that they do not get spoiled and stay fresh. Similarly, roast sooji (cream of wheat) before storing in a tin. Then it will stay fresh and will not get any bugs.
2. A bay leaf added to maida (white flour) in the container, will keep the flour from absorbing moisture.
3. If you keep a piece of blotting paper at the bottom of the container, biscuits will stay fresh for a longer period.
4. A piece of blotting paper at the bottom of the salt jar will keep the salt dry and free flowing even in rainy season.
5. A pinch of corn flour added to the jar of salt also will keep the salt dry.
6. A small piece of hing (asafetida) in the container will help in storing the masalas like chile powder, coriander powder and other powders fresh for a long time.
7. When storing dals, add 4 to 5 red chiles to avoid insects getting to the dals. Use of airtight containers is better.
8. If you have access to neem leaves, keeping dried neem leaves in dry fruit, dal and rice containers will keep the dry fruits, dals etc. from getting bugs.
9. Putting 4 to 5 lavang (cloves) along with sugar in the container, will keep ants away.

Cooking tips:

1. When mixing ingredients for cakes etc. mix in only one direction.
2. When making aloo parathas or aloo tikkis (potato stuffed parathas or potato patties) in large quantities, place all of the  boiled and peeled potatoes with two teaspoons of oil and all the masalas in a food processor like kitchen aid and process, so that you get an even and uniform mixture.
3. To make stuffed parathas, take a ball of dough in your palm, spread and smear it with a few drops of oil. Then place the stuffing and roll the paratha. This way, paratha will roll smoothly and will be crispy inside also.
4. While mixing dough for puris, add a teaspoon of sugar to the mixture and knead well. puris will retain their shape longer and puff nicely.
5. Always rest the dough for at least one or two hours before making either samosas, bobbatlu (puran poli) or kajalu.
6. Methi parathas will be tastier if you use sour buttermilk while preparing the dough
7. To get crispy murukkus or kachoris, add one or two teaspoons of hot oil to the dough, while mixing.
8. One or two teaspoons of unflavored corn flour added to maida (white flour) makes puris, samosas or kachoris crisp.
9. Add a teaspoon of sabudana (sago pearls) and a spoon of methi (fenugreek  seeds) to urad dal while soaking for dosa. Then dosas will be crispy  and golden colored.
10. In winter, when outside temperature is low, grind dosa or idli ingredients with half a slice of bread. This helps in fermenting the batter.
11. Boil tamarind in enough water and let it cool. Put it in a strainer, squeeze and sieve the liquid. Add a spoon of salt to the pulp and mix it. Store the pulp or paste in a dry glass jar, close the lid tight. This can be stored in a refrigerator for a whole month, if you use a dry spoon and handle it carefully. This saves a lot of time and also more pulp can be extracted.
12. Blanch three or four palak (spinach) leaves by dropping them inn boiling water and strain them. Add the blanched leaves to the kothimira (cilantro) chutney, so that you get dark green colored chutney.
13. Add two teaspoons of boondi or thin sev (chickpea flour savory available in Indian stores) and one slice of bread to kothimira (cilantro) while grinding for chutney. This enhances its taste.
14. Cut tomato in half and scoop out the juice and seeds. Chop the rest of the tomato pieces to garnish bhelpuri or chat (Indian snacks)
15. When lemons are in abundance, buy more and extract the juice, add a spoon of salt and store in glass jars in the refrigerator. The juice can be stored for two to three months.
16. Buy lots of methi (fenugreek leaves) when they are available in plenty. Separate the leaves and either dehydrate them or dry them on a piece of cloth. The dry leaves can be used as kasuri methi. When added to subzis or dals, they give a nice taste and flavor to the dish.
17. Add a teaspoon of ghee to rasam while it is boiling. This enhances the taste of rasam and also rasam will not overflow when boiling.
18. Apply oil around big eggplant, poke it with fork before roasting or grilling. Eggplant will not burst and it is easier to peel it. Preferably, cover the eggplant with aluminum foil, so that the oven or grill is not messy afterwards.
19. Before making sabudana payasam (sago kheer), soak sabudana in water for one hour so that payasam cooks faster.
20. Roasting besan (chickpea flour) adding to any dry subzis, enhances the taste of the subzi.
21. While making lauki koftas (bottle gourd koftas), if you do not have enough lauki, add mashed potato, two slices of bread and roasted besan. You not only get more koftas, you will get tastier and crispier koftas.
22. While making, if cutlets (vegetable patties) are falling apart, soak some bread in waterfor a few minutes, squeeze out the water and add the bread to the mixture. Then prepare the patties.
23. Before frying potato or banana chips, soak the pieces in salt water so that you get crispy chips.
24. If you sprinkle a little bit of salt to the   hot oil in a frying pan, it will prevent oil from splashing and food sticking to the bottom of the pan.
25. Always add turmeric to hot oil, before adding any vegetable for frying. It will enhance the taste, color and flavor of the subzi. Even while making pulihora with tamarind, or lemon rice, if you do this, taste and look of the finished product will be better.
26. Always add curry leaves along with seasoning, to the hot oil to get better flavor.
27. When frying anything in butter, add a spoon of oil to the hot pan to prevent burning of butter and browning too soon.
28. Add a small piece of jaggery to the covering batter of burelu/bhakshyalu before dipping the  sweet balls and frying. This gives a nice crisp and golden color to the outer covering.
29. If you are in a hurry to set curd (yogurt), set it in a hot case with hot water around it and add one dry whole red chile. Curd will set in less time.
30. Add four cloves, small piece of cinnamon stick and three whole green cardamom to chana (chick pea) while cooking for chole, either in crock pot or pressure cooker. Chana will absorb the flavors and cinnamon will remove any unwanted smells from the kitchen.
31. Always purchase onions with pointed ends, as they never get spoilt.
32. While purchasing eggplant, see that the stems are green and looking fresh. If the stems are not fresh, eggplant will not be  fresh.
33. Always place cut eggplant pieces in water.
34. After cutting kakarakai (bitter gourd), apply a spoon of salt to the pieces and let them rest for half an hour. Squeeze the juice that oozes out and fry it or cook it.
35. While cooking rice for pulihora or pulao, if you add a teaspoon of lemon juice the grains separate and will be white.
36. If you have to add hot oil or liquid to a glass jar, first put a steel spoon in it. Then carefully pour the hot oil or liquid. Then the jar will not break.

Making vadiyams (Mangodi/Vadam)(Dehydrated snacks):

 

1. While making sabudana vadiyams, or rice flour vadiyams, add some lemon juice to the cooked batter before spreading the vadiyams for drying. Vadiyams will retain white color.
2. Add juice of green chiles to vadiyams while cooking the batter. It gives nice color and flavor to the  vadiyams. Instead, if you add red chile powder, they will not retain white color.
3. Wet the plastic sheet before you spread vadiyams. Then, picking them out will be easier.

Keeping green vegetables etc. fresh and preserve them for a long period:

1. Remove stems of green chiles and put them in zip lock or paper bag or airtight container to preserve them for a longer period.
2. If leafy vegetables are to be stored for only three or four days, wrap them in newspaper, put them in plastic bags and keep them in vegetable crisper in refrigerator.
3. To store leafy vegetables for a longer period, wash them, spread them overnight on newspapers on dining table or counter top. Next day chop them and keep them in zip lock bags and freeze.
4. To preserve kothimira (cilantro) or curry leaves, place them in muslin cloth bag and keep them in refrigerator. The leaves will stay fresh longer without changing color.
5. Just after you bring kothimira (cilantro) from market, clean and grind along with stems and adding a few green chiles. Store the masala in a jar and it can be used for making eggplant, kundru or taroi (ridge gourd) or zucchini subzi. It saves kothimira from getting spoiled and also reduces cooking time. Stems of kothimira are a good source of fiber.
6. Lemons stay fresh and juicy for four to five weeks, if stored in a bowl of cold water. Change the water frequently.
7. Potatoes, sweet potatoes and apples do not turn brown, if placed in salt water immediately after peeling or cutting.
8. When good fresh ginger is available, peel, grate and spread in a zip lock bag and freeze it. Or fill a small cube ice tray with the grated ginger and freeze. When the cubes are ready, transfer them to a bag and use as and when needed.
9. Similarly, if you have harvested a lot of green chiles, grind chiles along with ginger and freeze the mixture. It comes in handy when you make subzis etc.
10. Cut vegetables steam them and store them in zip lock bags in the freezer. They stay fresh for a long time. This way, it saves your time in the kitchen also!

 

Tips for avoiding unwanted smells etc. and keep the  kitchen free of ants, cockroaches:

1. Change baking soda in the refrigerator once in three months to avoid stale smells from the refrigerator.
2. When hosting a party, to avoid smell of garlic and non-vegetarian cooking, before your guests arrive, boil a cinnamon stick in water.
3. To avoid food smells pour a little bit of white vinegar in the kitchen sink occasionally.
4. To prevent or eliminate cockroaches, mix boric powder with equal amounts of maida (white flour) and fine sugar and sprinkle the mixture in places where cockroaches are usually seen, like drawers, cabinets, under the sink etc.  Do not use it on the food counters. Boric powder is available in medical shops in India and pharmacies in US. Unlike the commercial insecticides, this mixture is not harmful for children and pets.
5. When there are ants in the house, or flies are bothering, add a few crystals of rock salt to the  mopping water.
6. Identify where the ants are coming from, (small holes in the wall or corners of counters) and close the holes with white toothpaste. When the holes are covered, ants stay away, as their entrance is closed. Also toothpaste smell reels them.

Herbal uses of different spices:

(Dhaniya) Cilantro and Coriander seeds	Coriander leaves as well as coriander seeds are used extensively in Indian cuisine.  Also coriander has some medicinal uses.	It can be used externally on aching joints and rheumatism. It is also good for coping up with sore throat, common colds, digestion problems etc.
Jeera Cumin	Jeera is used in Indian cuisine and also known for   medicinal properties.	It is a good source iron and keeps immune system healthy. Water boiled with cumin seeds is good for coping up with dysentery.
Curry Patta (Curry leaves)	Curry leaves are used as  main ingredients for seasoning . They are a good flavoring agent. The leaves have many medicinal uses.	These leaves are beneficial in reducing sugar levels. Each part of the plant provides some benefit or the other. The dried leaves are extensively used in naturopathy.
Methi Fenugreek seeds and leaves	Methi  leaves are  mainly used in  dals and subzis. Methi seeds are used for seasoning and preparing Masalas. Methi also has medicinal uses.	Fenugreek seed tea or sweet fudge is good for increasing breast milk. It also helpful for treating diabetes and helps in reduction of cholesterol.
Vellulli (Garlic)	Garlic   is used in many masalas It is also known for the medicinal properties.	Garlic is useful for treating common colds. It also has antibiotic properties.
Allam (Ginger)	Ginger is used for giving a specific flavor to food and has many medicinal uses.	Ginger tea is a very popular beverage every where! Helps to avoid digestive problems. It is beneficial in treating common colds and throat problems.
Aawalu (Mustard seeds and leaves)	Mustard seeds are  used for seasoning. Also the leaves of mustard green are the main ingredient in Sarason ka  sag. The use of mustard oil is extensive in India.	Mustard oil is a good lubricating oil for body massage. It is believed to help in growing long and shiny hair. It consists of omega-3 fatty acids. It is an excellent source of iron, zinc, manganese, calcium, protein etc.
Japatri (Nutmeg)	Nutmeg is used in powdered form for garnishing and also for masala preparation. It is used in soaps, perfumes and shampoos. It can also be used for medicinal purpose.	It is beneficial for the treatment of asthma, bad breath and heart disorders.
Miriyalu (Black pepper)	Pepper is extensively used in cooking, especially for garnishing. It is has many medicinal uses too.	Pepper helps in treating colds, coughs and other throat infections. It helps to deal with digestive problems and some muscle pains.
Kumkuma puvvu(Saffron)	Saffron is used for food coloring and flavoring. It is known to be useful in cosmetics also. It is mainly used in sweet dishes and pulao etc.. It has good medicinal properties.	Saffron helps in treatment of skin diseases.  In South India, expectant mothers are advised to take warm milk with a little bit of saffron as it is supposed to be beneficial for both the mother and the baby! It is a good remedy for coughs, colds and asthma.
Star anise (Chakra Phool)	Star anise is used in cooking and known for its medicinal benefits.	Star anise oil is beneficial for rheumatism. It is helpful avoiding bad breath and helps in digestion.
Pasupu (Turmeric)	Turmeric is extensively used in cooking and skin care products. It has wide ranging medicinal uses.	Turmeric helps deal with a lot of skin problems. Turmeric powder can be used for healing cuts and wounds. In South India, new born babies are given daily bath only after giving the baby a massage with oil smeared with turmeric. It also makes coping with diabetes easier.