Cooking Tips

For Crispier puris, add a teaspoon of Semolina / Rava and 1 teaspoon of Rice flour to the wheat flour while kneading. The dough should be little harder than chapati dough.

For soft chapatis, use milk instead of water. When you're done kneading put 1 teaspoon oil over it to cover the entire surface of dough. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for half an hour before using.

For salty curry, peel and cut a large potato in half and add it to your curry, otherwise add boiled potato cubes after curry is done. It will absorb the extra salt.

For browning the onion faster, just sprinkle a pinch of salt on the onions while browning and they will get done sooner. It really saves your time!

For quick fresh coconut alternative, take dry grated coconut and add just enough water so that the coconut is covered with water. Just before use drain water.

After cutting brinjals/ egg plants put them immidiately in salty water, it prevents them from turning brown in color.

When buying limes/ lemons make sure that the skin is thin, those are much juicier. To obtain more juice from limes/ lemons, roll them between your hand and the counter top, then sqeeze.

Instead of boiled potato in sabudana wada try to use raw finely grated potato, wada will be more crispier in taste.

Never buy carrots with green top, they taste bitter.

While making medoo wada/ udad dal wada, fry them immidiately after grinding to avoid soaking extra oil.

While cooking white rice add few drops of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon ghee. Rice will give nice aroma and grains will be softer and bright white in color.

Always wash and dry okra/ lady finger with kitchen napkin to prevent stickiness while cooking.

For making ginger, garlic and fresh chilli pastes at home, add salt to grind in a fine paste instead of water. Also u can add a tbsp of hot cooking oil to paste and mix well, it stays fresh for longer period. Refrigerate and use as required.

If using poppy seeds for veg/ non-veg curries, soak it in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes before grinding.

Never fill the kadhai more than half with oil; this will prevent bubbling over when the food item is added.

While boiling noodles, add 1 tsp oil to it. It prevents stickiness.

Storing fresh green chillies -Wash and trim stem of each chilli and spread them on paper towel to get dry.Then store it in ziploc bag.

Storing fresh cilantro/ coriander leaves -Trim the roots or extra stems and wash it in the cold water.Then spread them on paper towel to get dry and bundle them in another dry paper towel and keep it in the ziploc bag. They really stays fresh longer than you think!

Always wash vegetables well before chopping/ dicing. Do not wash them after they are cut.

While boiling rice kheer, stir it with egg beater to avoid lump formation.

After boiling eggs, immidiately remove hot water and replace it with cold water. The shell comes out neatly.

While making any kind of parathas(gobi, mix veg, mooli, etc) Add 1 small boiled and mashed potato to the stuffing, the parathas will come out very soft and tasty.