Cooking Tips Part 1

Here are some cooking tips which can help us to prepare our mouth-watering dishes more easily and perfectly without any mess...and how to select food items and how to store them to redeem their freshness for days

• Normally when chopping onions we tend to cry. To prevent from crying,chop the onions near a gas flame or refrigerate them before chopping.
• Add few drop of lemon juice and oil before cooking rice. The rice will tend to remain separate and rice will become more whiter and brighter.
• To make fluffy pooris,,just add 1/4 cup of white rava to 1 cup of wheat flour with 1tbsp of oil. Knead the dough well.
• If you want your pooris to be crispy, add 2tbsp of rice flour .
• Sometime we might add salt twice to our curries absent-mindly. Don't panic just throw in some raw potatoes or onions into the curries. They will absorb the extra salt,remove before serving.
• When boiling pasta or noodles-make sure to use a large pan or wok with water. This will give more space for them cook evenly. Salt the water before add the pasta or noodles.
• Peel the skin of the ginger by using the back of a spoon. The skin will be easily peeled.
• Freeze the peeled ginger to ensure it's freshness.
• Never add salt when cooking non-veg immediately..add halfway through or at the end before serving.
• Remove sterms of chillies before storing them.
• Soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before using as they will not burn during cooking.
  
• To prevent milk from overflowing while boiling,rub the edge of the pan with butter.
• After boiling any vegetables,place them in iced water. This will stop them for cooking further.
• To release the juice of a lemon, micro-wave it for 5 seconds.

• To toast spices, heat a small dry skillet over medium heat. Add spices and cook until golden brown and nutty-smelling, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent burning, for 10 to 20 seconds.

• Bring cheese to room temperature before melting. Melt cheese over a low heat to help prevent toughening and separation of oils and liquid.

• Lower uncooked eggs into a bowl of water. If the egg settles horizontally, the egg is fresh enough for consumption or -to test eggs for freshness, place the egg in a cup of water to which two teaspoonfuls of salt has been added. A fresh egg sinks; a doubter will float.

• When you are going to beat egg whites, let the eggs sit at room temperature for half an hour before using them. You’ll get more volume when you beat them.

• Rub your hands with salt and lemon juice to remove fish odors.

• Baking powders lose strength over time. They should be kept tightly covered and if you increase the eggs in a recipe, decrease the baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon for each extra egg added, and vice verse.

• When buying snap beans (green or yellow) look for a fresh, bright appearance with good color. Pick young, tender beans with crisp, firm pods. Keep green beans dry in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh for 4 to 5 days.

• When you want to broiler fry- chicken make sure it weigh from 2 to 3.5 pounds.As for roasting and stewing a chicken it should weigh from 3 to 6 pounds and Cornish hen must be around from 1 to 2 pounds and to improve the flavor of poultry, rub the fowl inside and out with salt before roasting.

• Frozen crab meat can be kept for no longer than 4 months and canned crab should be used within 6 months.Cook raw crabs within 24 hours after the crab dies.

• The ripeness of mangoes can be determined by either smelling or squeezing. A ripe mango will have a full, fruity aroma emitting from the stem end.Choose firm plump mangoes that give slightly when pressure is applied.Store mangoes at room temperature and out of the sun, until ripened. When they are stored properly a mango should have a shelf life of 1 to 2 weeks. Mango will not ripen in the refrigerator and store cut mangoes in a plastic bag for no more than 3 days
• Mustard greens should be wrapped tightly in plastic and kept in the refrigerator.

• Clean mushrooms only when you are ready to use them. Remove any bits of the debris on the surface, rinse with cold running water or gently wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth, paper towel, or soft brush. Squeeze a small amount of lemon juice on the mushrooms to retain the color.