Common Tips

#foodtips #tips #top_tips_cooking
1.       Menu Planning

Menu planning is not only essential when you are hosting a party but it also is the backbone for a well- balanced, healthy diet on daily basis. Besides, if you are a family then you ought to make one and all happy. Sulking faces makes it difficult to stomach the food served. Before you think hard to break the ice, here are some tips on how you can set a win- win table! 
  •  Try to include a personal favourite item (be it vegetables, toppings or the dish itself) of each of the family member 
  •  Make the platter as colourful as you can – it looks tempting! 
  • Include different ingredients while cooking to ensure appropriate intake of all the vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbs and of course fat!
  • You must know that the likings and requirements of kids and elders differ. You must keep some toppings handy for kids in any case.
2. Variety
#variety #food 

      When I say I stock in veggies for a week or 10 days, then indeed I buy in bulk. In this case, it’s so boring to serve the same dish often. Change is much required to break the mundane life. After all it indeed adds spice in Life!
  •       For instance, in case of fenugreek leaves, day 1 I use it in salads, day 2 or 3 I prepare sabz -e- methi, later methi matar masala and if still something is spared prepare methi paratha.


3. Multitasking
#timemanagement #kitchen

      All right, this is the key to strike the balance- be it work-life or work-work (i.e. from being a home maker to a professional). Well you all know the drill, so I will come to the point. If you efficiently manage your kitchen, equipments and time then you can diligently prepare a meal in 30 – 35 min. 
  •        Do not chop all the vegetables first and then start the recipe. However ensure you have all the ingredients handy. For instance, in case of paneer bhurji, chop the onion first. Place the pan on the gas, heat it and add butter. After adding the onion, start chopping capsicum and tomatoes. This should be done till onion gets cooked. And you save your time too. This will be difficult initially, but if you are well oriented and a fast learner, then you will save lot of time as well. 
  •       If you have pulses or rice in your menu, then soak them an hour or two before cooking. This will cook them faster and better too. 
  •       At times, use of many types of equipment may increase the drudgery. Use only those that you are sure of. For instance chopping with some chopper that has not been used before can be time consuming. Save ‘learning the art of using that chopper’ for your leisure hours.
4. Keep Experimenting...
#experiments #food

     That's right! it's ok if you add a pinch of spice less to the dish or have messed up with the traditional cooking method for that dish. Relax! you never know it still gets liked by one and all. As a matter of fact, you might be on the way to standardize the recipe with your style. Some tweaking and turning of recipes is also important considering the taste buds at your home. For instance, my family enjoys red pastas more than the white. Initially I thought it because of their inclination to tomato (a house full of tomato lovers in any form!), but it was the thickness of the white sauce and non- indigenous taste. I added and subtracted a few things and now my family loves the white pastas too!

5. Don't Waste or Dispose unnecessarily!
#what_to_do_of_extra_food #Extra_food

    When you know that you are privileged to be enjoying good food, don't misuse it. I mean besides registering the point that many people still starve to death, I also mean that cook only the amounts required. If you don't have the estimate (like in case of guests, etc.) you tend to cook extra so that you don't fall short. And if it all gets finished, you indeed did a great job! if it does not, do not waste or dispose... Many areas have places where you can provide the food to those who starve. You can do some charity as well if you have lots of food as leftover. If it is not lots, then consume it.

     For instance, I had guests for dinner but didn't know the exact number. So I cooked extra meal for 2 more. Now, it turned out to be a wholesome diet and guests enjoyed it thoroughly.. so the extra food gave me a breather there. But I had food that could be served to a single person. I shifted all the remainders to fridge and the next day mixed all the veggies/ pulses and churned them to a thick paste in mixer. Sautéed some onion and tomatoes added a few spices and the paste and water to give it a consistency of curry. Another finger licking curry was served on the table and thoroughly enjoyed by my family!

6. Taste Enhancers
#how_to_enhance_taste_of_vegetables #routinevegetables

      It gets boring to cook some vegetables in the typical conventional styles of cooking no matter how good they taste. I find it difficult to ensure 100% consumption of some of the local veggies like tinda, turai (ridge gourd), lauki (bottle gourd) and alike. Thanks to onions, tomatoes and capsicums. They are great taste enhancers. They add flavor to the routine vanilla cooking without marring the original taste of the vegetable - especially onion!
      So, its time for you to enhance the daily food...

7. The smell of your mixer pot
#cleaning #kitchenware #kitchenware_maintenance #pungentsmell #wayout #discoveries ;)
#planning

     Are you fighting to drive off that pungent smell that your mixer pot or grinder still retains after preparing pastes or onion purees? My grand- ma used to tell of washing the pot with salt in order to drive off that smell and keep the pot ready for use. When things are not planned in the kitchen, especially the list of things to be grounded or pureed, it can be a mess and a time- consuming affair, if you have only one such equipment at your service. For instance, you need powdered cardamom, powdered sugar, a gravy, a chutney to be made and you start reverse, it can take a hell lot of time, everytime cleaning the pot and re-using it with the nightmare of the onion/ garlic smell lingering over in cardamom powder! Its terrible an experience right? But this can be checked out if you decide the chronological order of using the pot - first the cardamom powder, then wipe the pot and powder the sugar, then use it for chutney (as it may not include garlic) and lastly for the gravy.

     Another handy tip to not waste much time on cleaning your pot after some nice spicy gravy paste is to ensure that you prepare the puree in steps. For instance, grind the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, etc. first (sans tomato or cream), add this to the pan and then in the meantime, add cut tomato (if red gravy) or spinach or mint or cream or curd to the same pot and churn well. This will almost steer clears the smell of your pot. Besides, this step wise process is also a key to ensure that the onion gets cooked properly (if it is pureed with tomato, it does not cook well and you can smell the onion in the gravy even when ready to eat).


8. The Magical Kasuri Methi

#kasurimethi #taste #kasturimethi
It is dried methi or fenugreek leaves in a procedural manner. Adding a pinch of it to cooked veggies, dals can make a real difference in the taste of the food. It enriches the taste as well as give a particular aroma to the food. Try it out with plain jeera dal or steamed cabbage or lauki - it works wonders! It is often used in most of the Punjabi preparations. Nevertheless, it will not alter the taste of the daily food. You can keep a packet from #Everest brand in your fridge as it is very crisp and has a long-lasting flavour. I tried some locally available Kasuri methi but it became soggy and lost its flavour too.

9. Maggi Masala

#maggimasala #maggi

While Maggi is such a staple and much- consumed product in most of the households, the real taste-maker is the masala accompanied with the noodles. Imagine the company realized it so late and started selling the masala separately. It is a hot favourite at my home and my son has helped me discover some recipes with the #magicmasala. They work wonders. Some of the ways to use it is as a sprinkler on cooked lemon rice, fried rotis, cooked sabzis etc.

#EasyCooking#TipsforCookingFast#HowtoprepareFoodforALL#fastfoodprep



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