Banana Leafs

Cooking

To adjust salt in curries add roasted rice powder. Add some vinegar in the boiling water before steaming potato. While chopping raw bananas and potatoes, put the pieces in a bowl of water to avoid it from turning black. To peel garlic flakes easily, wash and soak them in cold water for about an hour. Green peas will retain their original colour, if you add a pinch of sugar while boiling. If the curd is too sour, add 4 cups of water to it. After half an hour, remove the water collected on top. To clean up spills in your oven, sprinkle the spills immediately with salt. When the oven has cooled, brush away the burnt-on food with a damp sponge. If you don't have any cream to add in the soup or gravy, add a mixture of butter and milk. Apply some oil on the sides of the vessel in which you boil milk, in order to avoid it from overflowing. After extracting butter from milk cream, add a little milk or curd to the residue and boil. You will get soft 'Paneer'. For thick cream, cover the milk vessel with a thin muslin cloth and refrigerate over night. Barley powder will increase the taste of meat and vegetable curries. You can make tasty chappathi by mixing equal proportion of wheat flour and barley. Keep boiled eggs in cold water for 5 minutes, this will make removal of the shell easier. Cut boiled eggs with a knife dipped in hot water to avoid breaking. Boiled eggs will last longer, if you store the shelled eggs in a bowl of cold water in a refrigerator. If the bread is too soft to cut into pieces, hold the knife close to a flame and then slice the bread with it. If you need only the egg white, for storing the remaining yolk, cover the yolk with water or milk and keep in a cool dark place. Just drain off the liquid before using the yolk. Add a little powdered lemon rind to puddings or deserts to avoid the smell of egg. If you want to make crispy potatoes or banana chips, sprinkle salt water over them while frying. Soak almonds in warm water for a minute, if you need to peel them quickly. If a curry turns out too salty, garnish it with some grated coconut mix with cumin powder. Add a pinch of sugar while cooking spinach, it will retain its green colour. Dal will cook well, if you add a little sesame oil while cooking. To make the 'poori' more tastier, add one tablespoon semoline for each 100g wheat flour. Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda while mixing the dough for 'chappathi' to make it soft. For making soft sauce, add some paneer. Freshness test for eggs. Immerse the egg in cool salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh. If it floats it is stale. Cook vegetables without a cover. This will help retain the colour and freshness of the vegetables. To keep berries nice and crisp, wash them just before serving. Washing them way ahead of time will result in softening them.