TIPS AND TRICKS

TIPS ON DAIRY PRODUCTS

• Use a spoonful of milk powder to low fat milk while boiling to prepare thick curd.
• To make curd in cold countries or during cold days try adding a couple of pieces of red chilly to the milk. Keep the container in a warm place, like the oven or the microwave.
• If the curd turned sour, gently add some plain water to the curd, leave for half an hour and slowly drain the water. Fresh curd without sourness is ready now.
• Sour curd can be used for making instant dosas like wheat dosa, rava dosa, rava idly.
• Hung curd:Take curd in a muslin cloth, tie the cloth and hang the it in the refrigerator with an empty bowl underneath. Leave it over night and your hung curd is ready.
• Hung curd can be used in many recipes as a replacement to cream or half and half.
• If you feel that milk is going to curdle while heating add a pinch of baking soda and it helps.
• Instant Kalakand:If the milk curdles, remove the whey, add some sugar, fresh milk, a spoonful of ghee, cardamom powder, cook till  thick kalakand is formed. 
• If you do not have lemon or vinegar handy to curdle milk, use some sour curd. It really works.
• Instant peda: Add a cup of low fat milk powder, a cup of low fat condensed milk, a spoon full of ghee, microwave for 15 minutes, with stirring every 4 minutes. Take the mixture onto a plate and cut into desired shape, your instant palakova/peda is ready. 
• Use fat free milk to make chapati or puri dough for a better taste. It also increases your calcium intake.
• A small glass of milk added while making suji upma gives it a better taste and color.
• Chocolate milk:Add a spoonful of chocolate powder, sugar to the low fat milk. Froth the milk with an electric hand blender. Your instant cold chocolate milk is ready.  
• Add a teaspoon of maida while curdling milk to make paneer. This makes the paneer more softer and paneer will not break easily.  

TIPS ON CUTTING AND CHOPPING

• Cut veggies as small as possible for quick cooking.
• Use large cut veggies for Masala and gravy curries
• Cut the veggies like brinjal, potatoes, raw banana and some in salt water until cooked to avoid discoloration.
• Sqeeze some lemon ice on cut apples and pine apple to avoid browning 
• Peel the onions and leave them in ice cold water for 10 minutes before chopping to avoid tears.
• Leave the almonds in hot water for 10 minutes peel and chop. Use them as is or fry them- after drying water with paper towel.
• Dip the knife in hot water before cutting dairy products like paneer, butter, cheese so that they are cut easily without breaking.
• Peel ginger with spoon.
• Freeze the dry fruits and nuts before chopping, so that they are easily cut. 
• Freezing the nuts, make them retain the essentials oils in them.
• Wash and then cut at the veggies to retain the vitamins and minerals.
• Green leafy veggies should strictly washed before cutting and not vice versa.
• Take a hand full of green leafy veggies, roll them as mat and chop and this makes the chopping easy and beautiful.
• se freshly cut veggies for cooking to gain full nutritional benefits. 
• If you have time in the morning before cooking try cutting veggies the night before and store in refrigerator in a airtight container.
• Cut veggies like carrots, beans, gourds, cabbage, cauliflower can be stored in a very airtight container in refrigerator for 3 days and freezer for 10  to 15  days. Longer they are stored you loose the nutritions.
• Wash then Cut the veggies pat them dry on kitchen towel air dry to remove moisture before storing in fridge or freezer. 
• Do not thaw the freezer veggies, cook them immediately after taking out of freezer or fridge.
• To give extra crunchiness to salad veggies- onions, peppers, celery, cabbage, lettuce, keep them in water with ice cubes for 10 minutes and then chop as usual.

TIPS ON STORING VEGGIES AND FRUITS

• Veggie and fruits you shouldn't store in fridge
1. Bananas             makes them black if stored in fridge
2. Tomatoes           Looses the flavor and taste.
3. Potatoes             Breaks starch in them and they become sweet.
4. onions                turns mushy and moldy.
5. Garlic                Turns soft and rubbery.
6. Fresh herbs       looses flavor.
• Keep the mangoes, avocados, apples, pears, pineapple, plums, melons on the countertop until they are fully ripe or until they are cut.
• Same for lemons and limes too.
• Wash berries just before eating and avoid storing after washing because even a little moisture  can make mold on them.
• Wash curry  leaves dry them completely without moisture and store in a glass bottle and refrigerate. I pat the leaves with paper towel remove moisture and keep them under the fan or table fan for an hour before storing in fridge. This way yo can use it directly from fridge and can be stored fresh for 3 weeks undoubtedly.
• Similarly I cut the roots of coriander, Wash and dry it completely, wrap it in paper towel and store in a air tight container and place in fridge. This way I can use it directly from fridge.