new cooking tips for all

Cooking Tips

To reduce fat in the chicken by about 10 grams per serving, remove the skin before marinating it.
If you have forgotten to soak pulses like chana overnight, just put the chana in a flask full of boiling water for an hour. They are ready for cooking.
To make a soft fluffy omelet heat a non-stick pan and add a little more butter than usual. Now beat the egg and stir briskly (even while frying) with a fork. This way more air goes in your omelet, making it light and fluffy. Cook till done and serve hot.
Coconut milk when kept overnight in the fridge forms a white layer on top. This layer can be used as fat instead of oil for frying mutton or chicken.
Add a little oil and turmeric powder to the dal before placing it in the cooker. It will get done in ten minutes flat.
Adding a cupful of grated carrot or beetroot to the coconut while making coconut burfi will give you natural colouring and nutritional benefits.
To refresh stale bread, sprinkle it with water, wrap it in a foil and heat it in the oven on 200 ºC for about five to ten minutes.
Adding a spoonful of curd to ladyfingers while cooking will ensure that they do not stick to the vessel or turn black.
Sprinkle a bit of salt in the frying pan before adding chicken. It will cut down on the amount of grease splattering.
Peel and cut potatoes and boil them in water to which a little vinegar is added. They will be done in no time and will retain the texture as well.
While grinding the batter for idlis replace 1/5 quantity of rice with pressed rice (poha). This will make the idlis fluffier.
Place rolled puris in the fridge for ten minutes before frying them, they will consume less oil and will be crisper.
To make dosas more crisp, add a little fenugreek seeds to the lentil and rice mixture while soaking.
Rather than using food colors, use a mixture of limewater and turmeric to get (almost) tandoori color.
Always add salt to the water while boiling vegetables. This enhances their natural flavour and diminishes the need to add salt at the table.
Add a pinch of salt to the oil while frying "pakodas" or "koftas" and you will use up less oil.
To preserve the white colour in cauliflower and cabbage, add a teaspoon of milk or milk powder while cooking.
When soups or stews get slightly burnt you can renew the taste by transferring it gently and carefully into a clean pan and flavouring with curry powder or mustard to camouflage the burnt taste.
The art of making good naan khatais lies in beating of the mixture till it becomes light and fluffy. Also only vanaspati should be used to make them.
When boiling potatoes for cutlets add the salt to the water itself as potatoes absorb salt better this way.
Onions will brown faster if half a teaspoon of salt is added to the onions while frying.
While cooking ladyfingers (okra) add a few drops of lemon juice or a spoonful of yogurt to avoid becoming sticky.
Use crushed vermicelli to coat your cutlets for a change. The cutlets will have a nest-like appearance.
Onions will boil faster if you make X-shaped cuts in the root ends.
A pinch of turmeric powder and a teaspoon full of ghee added to dal before pressure-cooking it will give it a better flavour.
To roll out the perfect bhatura, roll out small portions of he maida dough into small puris, cover with a damp cloth. Roll them out to the desired size just before frying. The dough will be elastic, makes rolling more efficient.
Curry leaves used in any dish are usually discarded. To prevent this, here is a simple idea. In about one to two teaspoons of oil, fry washed curry leaves till crisp. Now, crush with hands or coarsely powder in a mixie. Store this curry powder in an air-tight bottle and use it to flavour gravies, chutneys, idli batter, etc.
If you are making an apple and banana fruit salad, add a pinch of crushed mustard seeds. It will prevent the fruits from turning black and also help retain their flavour.
Add a small piece of beetroot while making tomato puree, it will give it a bright red colour.
If you have stale ghee do not throw it away. You can freshen it by boiling it with a little yogurt – two tablespoons of yogurt to half a kilo of ghee. Cool, strain and use it again.
If brown sugar has hardened, do not despair. Just place it in a bowl, cover it with a clean, damp cloth and leave overnight. Next morning you will find it softened.
If you want your yogurt firm and thick, place a small slit green chilli in warm milk while setting it.
The best way to clean cauliflower florets before cooking is to soak them in water mixed with a little vinegar for about fifteen minutes. This not only removes the dirt but also kills the insects. Rinse in fresh water and use for cooking.
If you want to store eggs without refrigeration just keep them immersed in lime water.
To freshen up shriveled vegetables, keep them immersed in cold water to which drops of lemon juice have been added for about an hour.
To make peeling of boiled potatoes easy, add a little bit of salt to the water before boiling.
You can replace sweetened, condensed milk or mawa with skimmed milk thickened with wheat flour or arrowroot powder to make desserts less calorific.
It is healthier to garnish soups with popcorn in place of fried croutons.
If using desiccated coconut in place of fresh coconut, soak it in a bowl with equal proportions of warm milk and water for about half an hour and then grind. It will taste as good as ground fresh coconut.
Add a few pieces of raw mango while cooking bitter gourd. It will not only remove the bitterness but also add to the flavour of the curry.
A tablespoon of honey added to meat before cooking improves its taste and flavour.
Do not throw away the syrup from canned fruits. Add some cornstarch to it and cook till it thickens, add some flavouring and use it as a sauce with cakes or puddings
Grate the rinds of lemon, grapefruit and orange and store in the freezer. They make excellent flavouring for muffins, cakes and frostings.
If after halving a jackfruit you find it has not ripened enough wrap the halves tightly in a muslin cloth and keep it in a dark place. It will ripen in a few days. And you will know it is ready when you get the strong flavour of a ripened jackfruit.
If you use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar to sweeten whipped cream, it will make the cream fluffy
If you add one teaspoon of glycerine to every half kilogram of flour, it will help make the cakes light and spongy.
If you add a little boiled tur dal to the besan batter it will make the batata vadas crispier
Add a little malai (cream) to the dholkla batter to make them softer and richer.
Left over coconut milk can be frozen in ice trays and used whenever required.
While making bread, warm the ingredients in the oven before kneading the dough. It will help make the dough softer and the bread too will have a better texture.
Add a teaspoon of condensed milk while preparing the icing for a cake in order to prevent it from cracking.
If the curd has not set well place the bowl of curd in a bowl of warm water and it will set within fifteen minutes
In the winter if you add a little fruit salt to the idli batter it will help ferment faster and also make the idlis softer
If you add a carrot to tomatoes while making soup, it will not only reduce the sourness but also increase the nutrient value.
Drop raw banana and brinjal slices into water mixed with curd .This will prevent them from turning black
If the potato chips you brought for your party turn soggy, simply pop them in microwave for 30 to 60 seconds . they will turn crispy again.
Add a little boiled toovar dal to the besan batter for batata vadas. They will be crisper.
Add a little malai (cream) to dhokla batter to make them softer and richer.
Left over coconut milk can be frozen in ice trays and used whenever required
Add a teaspoon of condensed milk while preparing glace icing. This prevents it from cracking
When the curd is not set well, place the bowl in a pan with warm water. It will set within fifteen minutes.
In winters, adding a little fruit salt to the idli batter helps it ferment faster and also makes idlis softer.
Adding a carrot to tomatoes while making soup reduces the sourness and also increases the nutrient value.
Drop raw banana and brinjal slices into water mixed with curd. This prevents them from turning black.
Add a little sugar to the dosa mixture to make them brown nicely and become crisp.
You can make delicious ‘makki ki rotis’ without breaking them by adding some wheat flour while kneading the dough.
To make thick curd, add one teaspoon of milk powder to the milk while setting the curd.
If cream does not whip properly, add some white of egg and it will beat up really fluffy. One egg white is enough for two cups of cream.

SPOOF ---ENJOY LIKE THAT

HOTEL KERALA-FONIA>> On the road to Trivandrum>
Coconut oil in my hair>
Warm smell of avial>
Rising up through the air>
Up ahead in the distance >
I saw a bright pink tube-light>
My tummy rumbled, I felt weak and thin>
I had to stop for a bite>
There he stood in the doorway>
Flicked his mundu in style>
And I was thinking to myself>
I don't like the look of his sinister smile>
Then he lit up a petromax>
Muttering "No power today">
More Mallus down the corridor >
I thought I heard them say>>
Welcome to the Hotel Kerala-fonia>
Such a lousy place,>
Such a lousy place (background)>
Such a sad disgrace,>
Plenty of bugs at the Hotel Kerala-fonia >
Any time of year>
Any time of year (background)>
It's infested here>
It's infested here>>
His finger's stuck up his nostril>
He's got a big, thick mustache >
He makes an ugly, ugly noise>
But that's just his laugh>
Buxom girls clad in pavada>
Eating banana chips>
Some roll their eyes, and>
Some roll their hips >
I said to the manager>
My room's full of mice>
He said,>
Don't worry, saar,I sending you>
meen karri, brandy and ice>

And still those voices were crying from far away >
Wake you up in the middle of the night>
Just to hear them pray>>
Save us from the Hotel Kerala-fonia>
Such a lousy place,>
Such a lousy place (background) >
Such a sad disgrace>
Trying to live at the Hotel Kerala-fonia>
It is no surprise>
It is no surprise (background)>
That it swarms with flies>>
The blind man was pouring >
Stale sambar on rice>
And he said>
We are all just actors here>
In Silk Smitha-Disguise>
And in the dining chamber>
We gathered for the feast>
We stab it with our steely knives >
But we just can't cut that beef>
Last thing I remember>
I was writhing on the floor>
That cockroach in my appam-stew was the culprit,>
I am sure>
Relax, said the watchman >

This enema will make you well>
And his friends laughed as they held me down>
God's Own Country? Oh, Hell!>

TECHNOLOGY FACTS

1. Interesting & Amazing Facts
   Technology
   Aircraft Carrier
   
   An aircraft carrier gets about 6 inches per gallon of fuel.
   Airplanes
   * The first United States coast to coast airplane flight occurred in 1911 and took 49 days.
   * A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother's first flight (120ft).
   Aluminum
   The Chinese were using aluminum to make things as early as 300 AD Western civilization didn't rediscover aluminum until 1827.
   Automobile
   George Seldon received a patent in 1895 - for the automobile. Four years later, George sold the rights for $200,000.
   Coin Operated Machine
   The first coin operated machine ever designed was a holy-water dispenser that required a five-drachma piece to operate. It was the brainchild of the Greek scientist Hero in the first century AD.
   Compact Discs
   Compact discs read from the inside to the outside edge, the reverse of how a record works.
   Computers
   * ENIAC, the first electronic computer, appeared 50 years ago. The original ENIAC was about 80 feet long, weighed 30 tons, had 17,000 tubes. By comparison, a desktop computer today can store a million times more information than an ENIAC, and 50,000 times faster.
   * From the smallest microprocessor to the biggest mainframe, the average American depends on over 264 computers per day.
   * The first "modern" computer (i.e., general-purpose and program-controlled) was built in 1941 by Konrad Zuse. Since there was a war going on, he applied to the German government for funding to build his machines for military use, but was turned down because the Germans did not expect the war to last beyond Christmas.
   * The computer was launched in 1943, more than 100 years after Charles Babbage designed the first programmable device. Babbage dropped his idea after he couldn't raise capital for it. In 1998, the Science Museum in London, UK, built a working replica of the Babbage machine, using the materials and work methods available at Babbage's time. It worked just as Babbage had intended.
   Electric Chair
   The electric chair was invented by a dentist, Alfred Southwick.
   E-Mail
   The first e-mail was sent over the Internet in 1972.
   Eye Glasses
   The Chinese invented eyeglasses. Marco Polo reported seeing many pairs worn by the Chinese as early as 1275, 500 years before lens grinding became an art in the West.
   Glass
   If hot water is suddenly poured into a glass that glass is more apt to break if it is thick than if it is thin. This is why test tubes are made of thin glass.
   Hard Hats
   Construction workers hard hats were first invented and used in the building of the Hoover Dam in 1933.
   Hoover Dam
   The Hoover Dam was built to last 2,000 years. The concrete in it will not even be fully cured for another 500 years.
   Limelight
   Limelight was how we lit the stage before electricity was invented. Basically, illumination was produced by heating blocks of lime until they glowed.
   Mobile (Cellular) Phones
   As much as 80% of microwaves from mobile phones are absorbed by your head.
   Nuclear Power
   Nuclear ships are basically steamships and driven by steam turbines. The reactor just develops heat to boil the water.
   Oil
   The amount of oil that is used worldwide in one year is doubling every ten years. If that rate of increase continues and if the world were nothing but oil, all the oil would be used up in 400 years.
   Radio Waves
   Radio waves travel so much faster than sound waves that a broadcast voice can be heard sooner 18,000 km away than in the back of the room in which it originated.
   Rickshaw
   The rickshaw was invented by the Reverend Jonathan Scobie, an American Baptist minister living in Yokohama, Japan, built the first model in 1869 in order to transport his invalid wife. Today it remains a common mode of transportation in the Orient.
   Ships & Boats
   * The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth 2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
   * The world's oldest surviving boat is a simple 10 feet long dugout dated to 7400 BC. It was discovered in Pesse Holland in the Netherlands.
   * Rock drawings from the Red Sea site of Wadi Hammamat, dated to around 4000 BC show that Egyptian boats were made from papyrus and reeds.
   * The world's earliest known plank-built ship, made from cedar and sycamore wood and dated to 2600 BC, was discovered next to the Great Pyramid in 1952.
   * The Egyptians created the first organized navy in 2300 BC.
   * Oar-powered ships were developed by the Sumerians in 3500 BC.
   * Sails were first used by the Phoenicians around 2000 BC.
   Silicon Chip
   A chip of silicon a quarter-inch square has the capacity of the original 1949 ENIAC computer, which occupied a city block.
   Skyscraper
   The term skyscraper was first used way back in 1888 to describe an 11-story building.
   Sound
   Sound travels 15 times faster through steel than through the air.
   Telephones
   There are more than 600 million telephone lines today, yet almost half the world's population has never made a phone call.
   Television
   Scottish inventor John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television in 1926 in Soho, London. Ten years later there were only 100 TV sets in the world.
   Traffic Lights
   Traffic lights were used before the advent of the motorcar. In 1868, a lantern with red and green signals was used at a London intersection to control the flow of horse buggies and pedestrians.
   Transistors
   More than a billion transistors are manufactured... every second.
   VCR's
   The first VCR, made in 1956, was the size of a piano.
   Windmill
   The windmill originated in Iran in AD 644. It was used to grind grain.
   World Trade Center
   The World Trade Center towers were designed to collapse in a pancake-like fashion, instead of simply falling over on their sides. This design feature saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives on Sept. 11, 2001, when they were destroyed by terrorists.