Microwave Tips

1 ) Making oil less Pappad in Microwave - Place one pappad on the turn table and microwave. In less than 30 seconds pappad will get cooked. Watch the pappad, when it's getting microwaved. Stop the microwave as soon as the whole pappad is cooked.

2 ) Blanching Almonds - Place some almonds in a microwave safe bowl along with little water to cover the almonds.Microwave for 1.5 to 2 minutes. Take off the microwave and cool a bit. Then peel the skin off the almonds. Almond skin will peel off easily.

3 ) Drying fresh green herbs - Mint leaves, coriander leaves, Methi leaves can be dried in the microwave. Place fresh leaves in a microwave safe plate and microwave for 2 - 3 minutes. Then crush the dried leaves and store in containers.

4 ) Make tamarind pulp - Add lemon size tamarind and one cup water to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 3 - 4 minutes. Strain to collect the pulp.

5 ) Make bread crumbs - Crumble 2 bread slices and microwave for 2- 3 minutes. Let the bread cool, which in meanwhile will dry, then powder the crumbs in blender.

6 ) Reheat Chapathi - Wrap chapathi in a napkin or paper towel and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.

Cooking Tips

Here are some cooking tips, picked up along the way of perfecting and learning cooking. Possibly, might come in handy.

A well balanced meal will comprise of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, essential vitamins & minerals.
Source of protein, that we get from food are from meat, fish, poultry, lentils....etc. Vitamins & minerals from green leafy vegetables like Spinach, Cabbage, fresh vegetables like carrot, beans, cauliflower, peas and fruits. Fish is a good source for Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

Now on to some cooking tips...........

1 ) If Basmati rice is over cooked and soggy,add a teaspoon ghee / butter. The grains will separate.
Or Drain all the water using a colander, pour cold water all over the hot cooked rice and drain well.

2 ) To prevent eyes from watering when cutting onions, cut onion in half and soak halves in water for 5- 10 minutes.
Or Chew a gum while cutting onion.

3 )To peel the skin off the tomatoes...put the tomatoes in boiling water for 2 minutes and then in icy cold water. Peel comes off easy.

4 ) Soak potatoes for an hour in water before cooking to reduce cooking time by half.

5) Soak lentils/dal for an hour in water,before cooking....will cook faster.

6) Do not soak vegetables in water before cooking. This causes loss of vitamins and minerals.

7 ) Do not add baking soda, when cooking green vegetables. It keeps them green but destroys their vitamin contents.

8 ) Avoid any delay between peeling,chopping and cooking.

9 )Pappad can be cooked in microwave without any oil. Place pappad on a paper towel and cook for 1 minute. Depends on the microwave for cooking time.

10 ) If rice dishes, like fried rice, pulao ... turns out very spicy. To reduce spice level, add lime juice liberally. It will reduce the burning hot level to certain extent.

11 ) To identify and buy fresh prawns, check the head part of the prawns /shrimp. If it's clear white, without any coloration, then it's fresh. If it's not white and has orange or blackish color, then its been sitting on ice for a long time.

12 ) To ripen raw green plantains, place then in a bag of uncooked rice and cover with the rice. It will take a few days to ripen. You can try same method with other fruits like mango.

13 ) To clean Mushroom : Mix a spoonful of cornflour in water and wash mushroom with this. This will remove all the surface mud.