QUEEN VICTORIA
Age: 124
Total Posts: 26285
Points: 0
Location:
Lahore, Pakistan
Cooking Tips
Watermelons can be slices thinly, to expose high seed areas, from which seeds can easily be dropped down with a fruit fork or knife tip. Or cleverly handling a mixer for a few seconds, can separate seeds from fruit, like watermelon, custardapple, etc. The mixture when sieved will separate the seeds from the pulp.
ever overheat butter if melted is required, or else it will curdle to turn to ghee, and will not give the same taste and texture as required in any recipe.
A good and fast way to skin charred or grilled veggies, is to place them inside a closed polythene bag for a few minutes, then remove and rub skin off easily.
Chop apples, pears, etc. into a bowl of chilled salted water, drain, pat on clean kitchen towel, to keep them from discolouring for a longer period.
Though salads taste best fresh and crunchy, one may prepare dressing ahead of time, and chop nondiscolouring or wasting ingredients, like oranges, sweetlimes, veggies, etc. hours ahead and finish off in a jiffy at the time required.
Chill whole those fruit which discolour, and then cut when required in recipe, so they are chilled yet not discolour.
Any leftover thick kheer may be further boiled to thicken more, oversweeten a bit, cool and set kulfi in kulfi moulds or icecube trays.
Just sprinkling three-four threads of saffron on the kheer, after pouring into individual bowls, makes all the difference, in the kheer looking rich and inviting.
Just bury a sweet potato which has 'eyelike' growths at nodes, in a pot of soil. Water regularly, and you have a lovely bright green creeper growing beautifully in your sill! Below the soil,small potatoes will be taking shape. Don't harvest your sweet potato, until after season is over, and the leaves tend to turn yellow and fall off.
If preparation of kheer in advance is desired, then boil milk, add sugar, and complete the time consuming steps a few hours ahead of time. Heat milk, finish off additions and final steps just before serving.
A clove and a cardamom kept in the mouth while travelling, brings relief to those suffering from motion sickness.
If curd has turned sour, tie in cloth for a while (1/2-1 hour) remove in bowl add enough milk to get required consistency, beat well. The sourness will be gone. Use in raithas, rices, etc.
Rub mustard oil on palms and soles to bring warmth to a shivering body. Also use as massage oil for aching joints and muscles. However, the smell may be a bit repulsive, so add a few drops of perfume if desired.
Add a pinch of turmeric powder to the oil before adding green vegetables. The vegetables will retain their greenness better even after cooking.
Rub the point of a bee-bite with soft mud and salt made into a paste. The swelling will subside soon, as also the poison will not spread further.
