Kitchen Hack for Indian Cooking

Here are some useful kitchen tips that are good to use in the kitchen while cooking Indian Food. I learned these techniques by friends, experiences, internet and facebook.

• If you have added extra salt by mistake then do not worry. Just peel 2–3 raw potatoes and mix them in the dish (don’t cut them as it will be difficult to remove them later). Leave it for 15 minutes or so and then remove the raw potatoes. They will absorb all the salt. 
• Toasting nuts, rice, rava and dal before cooking with it increases its flavors considerably. 
• Keep whole lemons in hot water for some time and then squeeze them to get the maximum amount of juice. 
• soak bitter gourd in salt and turmeric to remove extra bitterness before cooking. 
• Add curd to any curry as a substitute for tomatoes. Curd can be used in chutneys. 
• before making any paneer curry, saute the paneer cubes in little oil and make them soft. This will help them absorb all the spices later. 
• If you want to check if the spices in the gravy have been cooked properly, just observe the edge of the pan. If the spices start leaving oil, it is cooked and you can add water and other things. 
• Add a few drops of lemon juice in the water before boiling the rice to make rice whiter. 
• Put 2-3 cloves in the sugar to keep ants at bay. 
• Place overripe tomatoes in cold water and add some salt. Overnight they will become firm and fresh. 
• Adding half of teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in the milk while boiling will not spoil the milk even if you don`t put it in the fridge. 
• Grind some common salt in your mixer/grinder for some time every month. This will keep your mixer blades sharp. 
• To avoid crying, cut the onions into two parts and place them in water for 15 minutes before chopping them. 
• To keep panneer fresh for several days, wrap it in a blotting paper while storing in the refrigerator. 
• To prevent the growth of fungus in pickles, burn a small grain of asafoetida over a burning coal and invert the empty pickle jar for some time before putting pickles in the jar. 
• A handful of well-soaked moong dal added to any salad will increase the proteins and make it extra nutritious. 
• Wipe the blades of greasy knives with a peeled lemon. Then wash under running water. The greasiness will disappear. 
• To remove the skin of tomatoes, place them in warm water for 5-10 minutes. The skin can then be easily peeled off. When tomatoes are not available or too costly, substitute with tomato puree or tomato ketchup/sauce. 
• Don`t store potatoes and onions together. Potatoes will rot quickly if stored with onions. 
• To get yogurt in winter, place the container in a warm place like oven or over the voltage stabiliser. If the yogurt has become sour, put it in a muslin cloth and drain all the water. Then add milk to make it as good as fresh in taste. Use the drained water in making tasty gravy for vegetables or for basen curry. To keep the yogurt fresh for many days, fill the vessel containing yogurt with water to the brim and refrigerate. Change the water daily.