Cooking tips

Discussion in 'Recipe Central' started by rathi, Apr 1, 2005.

  1. manju_j

    manju_j New IL'ite

    Messages:
    32
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Female
    I used to do the other way round!

    Hi Vidhya,

    I read your tip for reducing salt effect. You know what, mostly I do the other way round.

    The chilli powder we get here in desi stores, does not have a very good color like in India. So I always end up adding more. I will then try to reduce the hot/spicy effect by adding more salt (and water). Sometimes, I also add sugar depending on the dish!
     
  2. Varloo

    Varloo Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    4,022
    Likes Received:
    498
    Trophy Points:
    190
    Gender:
    Female
    How to retain colour of veggies?

    If cooking ingas stove, cut vegetables. Heat oil in a kadai, prepare seasoning. Remove the seasoning. Now add the vegetable (beans, carrot,cabbage, avaraikkai etc.) Saute a little. Now add a little water, turmieric and mix well. Lower the flame and cover and cook till half done. Add a little water if needed. Then, open and add salt and mix well. If not cooked to liking, sprinkle a little water and cook for some time. When done, the water sould have evaporated completely. Now mix well and add the seasoning ang coconut scraping (if desired) and mix well. Your vegs. will be green. If closed and cooked, or pressure cooked, the vegs will lose their colour. The extra pain taken to cook like this has its effect on the dining table. Varloo
     
    1 person likes this.
  3. Varloo

    Varloo Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    4,022
    Likes Received:
    498
    Trophy Points:
    190
    Gender:
    Female
    How to reduce salt in foods?

    dear Vidhya, the best way is to prevent yourself from adding more salt. Try this. While cooking, take salt as you always do, thn add only half of it to the food. This way you can abstain from adding extra salt.
    Try adding boiled potato or a lump of cooked rice if it is sambar or rasam etc. If it is a side dish, try adding beaten thick curd, or cream. Or add finely ground coconut or coconut milk (please add according ot the dish you are making).
    Varloo
     
  4. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    33,566
    Likes Received:
    3,756
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    how to retain green colour of vegetables

    The following points have to be take care of when pressurecooking vegetables:
    (1)use just 1 tbsp of water only for every 250 gms of vegetables (2) use a small pr.cooker or pr.pan (3) the first whistle will come in just 2, 3 mins - switch off immediately (4) within 2 mts lift the weight gradually & slowly allowing the pressure to be released - you can open the cooker.The vegs:are cooked & the colour is retained!
    The entire process takes 5 mins, less than, perhaps the time I took to type this message!
    cv
     
  5. sheeba

    sheeba Junior IL'ite

    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Gender:
    Female
    Khoya substitute

    Hello Ladies,

    I wanted to buy khoya(or mawa) here in the U.S. in the Indian stores, to use for our traditional Indian sweets like Rawa laddus, halwa, pedha or burfis. My son's birthday is nearing and I wanted to try making any of these sweets adding khoya.

    But I could not find khoya here and would want to know if there are any substitue for khoya that I can try, that would be available in the american stores or the Indian stores here.

    Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
     
  6. rathi

    rathi Bronze IL'ite

    Messages:
    179
    Likes Received:
    30
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Gender:
    Female
    Cooking healthy!

    Hello Ladies,

    I happened to read this in a 'cooking' related magazine. Found it to be interesting and thought many of you too would be interested. So sharing it here...

    A healthy balanced diet isn't just about eating the right kind of food. The way that you buy, store, prepare and cook your food, and even the pots, pans and equipment you use, all have a significant impact on the nutritional value of your meals. The aim should be to limit the consumption of oil-laden foods and to incorporate plenty of vegetables, fruits, cereals and pulses in our regular diet.

    To limit the consumption of fats in your regular diet, here are some handy tips:
    • Use non-stick cookware, as they require less oil to cook food.
      [*]Bake, steam or sauté
      instead of shallow frying or deep frying foods.
    • Use a pressure cooker to cook vegetables, as pressure-cooking requires less oil. This method also helps one to conserve the nutrients that are volatile, as the closed lid prevents the loss of nutrients.
      [*]Avoid the use of nuts
      like coconut, cashewnuts etc. Replace the gravies made with cashewnuts or poppy seeds paste with a vegetable puree like cauliflower or pumpkin puree. Use tomato gravy or pumpkin to thicken a vegetable dish.
      [*]Choose skim milk and its products in place of whole milk.
      Skim milk provides all the goodness of milk except the fat.
    • Try and use cottage cheese (paneer) made at home using skim milk instead of buying it from the market.
    • Preparing skim milk at home does not demand much effort from your side. Believe me, it is very easy to prepare. All you need to do is boil the milk and skim the fat layer (malai) that is formed after it has cooled. Repeat this procedure at least twice or three times to get almost fat free milk. An easier way to make skim milk is to mix skim milk powder with water to make milk, curds, low fat paneer etc.
      [*]Avoid salads with oil-based dressings
      like mayonnaise. Make innovative low fat dressings made with low fat curds or an oil free Soya sauce and lemon dressing.
      [*]Be aware of hidden fats present in foods
      like peanuts, sesame seeds, walnuts or cashewnuts, cakes, sweet savories, cream biscuits, chocolates, popcorn made with butter or oil. Very often, we binge on these calorie-laden foods believing them to be not so fatty as they are not as visible like in fried foods.
     
  7. madhu_cute

    madhu_cute Junior IL'ite

    Messages:
    55
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Ricotta cheese could be an alternative for khoya substitute

    Hi Sheeba,

    Try using ricotta cheese. You can it from any department stores in the U.S. and heat it in a skillet in low heat. Keep stirring till the water goes off and becomes dry. You can subsitute it in any dish that requires khoya - be it a sweet or for any gravy items like malai kofta.

    Try and let me know.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 18, 2006
    1 person likes this.
  8. Shakthi

    Shakthi Senior IL'ite

    Messages:
    113
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    23
    Gender:
    Female
    Check out eggless dates pudding...


    Hi Friends,

    Check here for eggless dates pudding.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 14, 2005
  9. vidhyalakshmid

    vidhyalakshmid IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,641
    Likes Received:
    1,751
    Trophy Points:
    325
    Gender:
    Female
    Urad dal vada

    Hi ladies,
    I tried urad dal (vulundhu) vada many times. The taste is ok but I do not get the shape and flatness as in restaurants. Anybody can give me tips for perfect vada?
    How long you have to soak and what is the ratio and consistency of the batter etc.:-(
     
  10. Priya Amarnath

    Priya Amarnath Bronze IL'ite

    Messages:
    539
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Gender:
    Female
    Urad dal vadai recipe

    Hi

    Here is the recipe for urad dal vada recipe. Pl try it and let me know the feedback

    Ingredients

    1. Urad dal - 1cup
    2. Greenchillies-2
    3. Pepper -2
    4 Salt - to taste
    5. Curry leaves

    Soak the urad dal in cold water for about 3hrs and grind it into a very fine batter by adding little water. Add finely chopped greenchillies and curryleaves to it. Add pepper and salt to it. Mix well with hand. Make vadas and deep fry it in oil till golden brown. Serve hot with chutney and sambar.

    You shd add very little water while grinding the dal. The batter shd be fairly thick then only u will get correct shape and taste.

    Happy cooking.

    Regards
    priya
     

Share This Page