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what to do with Frozen Veggies before cooking them?

Discussion in 'General Discussions - USA & Canada' started by SurekhaKrishna, Dec 4, 2009.

  1. SurekhaKrishna

    SurekhaKrishna Bronze IL'ite

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    Hi ILs,
    How do you use frozen veggies like spinach,okra,beans in cooking?
    Is it sufficient if I put them in curries as is during cooking a curry?
    Or is it important to defrost them,bring to normal state and then use in cooking?If that's so,can u let me know how you do it?

    Pls share the info:idea
     
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  2. tashidelek2002

    tashidelek2002 IL Hall of Fame

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    Ok, understanding freezing process the veg will be parboiled (half cooked) before freezing so its best to dump them in at the end of cooking and not at the beginning. You don't need to defrost and often recommended not to. Don't pressure cook them you will have mush. The only one that needs cooking from frozen (that I know of) is turnip/shalgam and it is awful frozen so just buy fresh. Peas/matar just needs reheating. Spinach you can steam and just stir into a sauce. Let me know if other questions.
     
  3. SurekhaKrishna

    SurekhaKrishna Bronze IL'ite

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    tina,
    You replied to me very fast.
    You know what....I was awaiting and expecting your response for my query:).Now I am thrilled to read it.thank you very much.It really helps me.:bowdown
    Now I can start cooking my today's meal with spinach dal.

    Really thanks to you dear.:)
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2009
  4. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Surekha,

    Some frozen veggies need to be cooked longer than others.

    Peas- the most easiest to use in cooking if bought from Americans stores. Especially, I love to use the frozen peas from Trader Joe's. Different types of peas are in the frozen section-sweet peas, petite peas, regular peas.

    The frozen peas bought in American stores differ from those bought in Indian stores. We can add the frozen peas right at the end of cooking for curries,soups,kurmas,south indian kootus,NI gravies etc. It just blends in and is well cooked.

    But the frozen peas that I bought from Indian stores, definitely need to be steamed in MW/pressure cooker/stove top before it is cooked.

    Okra (ladies finger)- Remove the Okra from the frozen packet, wash it well with cold/warm water. Again steam it for (3-4min) before making curries, adding to gravies etc.

    Surti papdi Lilva (mochai in tamil)- Wash it well and then steam it MW/pressurecooker/stove top and then it cooks/softens well for using in any dish.

    Frozen Spinach- Use it directly (no washing), I usually steam in MW/pressure cooker for 7-8mins for my dishes. Especially when I make spinach kootu,masiyal, palak paneer, aloo palak etc. But when making vadas/parathas etc, the steaming time will be less since it is going to be cooked further when frying/on tava and so on.

    Frozen beans- Again this depends from where you buy it. From Trader Joe's they are tender french beans and the steaming time may be less. Definitely don't use them directly unless you prefer the crunchy flavour (like for salads etc) When making curries or any indian dishes, better to steam it in MW/pressure cooker/stove top for a few mins before use. From Indian stores &other American stores, the beans are not so soft and may require more steaming time.

    Frozen Drumstick (murungakkai in Tamil) - Steam them in pressure cooker before use. When I first used them, I added them directly to the dishes (thinking that it is half cooked in the frozen packets) and they were so raw and I couldn't open them at all.:bonkSo, better to steam them well before use.

    Frozen mixed vegetables- Same as the above. Steam them in MW/pressure cooker/stove top before use. Again, the packets bought from American stores cook faster then those we buy from Indian stores. Since I've used from both, there is definitely difference in the time of cooking the veggies.


    Will update when I can think of any more veggies.
     
  5. tashidelek2002

    tashidelek2002 IL Hall of Fame

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    Krithika:
    You bring up a good point about the difference in the frozen veg and I would also like to add that there is a difference in views on some vegetables between India and USA. The easiest example that I can think of is peas. What I bought fresh in India as new peas would be considered way too old and tough here in USA. But if you are going to pressure cook them they are what you want so also its a difference in cooking method. In Delhi I found in frozen food section something called American Sweet Corn. Granted it was much better than the fresh corn that is sold and roasted but it was still much tougher than the one sold here in USA. Your writeup is quite helpful in showing this societal difference in ingredient and cooking.
     
  6. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Tina,

    What you say is absolutely right. From what I've seen, some prefer their veggies to be crunchy and not well cooked. Of course, if it is going to be soups-again depends , since some prefer it creamy and some like it to have some texture.

    In most of the salads, the veggies are added raw and many love it that way. But in Indian dishes, we like the veggies to be well cooked (ofcourse not mushy:))

    For instance, here, when I see in cookery show, they toss the beans for a few minutes (after adding the spices) and it's done! Perhaps when we are used to a particular style of cooking, it comes as a surprise when we see it any other way. Even for broccoli,cauliflower, cooking time seems to be minimal for some people, many times eaten raw in a salad bowl.

    And yes, the frozen peas/mixed veggies in Indian stores are so hard and takes a longer time to cook. Once I added these peas at the very end (thinking it would be soft )when I was making alu-mattar and the peas alone stayed hard and uncooked. :)
    (I had to place them in pressure cooker and cook for a whistle to get it cooked):bonk
     
  7. tashidelek2002

    tashidelek2002 IL Hall of Fame

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    Krithika:
    Interesting regarding green beans: I have purchased some frozen whole long green beans that are from France (you can get cheaply at Price Chopper sometimes) and they were far more tender than the frozen green beans here. As to fresh green beans, we have the regular bush beans that cook in like 20 mins but then you can also get half runner beans in the South that look like a thicker green bean but those take 45 mins including some pressure cooking. Both are delicious. It takes any cook some trial and error and also experience to be able to deal with all these permutations.
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2009

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