Tips On Fruits & Vegetables Storage

How to store chilies for long days?

Place the green chilies into airtight container and kept it in fridge.

How to stop tears while cutting/Peeling onion:

Peel the onions under the water.
Put one candle in front of u and cut.
Keep the onions in the refrigerator for sometimes before cutting.

How to store Mushrooms

Cover the mushrooms with a soggy cloth or use paper bag with holes in the cloth/bag for ventilation. This will keep them dry and refrigerate for long life.

Fruits life extension

To extend the life of the fruits it is necessary to select the fruit depending on their various level of ripeness. Then use them as they ripen

Weekly shopping

If you have the habit of weekly shopping then choose the vegetables and fruits that will last long. For example potatoes, carrots, root vegetables, onion etc.

Avoiding discoloration of vegetables:

Some green leafy vegetables start to discolor after they are chopped. To prevent this you can add a pinch of common salt and sugar to the vegetable while cooking.

Storing Green Leafy Vegetables:

To keep the green leafy vegetables fresh for a long time you need to wrap them in a newspaper before placing them in the vegetable tray.

South Indian Cooking Tips by my grandma

Curry turned out a bit oily and pungent:

No problem take 2 bread slices and make it like a powder. Now add to curry and mix well. Bread absorbs the excess oil and spice.

Want to make a fluffy omelet:

Heat the pan add some oil or butter, then beat the egg and pour into the pan and stir with a fork. The air goes inside omelet, making light and fluffy. Serve hot.

How to make idly soft:

While you make urad dal paste, in a hot water add half cup of rava (semolina) and rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Now compress it and add into urad dal paste. Next day you get soft idly recipe.

How to preserve ginger-garlic paste:

Before grinding ginger garlic fry them in oil and store in the same oil.

To avoid sticky rice:

1. Soak the rice in water 10 mins before cooking.
2. Add a teaspoon of oil to the cooked rice.

To avoid foaming hot oil:

During any deep fry some times oil foam and rise up in the pan, For that add small piece of tamarind to the oil.

Reducing fat in chicken:

Before marinating the skin of the chicken has to be reduced this will decrease the fat in the chicken by 10 grams per serving.

Forgot to soak chana:

If you forgot to soak chana overnight, no problem soak the chana in a flask filled with boiling water for an hour. The chana will be ready for cooking.

To fry onions faster:

While frying the onions if you add ½ tsp of salt it will become brown faster.

To remove garlic skin easily:

The skin of garlic can be easily removed if the garlic's are warmed little before you start peeling.

Oil safety cooking:

When cooking with oil you need be very careful sometime the boiling oil stars foaming rising out of the pan. You can avoid this by adding a small size of tamarind ball to the oil.

How to make soft chapati:

To make chapati soft there are two steps do be done.

1. While making dough use milk or yoghurt instead of water.

2. The more pressing the dough by your hand gives more smother.

Finally cover with a soggy cloth and set sideways for half an hour before using.

Easy Mash Potatoes:

Mash potatoes while it is hot, because mashing is easy and fine mash will done.

Cooking vegetables in microwave:

While cooking in the microwave to maintain the fresh green colour add pinch of soda bicarb to green vegetables

Peel Tomato Skin:

To easy peel skin of tomato place tomatoes in hot water for 5-7 minutes before use for peeling.

Indian Plantain Fry Recipe (valakai varuval)

Ingredients:

• Plantain (valakai) - 2 
• Oil
• Sombu (Fennel seeds)- 1 tsp
• Garlic pieces -3
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Turmeric powder- 1/2tsp
• Red chili powder -1tsp
• Salt -as needed

How to make south Indian Valakai Varuval?

Remove the skin of raw banana and cut them in to small thin pieces.

Grind sombu, garlic, ginger, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and add little water.

Then boil the raw banana lightly and magnate with the paste for 15 min.

Now heat the pan with oil and add the marinated plantain mixture and fry. (Or)

Instead of deep fry try below method.

Heat the pan with 2 tbsp of oil and add curry leaves.

Now add the paste stir well for some time until the light color change comes.

Then add the boiled plantain and mix well.

Allow to roast in low flame.

Plantain fry Indian valakai varuval is ready to taste.

It goes well with curd rice. 

Valakai Varuval

Khara Pongal Recipe-Ven Pongal

South Indian Ven Pongal Recipe (Khara Pongal Recipe, Ghee Pongal Recipe)

Ingredients needed to make Ven Pongal 

• Raw Rice - 1 Cup
• Yellow Moong Dal - 1/2 Cup
• Ghee - 2 Tbsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp
• Black Pepper - 1/2 Tsp
• Salt as per requirement
• Ginger - 1/2 Tblsp (Grated)
• Curry Leaves Few
• Cashew Nuts - 10 No.

How to make South Indian Spcial Ghee Khara Ven Pongal Recipe?

Wash the rice, dal, salt and add 4-5 cups of water.

Pressure cook till 4-5 whistles.

When it is done, mash this nicely with the back of the ladle.

In a kadai, add the ghee and throw in the black pepper and when it crackles add the cashew nuts and saute in a low flame till it becomes golden brown colour.

Lastly add the cumin seeds and switch off the flame in few seconds. Add curry leaves and ginger to this and saute for a few seconds.

Switch off the flame.

Mix the spices to the cooked rice and dal.

Mix well.

If you want just add a spoon of ghee to this and mix well.

Serving Tips

Enjoy ven pongal with Sambar and Cocnut Chutney.

Gravy Dosa

Ingredients:

• Thick & Spongy Dosa – 2
• Onion – 2
• Tomato – 2
• Green Capsicum – 1
• Oil – 3 tsp
• Red Chili Powder – ½ tsp
• Garam Masala Powder – ½ tsp
• Salt as per requirement

How to prepare Gravy Dosa:

Cut the dosa into small pieces. Heat oil, fry the onions till it turn golden brown.

Then add 2 tomatoes, chili powder, garam masala powder, and salt to taste.

Cook till the tomatoes turn mushy.

Add capsicum and fry for few seconds. Do not cook the capsicum fully.

Then add dosa and mix well till the dosa pieces get coated with the masala well.

Note: Instead of dosa you can also add idli to the masala to make masala idli.