Cooking secrets : Tips and tricks for beginners -Part 2

By : Swati Sani | 0 Comments | On : July 21, 2015 | Category : Cooking Hacks, Tips and Tricks Tags: cooking secrets, Food Hacks, tips and tricks

I learnt cooking the hard way, failed multiple times and I still do. The reason why I am  better cook than I was is because of some of the cooking tips and tricks that I gathered over the years. Here are a few cooking secrets that you should remember while cooking.

1. Thickening the gravy: Ever realised your gravy has gone too thin? One way is to evaporate the water, the other and quicker way is to dissolve 1/2 Tsp of cornflour in cold water, add to the gravy and bring it to boil. The gravy will thicken. Depending on how thick you want the gravy to be, you can increase the amount of cornflour.
2. Making perfect hard boiled eggs: Always bring the eggs to room temperature, before boiling them. Add 1/4 Tsp of salt in the water and let the eggs boil for about 5 minutes. Switch off the gas, let the eggs remain in hot water for about 2 min. Rinse and shell for perfectly hard boiled eggs. Adding salt to water ensures that the shell comes off easily.
3. How to bring down excess salt in a dish: This trick works best for Indian Cuisine. Cut a potato in half and put it in the pan while the dish is cooking. Works best for gravies. If the gravy is tomato or yoghurt based, add more tomatoes/curd. You however have to be careful here, additional tomatoes/yoghurt may make the dish very sour.
4. Dosa batter in half the time: Forgot to soak the rice and dal overnight? Soak them early in the morning in very hot water. The grains will get soaked nicely in about 2-3 hours. Grind them, and keep them in the oven for fermenting.
5. Easy fermenting of dough or batter: Keep the dough/batter in a warm place (not hot though). Inside of an oven with the light switched on is one of the best places to make your Idli/dosa batter rise and naan dough fermented.

Found these tips and tricks useful? Do let me know what is your favourite / most often used trick in the kitchen? Do leave a comment.

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Photo credit: seoulfully / Foter / CC BY;