Wednesday 29 June 2011

Kitchen Tips.

1. To sharpen your scissors cut a piece of sandpaper several times.

2. To clean burnt utensils rub them with salt.

3. If asafoetida [perungayam] gets hard, store it along with a few green chillies & it will become soft to handle.

4. When your sambar or dal is too salty, add a few pieces of potato and boil. The excess salt taste will go away.

5. Solution of used tea leaves boiled again can be used to clean glasses and mirrors.

6. Mix sodabicarbonate with a little water & apply this solution to outer side of the refrigerator & leave it for 20 mintues & then wipe with wet cloth for a good new sparkle.

7. Before grating cheese, apply a little oil to the grater. the cheese will not stick to grater & drop off easily.

8. If the rice gets over cooked ,don't worry just add some cold water & ghee to it, & let it stand for a few minutes. Then strain & spread it on a big plate, as it cools & dries, the grains will separate.

9. Pour in boiling salted water to open up a choked sink.

10. While using pressure cookers, put a small quantity [marble size] of tamarind [imali] in water which will prevent the inner side of the cooker getting a brownish colour.

11. If the gasket of your pressure cooker has become loose, do not despair, keep the gasket in the refrigerator for 2 days & observe it fit into the cooker lid as tight & firm as ever.

12. Sharpen the knives & scissors by rubbing them across the mouth of glass bottle.

13. Pods of Garlic can be peeled easily by warming them in a pan without oil for 2 mins.

14. To store semiya, roast lightly in a kadai & cool. It can be kept for months together without being attacked by insects.

15. Do not discard the water in which you have boiled potatoes. This water can be used for giving an extra sparkle to your silverware. Dip the silver into yhis liquid & rub thoroughly.

16. Defrosting the fridge is a cold & wet experience. Wipe the dry empty freezer with glycerin, so that when you defrost it the next time, ice will leave off easiily.

17. When brass & silverwares turned black, soak the vessels in the rice kanji for some time, & you will find that the vessels have brightened.

18. By placing corriander leaves in a kerchief & transfering them in a stainless steel container in a fridge, will keep them fresh for 10-15 days.

19. The burning sensation which you get on your hands after handling chillies can be removed with tamarind & sugar.

20. To remove oil stains from your vessels, pour little buttermilk before cleaning them.

21. For more juice, warm an orange or lemon in a bowl of hot water for 15 minutes before squeezing.

22. To stop vegetables from over boiling add a small knob of butter.

23. Lemons can be fresh for about six weekes if kept in the polethene bag in the fridge.

24. Rub a piece of cut onion on to the blade of a rusted table knife, & see the ugly brown spots disappear.

25. To ward off flies, hang a bunch of mint leaves near the windows & strew a few leaves on the table.

Tuesday 28 June 2011

Bhendi Fry !!



Ingredients :


1/4 kg ladies finger.
100 gms potato.
1/4 litre oil ( For Frying)
Salt & Chillie Powder according to quantity.

Method:


Take 1/2 kg ladies finger n wash it n wipe it well. Cut the Bhendi into long thin pieces along with cut the potato in the same size. Take oil n keep the vessel in the gas & pour oil in that vessel. When oil gets ready, add the potato in jolly pan ( see picture in upper side) n dip it in the pan.  When Bhendi gets ready remove from that, n sprinkle salt n red chilly powder over it.  Ready to serve.

Traditional Items:


1.                                            Kali & Thalagam                           

Kali

Ingredients :

Rice atta -  1 glass
Jaggery - 1 glass
Water - 1  1/2 glass.

Method :

Take 1 glass  of raw rice (Ponni Rice). Wash it n keep it for 5 mins. After draining full water , put it in a kadai & roast it till rice will become light brown ( roast till it becomes light brown). And grain flour nicely.
Keep a thick vessel and pour water along with jaggery and mix  well. When water starts boiling, add the Rice Atta and add a spoon of cardamom powder, 2 spoons of grated coconuts and mix well. Add a spoon of ghee ( with small pieces of fried cashew nuts). Ready to eat.
   
 Thalagam:
     
 Masala Powder:
     
Take little mustard , 1 spoon broken black gram, 1 spoon sesame seeds, 1 spoon raw rice,  little curry leaves together n fry without oil, till it becomes light brown. Remove from the gas & keep it aside.Then pour little coconut oil & fry 1 cup of measured coconut along with red chillies ( 6-7 ) till it becomes red n grain it to make smooth paste.  After that take some tamarind ( small lemon size) n take the juice from that. In that add salt, turmeric powder, jaggery and vegetables.
( Red Pumpkin, Brinjal, Raw Banana, Potato, Sweet Potato, Chempankazhangu, Kurkankazhangu, Kavath)
Dice it into big pieces.  When vegetables gets boiled, add the grainded masala, add 1 glass of water n mix well. When the kozhambu gets ready switch off the gas. Thalagam is ready.
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2.                                                                  Aviyal

Ingredients :

White pumpkin - 1/4 kg
Raw Red pumpkin - 1/4 kg
Snake Gourd (Podalangai) - 1/4 kg
Brinjal - 2
Raw banana - 1
Elephant yam (Senai) - 1/4 kg
Drum stick - 2
Carrot - 1
Curd - 1/2 cup
Coconut oil - 2 tbl sp
Curry leaves (Fresh One) - Little.

For Grinding :

Fresh grated coconut - 1
Green chillie - 2
Dry red chille - 1
Raw mango - 1 small
Jeera - 1/4 sp.

Method :

First of all cut all these vegetables uniformly 1/2 inch. Keep one big vessel & put all these vegetables along with salt, turmeric, & water. Let them boil. In the meantime grind coconut, both the chillies, raw mango, & jeera in the mixer. Mix curd to the masala. Once the vegetables are cooked well, add the grained masala to that & mix well. Before removing from the gas, add fresh coconut oil to that. Garnish with curry leaves.

Bengali Sweets:



1.                                                   Angur Rabri !!


Ingredients:

1 litre milk.
150 gms paneer or A big cup of milk powder.
1 teaspoon of maida.
1/2 spoon of rava (suji).
5 cups of sugar.
1 teaspoon of milk masasla. ( For Decoration).

Method :

Take 1 litre milk & add sugar little, boil it & put the gas in sim position. Mean time, take little panner or milk powder add 1 spoon maida , half spoon rava (suji) , & mix it gently & make small balls. Then take 1 vessel pour 3 cups water half cup sugar & bring it to boil. When it starts boiling, add the angur 1 by 1. Boil this for 20 mins. Once the Angur becomes soft , remove it (Angur) from jeera & add it to the boiling milk. Boil angur 5 mins more in the milk. Then remove from the gas. Garnish with milk masala. Serve it cool. Your Angur rabri is ready.
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2.
                                                       Mishti Dohi (Dahi).

Ingredients:

Milkmaid                                    - 1 Tin.
Milk                                           - 1 Cup.
Curd (Beaten)                            - 1 1/2 Cup.
Cardamom (Elaichi) Powder       -  1 Spoon.
Dry Fruits Powder
(Everest Milk Masala)                - 2 Teaspoon. 

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in 1 vessel. Place 1 big kadai on gas & pour 3 glasses of water. Keep the mixture in the kadai & close the vessel. Close the kadai also with a big plate ( See Photos). Allow them to boil for 25 mins. After 25 mins, switch off the gas & open the lid. See that the mixture becomes like a cake.
 Serve it cool or hot. Better keep it in the fridge & serve it cool. Sweet Mishti Dohi ready.

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3. 
                                                    Rasgulla .
                                          
Ingredents :

1 Litre Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Rava
1/2 Teaspoon Cornflour
1 Teaspoon Sugar 
2 Cups Sugar
6 Cups Water
1/2 Cup Cold Water.

Method :

Remove cream from milk & prepare paneer . Add rava & cornflour to paneer. Knead well till it becomes smooth. Divide paneer into small balls & fill it with sugar. Prepare syrup on high flame. [With 2 cups of sugar & 6 cups of water]. When the syrup starts boiling add panner balls to the syrup. Without covering the vessel, boil it for 5 mins, then boil another 10 mins with 1/2 open lid. Boil further for 2 mins without lid. Switch off the gas. Add 1/2 cup cold water. Keep rasgulla inside the syrup for 7 hours. Add little rose water.