Pages

Monday, April 23, 2018

Collected Cooking Tips, Part II

Working smarter rather than harder. (For more collected tips, click here  and here)

DIY "SLOW COOKER" for overnighter cooking. 

NO PANEER OR POTATOES Try nuts and seeds for fillers. Pictured is almonds and sesame seeds with bok choy. And pecans with green beans.

READY TO USE, PRESOAKED CHICKPEAS- Keep in the fridge until ready to use. Long term they even start to sprout. Especially good tossed into a salad or stir fried. If they ever get a little slimy just rinse and they are ready to use.

READY TO USE CHAPATI DOUGH

Make dough first thing, then use, as needed, throughout the day(s)

READY TO USE PANEER Make ahead and can store in fridge also. Stays good at least a few days.
READY TO USE SHUCKED CORN- Whenever corn cobs are prepared, shuck any end pieces, and then refrigerate until needed.

NOT JUST FOR DISHES A dish wand makes a good stove cleaner, too.
EASY WAY TO KEEP PRASADA HOT Keep water in a larger pot underneath hot with a low flame. This way foods don't dry out like when keeping something in a warm oven. This also works better for reheating leftover prasada you want to keep moist.
QUICK AND EASY HOMEMADE "GREEK" YOGURT Let yogurt strain in a finely wired sieve while you do other things. And you can save the whey to add to a lassi or use it to curdle milk for paneer. WARNING: This will not work if you stir the yogurt first. It must be freshly made yogurt. You'll see the whey and it will easily separate with this method. Stirred up yogurt or store bought will not drain out any whey.

ALL THOSE VEGETABLE SCRAPS such as the heart of a cabbage or the stem and leaves left from a cauliflower or kale. Chop them fine and add to soups and kichari to cook until tender and flavorful.



QUICK WAY TO PEEL ORANGES Score into sections, Then peel


SOFTENING WITH SALT  For cooking dahls faster, especially those split peas that seem to take forever to soften, add a pinch or two of salt to the cooking water. Ditto getting veggies to soften and cook more quickly. But be careful. It's easier to salt them at the end because they will shrink.
STRAINING GHEE Sometimes it is slow to drain from regular piece of cotton cloth, so twisty ties can be handy. This can work for finding a place to hang mung beans to sprout, too.
KEEP SPINACH LONGER Put a towel on the fridge shelve and take the spinach out of it's plastic bag and unwrap any twisty ties so the leaves can breathe and stay on a dry surface such as a terry cloth towel. If the fridge is very cold, you can even wrap the greens with the cloth for extra protection.
Fresh coriander, string beans, kale, spinach... stay good longer this way too. Some may wilt over time, but will stay good at least a week or so.

NO MORE MOLDY GRAPES As soon as they get to Krishna's kitchen from the grocery store, get them out of the plastic bag and tucked into an absorbent, cotton cloth. Be surprised how much longer they'll stay fresh.



Update: to keep the coriander from wilting, it is now wrapped in cloth and then bagged. Even better is the bag the produce came in with a label on it. You may want to check the cloth after a few days and exchange it for a dryer one. Also look for any past due pieces so they don't affect the fresher one. In this way, coriander will stay fresh for at least two weeks!

BRAISING VEGETABLES
Vegetables gently boiled in soups or steamed in subjis are good enough, but this occasional cooking method can bring out extra flavor for a special kick. Simply braise the veggies separately in their own juices before adding them. First heat some ghee very hot in a cooking pan, add the vegetables and stir fry a few minutes to start the browning process.

Next, cover the pan and reduce the heat to very low and let the vegetables continue to cook until tender. No extra water is added, they simply simmer in their own juices as they emerge from the vegetables.

Add the cooked vegetables to subji or soup, etc, and then pour a little water in the pan to get the last bits of browned vegetable goodness coating the bottom of the cooking pan and add

HOW TO NOT WASTE MILK
Fridge broke down? Turn milk into paneer or yogurt.
Yogurt got overheated and the dead culture produced no more yogurt? Boil the milk and the dead culture is still sour enough to turn the milk into paneer. Assist with a little lemon juice if necessary.
What to do with paneer whey? Use it in chapatis and baked goods.

What to do with cream skimmed off of yogurt? Churn it into butter an buttermilk....



TO BE CONTINUED