Fifty Kitchen Tips from the Panel

50 tips · categories are inferred from each tip's wording

1. 1

   Light the stove only when everything for the dish is cut and measured.

   Technique

2. 2

   Wash rice until the water runs clear; soak it 20 minutes for softer, lighter grains.

   Grains

3. 3

   For khichdi that never sticks, add 1 tsp ghee to the cooker before the grains.

   GrainsDairy

4. 4

   A drop of oil in the dal water stops pressure-cooker froth from blocking the valve.

   Pulses

5. 5

   Skim the foam on boiling dal — Ayurveda considers it the heaviest part.

   Pulses

6. 6

   Salt dal at the end; it softens faster and you control salt better.

   Pulses

7. 7

   Roast suji until it smells of biscuits; underdone suji makes sticky upma.

   Grains

8. 8

   For lump-free ragi or besan, always whisk into cold water first.

   Technique

9. 9

   Fry hing in fat for no more than 5 seconds.

   Spices

10. 10

    Bloom turmeric in fat for 10 seconds — it loses its raw taste and gains colour.

    Spices

11. 11

    Use the back of a ladle to mash a third of a whole dal for body without blending.

    Pulses

12. 12

    Squeeze grated lauki and keep the water for kneading roti dough or for soups.

    Grains

13. 13

    Soak paneer cubes in warm salted water for 10 minutes — it stays soft for elderly guests.

    Dairy

14. 14

    Blanch cauliflower and cabbage for 3 minutes in salted water before cooking — less wind.

    Technique

15. 15

    Cook okra uncovered first (no slime), then cover at the end (soft for elders).

    Technique

16. 16

    Rub bitter gourd with salt and rest 20 minutes; squeeze to reduce bitterness.

    Technique

17. 17

    Boil yam and arbi with tamarind or kokum to remove the itch.

    Technique

18. 18

    Add lemon juice off the heat — heat destroys vitamin C and makes it bitter.

    Technique

19. 19

    Add delicate herbs (coriander, mint, tulsi) at the very end.

    Technique

20. 20

    Make jaggery syrup separately and strain it — jaggery often carries grit.

    Technique

21. 21

    Add jaggery to milk only off the heat, after it cools a little, or the milk may split.

    Dairy

22. 22

    For curd-based curries, whisk in a spoon of besan or rice flour to stabilise, and stir constantly until it boils.

    GrainsDairy

23. 23

    Never let a kadhi or mor kuzhambu boil hard after the curd goes in.

    Dairy

24. 24

    Set curd from boiled milk cooled to lukewarm (≈ 40 °C); in winter, wrap the pot in a cloth.

    Dairy

25. 25

    Make ghee on the lowest heat; when the bubbling quietens and solids turn light brown, stop.

    Dairy

26. 26

    Keep a dedicated dry spoon in the ghee jar — water spoils ghee.

    Dairy

27. 27

    Store flours in the refrigerator in summer to prevent rancidity and insects.

    Technique

28. 28

    Put a few dried neem or bay leaves in grain bins.

    Grains

29. 29

    Knead phulka dough with lukewarm water and rest it 20 minutes — the secret of soft phulkas.

    Grains

30. 30

    Roll phulkas evenly; uneven thickness stops them puffing.

    Technique

31. 31

    Brush ghee on phulka immediately and stack in a cloth-lined casserole.

    GrainsDairy

32. 32

    Steam idlis on high for the first 3 minutes, then medium — even rise.

    Technique

33. 33

    Ferment batters in a warm spot in winter (inside a switched-off oven with the light on).

    Technique

34. 34

    Add fruit salt to dhokla or rava idli batter only at the very last moment.

    Technique

35. 35

    Purée soups while hot (carefully) for the silkiest texture; strain for Level 4 diets.

    Technique

36. 36

    Add a spoon of milk powder or blended paneer to soups for invisible protein.

    Dairy

37. 37

    Grind coconut chutney with a little warm water to keep the oil from separating.

    Technique

38. 38

    Temper curry leaves last in South-Indian dishes; stand back — they spit.

    Technique

39. 39

    Cool cooked food you will store within 1 hour by spreading it in a wide steel tray.

    Technique

40. 40

    Keep a probe thermometer at the hot counter; check 63 °C hourly.

    Technique

41. 41

    Cut vegetables for elders to uniform 1–1.5 cm pieces — even cooking, easy eating.

    Technique

42. 42

    Cook leafy greens in their own moisture with a lid; add salt only at the end.

    Technique

43. 43

    Use iron kadhai for dry sabzis (adds iron) but never leave sour dishes standing in it.

    Technique

44. 44

    Season iron pans with a thin oil film after drying them on the flame.

    Technique

45. 45

    Re-tin (kalai) brass vessels when the yellow metal shows through.

    Technique

46. 46

    Measure salt with a measuring spoon, not by hand — consistency protects BP-sensitive guests.

    Technique

47. 47

    Taste with a clean spoon each time; never from the serving ladle.

    Safety

48. 48

    Write the batch time on every container that leaves the stove.

    Technique

49. 49

    Keep a small 'mild' pot aside before adding chilli for guests who need it plain.

    Technique

50. 50

    End every shift by soaking tomorrow's pulses and setting tomorrow's curd.

    Dairy