It is week-3 of the nation-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and I am sure by now the away-from-home millennials’ kitchen playbook is in place and a routine is being followed. And for those who still dial home around mealtime , your mothers must be either frustrated or jumpy every time your name flashes on their mobile screen. After all, how long do you think your mothers are going to help you out?

Share Market Live

NSE

Come on, ask yourself. Even you would have felt the same way if you were in their position. But fret not, for I have a solution.

I can’t promise you a brilliant meal but I can solve some salt and sugar queries with some tips that my mum gave me when I started cooking and boy, those come in handy every time I am in a fix!

Here they go:

1. When you are making rice and it is soft enough, always drain extra water using a strainer. Add a spoon of ghee or vegetable oil in it to avoid the rice from sticking. It is the secret to getting “Basmati ki tarah, daana daana alag”.

2. While making a tadka, remember it is usually a standard list of ingredients. Pour oil in a pan, let it get super-hot, add mustard seeds or cumin, then some ginger, green chilli and garlic. Some recipes can also use curry leaves for the flavour. For example, a dry ladies finger sabzi will need cumin and ginger-green chilli paste in its tadka but it is not the same for daal. Daal can be done in many ways. I personally like the tadka to have cumin, green chilli, garlic and curry leaves but no ginger.

3. For the masalas again, it is a pretty standard list for almost all curries, sabzis and daals. But it is not the exactly the same. While a dry potato sabzi will need salt, turmeric, coriander powder and red chilli powder, a tomato curry can do without coriander powder. But do use some sugar to give it that kick.

4. When making any sabzi or curry, always remember to reduce the flame once your oil is hot. Timing matters, else you will end up burning your tadka and well, your food will taste burnt. Also, for masalas, keep your flame down for it to cook through. It takes some time for the vegetables and the pulses to soak the flavour but it pays to be patient!

5. The standard rule of salt – “when” is as important as “how much”. For meat dishes, add salt right in the beginning but for vegetables, it tastes best when it is put in the end as it helps keeps the vegetables crunchy and tasty. For rice and pulses too, add some salt in the beginning, it helps them cook better.

6. Curd is also a multipurpose ingredient and a great option for your plate. You can make a raita (vegetable, boondi, pineapple, just masalas, cucumber) or just have it plain. Or even add some tadka to it for a change. Some buttermilk and lassi can also be whipped up in no time. Pair it with some rice and maa ke haath ka pickle, who needs anything else!

There are also quite a few things you can make with one simple base – Semoline (rava or sooji) and gram flour. (besan) They are pretty diverse and a lot of quick meals can be whipped with these.

7. With semolina, you can make a 3-ingredient upma or uttapam or even idlis. It is all a matter of how much water you or curd (in case you are making idlis). For upma, you add water towards the later half when your semolina is roasted. For uttapam you add water to the batter to make it consistent so that it pours well on the pan. For idlis, you add the curd and let it soak for a few hours before you put them in the idli moulds. If you are feeling very adventurous, you can give semolina dhoklas a shot.

8. With gram flour too, you can make either pakoras or Indian pancakes (cheela, or chilla, if you may). It is once again, a game of how much water you add. For pakoras, you need a thick batter and you can add your favourite pakora veggies in it. All you have to is dip and fry! For cheela, you need consistency that makes it easy to pour onto a pan. Again, add some fresh vegetables to make it scream healthy.

9. Another great food hack is soups. Clear soup, lemon coriander and sweet corn soup is all about veggies and cornflour. Vary quantities of cornflour and vegetables and you have a great bowl of soup.

I hope these tricks come in handy whether you are making any curry, rice or something different in your kitchen. I am sure everyone is praying for these distressing times to end soon . But till then, stay safe, stay indoors and keep cooking!

First Published:Apr 4, 2020 1:15 PM IST