Ayesha's Kitchen

Some useful Tips are given below For different things …

ONIONS:

• Slice onions in a bowl Full of cool water, this will prevent itching in your eyes.

SPAGHETTIS:

Spaghettis or noodles or pastas are almost the same stuff. They are boiled and added into a dish or they are served with mains. I have received plenty of emails complaining about the boiling of noodles. So let me tell you some important Facts about the boiling and serving of noodles.

FOR BOILING

1. Place them in hot boiling, slightly salted water.
2. Stir rarely.
3. Volume of water should be the twice of the volume of noodles, e.g., For one packet take 1.5 – 2 ltrs. Of water.
4. Once they are boiled, drain the water and immediately place the noodles under running cold water and separate them with your Fingers.

FOR STIR FRYING

1. After boiling the noodles, heat some olive oil in a wok and stir Fry them. Use non stick wok or pan. If making vegetable spaghettis or whatever, First get your vegetable stuff ready and then after stir Frying the noodles introduce them. This will be a great help in presentation of the dish.
2. Add sufficient amount of oil.
3. Make sure you use spaghetti spoon, because it is specially designed to handle this kind of stuff. Your spoon should be high quality spoon with Firm grip.

TO AVOID THE STICKING OF NOODLES

1. Use non stick utensils.
2. Once you have boiled the noodles, drain the water and immediately place them under running cold water and separate them with your Fingers.
3. Drain thoroughly and get rid of the starchy water. 

The best part is read the back side of the packet.

GARLIC:

• A very easy way to remove the peel of garlic is to place its cloves in lukewarm water over a night; press each clove between your thumb and index Finger and softly remove its peel.   
• Chopped garlic is very useful For the marination of chicken; it adds a pleasant odour to the chicken.

GINGER:

• Grated ginger adds comparitively good taste to your Food than ginger paste.

BREAD:

• Refrigerate your bread two days before its expiry to avoid the rottening.
• Heat some water in a thick bottomed pan and place a sieve on it. Pack your cold or refrigerated bread slices in a clean kitchen cloth and place it in the sieve. After 5 minutes your bread will be refreshed.

DOUGH:

• When making dough For pizza, add a little amount of olive oil (2 tbspns most probably) and cover it with a plastic sheet or a cling Film, this will avoid its sticking to your hands and allow it to raise properly.
• When making dough For chapattis add 2 tbspns of olive oil at the end, this will make your chapattis soft and will prevent its sticking to your hands.
• When making dough For parathas, add 2 tbspns of Flour (Maida) to 1 cup of whole wheat Flour, this will make your dough cohesive and tasty.
• Knead dough thoroughly to get the best taste.

VINEGAR:

• Use white vinegar to marinade chicken because it kills the bad odour of chicken and make it tender.
• Use vinegar when boiling rice to maintain its shape.

CAKES:

• When making batter For the cake, remember Following things to make your cake soft and Fluffy:

1. Use soft or melted unsalted butter.
2. Use ground sugar.
3. Beat butter and sugar well.
4. Add one egg at a time and whisk.

• When making cake try to mix all the dry ingredients separately in a bowl, do not add them one after the other in egg, butter and sugar mixture. For instance, when making chocolate coconut cake, mix Flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and dried coconut in a bowl in such a way that they look one. This will help you to avoid lumps in mixture and in cake too.
• If you are using non – stick cake pan, then glaze it with a little amount of melted butter otherwise glaze your pan with butter and then spread cooking paper glaze it with some butter too. Your cake will easily come out. 
• When the cake is baked, keep it in its pan For 20 – 30 minutes to settle it down, them take it out.
• Softly Fold dry Fruits in the cake batter when you are done with its mixing and beating.
• If you are adding any syrup, any essence or any colour to your cake, add it with eggsa and beat well.
• To test if your cake is baked, take one toothpick or a bamboo stick and pinch it in the middle of the cake and take out, if it comes clean with no batter then your cake is done, if no then it needs some more time.
• Timings of cake depend on the size of its pan. If the pan is bigger in size, your cake will take less time to get ready and if your pan is small and compact then it will take more time.

COOKIES:

• When making cookies be sure that the size of all of your cookies are same, their thickness, their width all stuff, because it makes variation to baking time and serving.
• If cookie mixture is sticky, leave it For some time, it will settle itself.

RICE:

• Soak rice 30 minutes before the cooking time in a deep and a vast utensil.
• Boil them in a vast pan.
• Store boiled rice in Freezer, For Further consumption.
• While boiling rice, add a pinch of salt, a tbspn of olive oil and vinegar, this will help you in maintaining their shape.

BIRYANI RICE:

• Soak rice 30 minutes before boiling.
• Boil them in salted boiling water.
• boil them 80 – 90 %. (10 mintes after adding the soaked rice on medium low heat)

BIRYANI:

• Use thick bottomed, vast, non stick pan for making biryani.
• If using the simple ordinary stainless steel pan then make sure your flame is very low, to avoid its sticking to the bottom of the utensil place your pan on a flat pan at the end.
• Use airtight lids.
• Avoid using water, add yogurt insted but to a limited quantity.
• Try to make spicy meat masala.
• Use Kewra essence to get a nice biryani smell.
• Add curry leaves to give a boost to your biryani.
• Use 80 – 90 % boiled rice for the preparation of biryani.
• Cook on medium heat but when at the and after adding rice cook on very low heat for 5 – 10 minutes.

TIPS FOR PRESERVATION:

Preservation Of Chutneys:

Never add water to any chutney that is raw (uncooked) and made up of natural ingredients e.g., herbs, vegetables, etc. Add lemon juice instead. This will give you the Flexible time of 30 days to consume your chutney.

Preservation Of Cucumber Pickle/ Onion Pickle/ Jalapeno Pickle/ Green Chilli Pickle:

Vinegar and mustard seeds are the most essential ingredients in the preservation of cucumber pickle. As Far as other pickles are concerned, use plenty of vinegar, no mustard seeds. These products are natural and they adds a unique Flavour to the pickle too. I think natural products make you life healthy and easy, so use lots of lots of natural products.