Tips & Tricks

1. To clean very stubborn stains on pans and cook ware, use vinegar/lime juice and baking soda with some water .. and Yeah they are gone .. !!

2. To keep leafy vegetables more fresh and for more longer life .. wash them with water .. pat them dry ( or l strain the water completely) and keep them in ziploc bags ..also place a piece of paper in the ziploc bag , so it will absorb the moisture and keeps the leaves fresh ...  now they are ready to go in the fridge ... I use this trick for coriander/cilantro .. mint/pudina .. curry leaves ... spinach etc . 

3. As told in above tip .. I also wash the vegetables and fruits ... cut them and store them in ziploc's ... because they become really handy when we don't have enough time to cook .. it ll same some preparation time .. However fruits like apple may turn brown in color if you cut them before .. so avoid foods like that ... Happy ZIP Locking :P ... Save time .. 

4. For green chillies to have more life .. remove the heads/stems and then preferably place it in box with breathable holes .. or just Ziplock it :)

5. You can add a pinch of lime juice to the rice while cooking ...this way rice will look more white in color ...

6. In sambhar's and lentil soup .. if the sourness is more( or tamarind juice conc is more) just add some sugar .. this should balance the sourness .

7. All the time we have some leftover bread in our home .. so we can use the stale bread to make bread crumbs ,delicious bread garlic croutons or just dry roast the bread pieces and add it to your chaat / bhel puri as seasoning .. !!

8. For the ginger to stay long and fresh .. peel the skin off and store in the fridge .. this way they wont spoil soon ..

9. Try to cover the food with a plastic food wrap rather than plates in the fridge.. so it ll save the washing time of extra plates as well as you can see whats left in your fridge to eat :P :P

10. If you are trying to eat brown rice .. and you dont like it ? Well here is an idea .. Try mixing the white rice and brown rice and then cook ... Yes .. then slowly you can shift completely to brown rice ... You can mix equal amounts or 1/4 white rice and rest is BROWN rice .. I know its a good idea for beginner's .. :)

11.Lime juice .. My time saver in cooking .. whenever I dont have time to make tamarind juice .. I just add lime juice in place of tamarind paste/juice .. You can add in recipes like sambhar, daal, curries etc... it gives the same taste and its very quick ;)

12.Are your potatoes spoiling quick and not having long life ... Just switch to red potatoes .. they stay good for very long time compared to white/golden potatoes.

13.While cutting brinjal/egg plant just place the cut pieces in water with some salt in it .. this will prevent the blackening of the pieces..

14.Having a party at home ?? I know after parties are always a mess and painful to clean .. and So I suggest .. use the disposable plates,bowls ,spoons and glasses ( preferably buy microwave safe one's :) )  .. and also place a waste bin / empty card board box to throw away the used one's .. No washing No mess .. Stay Happy :)

15. Also in parties .. try buying small water bottles and soda cans .. so that you can avoid the water glasses and their mess if they fall on you expensive carpet .. Also it is very easy to distribute .. !!

16. Are you frying onions .. unfortunately you dont have the next ingredients to put in available .. you need to slow down the onions from turning into brown .. Well I have a tip for you .. just sprinkle some water on them .. this will give you some time for your preparation .. 

17.Do not throw away the plastic water bottles .. you can use them for food storage like storing peanuts, dryfruits or juices , buttermilk etc ..Well you can also use them for feeding birds .. grow plants .. do many crafts .. rest uses are left to your imagination .. !!

18. Dont throw away the water you used for washing daal and rice .. store them and use it for watering your plants .. !!

19. Do you want prepare bhel puri ? and your bhel is not fresh and crunchy :( .. dont worry .. just fry the bhel puri in an empty pan for a minute or two .. it will regain its crunchiness and freshness .. dont over fry them .. it will change the color .. So from next time dont throw away the bhel .. 

20 .For you quick meals always keep your masala's handy .. instead of preparing at the time of cooking .. this will save lot of time .. so before hand prepare your masala's and store it in air tight containers ... 

21.want to ripe fruits like chickoo/sapota or mango .. just place them in your rice container .. they will ripe in no time .. 

22. Having some leftover rice and dont want to eat ??? just grind it and add it your dosa's batter .. it ll give super taste and crispy dosa's.

23 . OOooops .. just added more salt your curry ?? Dont worry ... I have a tip for that .. Just add some rice /all purpose flour .. this will reduce the saltiness .. or just add a potato cut into two halves .. potato will absorb extra salt .. there you goooooo :)

24. Want to prepare buttermilk ... but have no energy/mood to churn it .. just use a blender/electric mixer .. or just use a egg beater .. this should do the work .. !!

25.Craving for some snacks in the office at tea time ?? I know I know .. just keep a box of roasted peanuts/chickpeas/beans/cashews or just plain pistachios ,almonds, walnuts .... Hmmm Let's see here ..just take a box of mixed dryfruits .. This will satisfy you cravings and hunger ... This is what I do for me and my husband .. Simple and Healthy tip ..!!

26.Want to make ginger juice but dont want use the mixer or blender ?? Ok I got it ... Just grate the ginger on the finer side of the grater .. there you go ..you get the fine ginger with juice dripping out of it .. just squeeze the grated ginger and get the juice ... :)

27. Want to keep the garlic fresh and for long time .. roast them in pinch of tumeric powder for few minutes (2 -3 min) ... then peel off the skin and save them for later .. roasting makes easy to peel of the skin.. on the other hand you can also try micro waving the garlic for few seconds to easily peel of the skin ...

28. Dont throw away the cilantro/coriander stems .. use them in brewing soups and sambhar .. it ll give nice aroma and taste ...

29.Having lots of pineapple skins ready to go into trash .. wait a second .. I have a nice tip for you .. just grind the peels .. and use it as a scrub for your feet/hands ... it ll give a nice massaging effect and seducting smell while you scrub it over .. also removes black marks and spots ...!!

30 .Most of the times .. in our homes we have gum marks left from stickers on our plastic containers etc .. so to remove them ... mix lemon juice and pinch of oil .. scrub it off ... there you go .. it's gone .. make sure you dont use it on clothes :P .. you get stains from oil ..

40 To have healthy , black hair and stop the greying of ur hair .. try this .. take some leaves of a red hibiscus flower .. paste them .. add the paste to your oil .. mix it well and heat the oil for few minutes .. now strain the oil and use it to apply to your hair .. this will help .. You can also use the red hibiscus flower petals as well along with the leaves .. make sure you use fresh and healthy leaves .. Also along with leaves you can add some dry gooseberry powder .. Look young .. Stay Happy .. !!

41. Always keep a kiddy bank / coin bank in your room .. start throwing away some extra coins from your purse into it .. in no time you can save some money to buy some goodies or  to donate :)

42.For the daily cooking .. store your oil in small container .. so that you will eventually use less oil for cooking .. !!

43. when you are preparing some chutneys or pickles .. to make them have longer life and freshness .. add few fenugreek/methi seeds in the seasoning .. this will prevent early spoiling ..!!

44. Grind your elaichi along with skins and store it for future use like in tea etc .. this way you dont waste the skins and moreover you get nice flavor ..!!

45. Is your apple juice turning into brown color ? Dont worry just add some lemon juice and store it in air tight bottle .. this will prevent coloring of juice.

46.Always keep some buffer food in your hand bag /backpack/office .. this will help you away from munching junk food when you are hungry .. some examples of buffer food can be multi grain biscuits .. roasted peanuts .. etc.

47. Have some left over rice , try using that rice for making pulihora/tiger rice , lemon rice, jeera rice, fried rice etc . Just microwave before using the rice .

48. With left over curries , you can use it in your sandwich , try making paratha's , just use your imagination and dont throw away the food .. !!

49. To remove stains over utensils, just soak them in hot water with some lemon juice / soap  and then you can easily wash them off.