Useful Tips

• Dough/Rolling pin: If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, place it in freezer for a few minutes.
• Egg peeling off: Make a small hole in the egg by piercing a pin before boiling it. You will be able to remove its skin very easily.
• Egg fresh: Immerse the egg in a pan of cool salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh; if it rises to the surface, it is certainly quite old.
• Garlic: Garlic skin comes off easily if the garlic cloves are slightly warmed before peeling.
• Ghee: Avoid the use of ghee. If it is necessary, substitute it with canola oil. Even for making halwa, you can partly substitute it with oil.
• Green Chilies: To keep the chilies fresh for a longer time, remove the stems before storing.
• Green Peas: To preserve green peas, keep them in a polythene bag in the freezer.
• Idlies: Place a betel (paan) leaf over the leftover idli and dosa batter to prevent them sour. 
  Do not beat idli batter too much, the air which has been incorporated during fermentation will escape.
  If you add half a tsp of fenugreek seeds to the lentil and rice mixture while soaking, dosas will be more crisp.
• Fruits: To ripen fruits, wrap them in newspaper and put in a warm place for 2-3 days. The ethylene gas they emit will make them ripe. 
  Frying: Avoid deep frying. Substitute deep frying with stir frying or oven bake. Don't pour the oil, but make a habit of spraying the oil in the utensil for cooking. Heat the utensil first, then add oil. This way oil spreads well. You will use less oil this way. 
  Left Overs: Don't throw away the foods left over. Store them in Fridge. Use them in making tasty dishes. 
• Lemon/Lime: If the lemon or lime is hard, put it in warm water for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to squeeze.
• Lizards: Hang a peacock feather, lizards will leave your house.
• Milk: Moisten the base of the vessel with water to reduce the chances of milk to stick at the bottom.
  Keep a spoon in the vessel while boiling milk at medium heat. It will avoid sticking the milk at the bottom of the vessel.
  Adding half a tsp of sodium bicarbonate in the milk while boiling will not spoil the milk even if you don't put it in the fridge.
• Mixer/Grinder: Grind some common salt in your mixer/grinder fro some time every month. This will keep your mixer blades sharp.
• Mosquitoes: Put a few camphor tablets in a cup of water and keep it in the bed room near your bed, or in any place with mosquitoes.
• Dry Fruits: To chop dry fruits, place them in fridge for half an hour before cutting. Take the fruits out and cut them with a hot knife (dip it in hot water before cutting).