Storing Fresh Coconut

To store fresh coconut for long, grate and fill in the freezer bags and freeze.

Whenever you want to use it, thaw and use

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Tips to extract most out of the limes or lemons :

• Buy limes and lemons having thin skin. The ones with thick skin have less juice in them.
• Roll the lime or lemon on the counter pressing with your palms before cutting and squeezing.
• Soak the lime or lemon in warm water for 10 minutes before cutting and squeezing.
• Or, microwave them in little water for 30 seconds.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy !!!  ;) 

Prevent Curry Stains on your Plastic Containers

So many of my plastic boxes have turned yellow after I stored curries in them.
The turmeric in the curries are to be blamed.
No matter how much you scrub it , the stain happily stays.
I was reading about it on the net and found a nice tip for the same.

• To avoid this problem, spray your containers with non stick cooking spray before you store your curries or sambars in them. 

Tada........ you will have clean plastic boxes. 

Adding more oil while cooking

If you find that you need more oil in the pan while sauteing, add it along the edges of the pan, so that by the time the oil reaches the ingredients being cooked, it will be heated.

Saute Onions Faster

• To speed up the process of browning the onions , add just a pinch of salt to it. It will saute faster.  

Cholesterol Lowering Foods

• Oats: Including 1 bowl of oats in a day's routine would be very helpful.
• Beans: Any beans from kidney to garbanzo to lentils to black-eyes peas etc etc... are rich in fiber and help reduce cholesterol.
• Eggplants and Okra :  These veggies are low in calories.
• Nuts: Eating a few nuts a day like almonds, peanuts, walnuts is very good for heart.
• Canola Oil - switch to oil instead of butter while cooking. That would help.
• Apples, strawberries, grapes and citrus fruits : These fruits have soluble fiber and helps lower cholesterol.
• Soy: Soy beans or food made of that like tofu or soy milk help reduce cholesterol.

Above all that, Exercise , Don't be lazy !!! ;)

Use the water left over after cooking dal or veggies.

• Whenever vegetables or dal is cooked in water, many nutrients are left back in the water. So do not throw it away. Instead use it when making some gravies or soups or sambars and rasams.
• You could also use that water to knead the dough for chapati.

Crispy Poori

To make pooris crispier,  add a little rice flour ( say, 2 tbsp )

to the wheat flour while kneading.

Click here for the recipe of poori 

Forgot to soak beans overnight ?

It many times happens that we plan to make rajma or chole the next day but forget to soak them overnight.
A quick soak tip is that , boil the beans in water for about 5-10 minutes.
Cover it and set aside. Let it cool for about 1 hour.
You have your soaked beans ready to cook.
Works for kidney beans, garbanzo beans, an all other beans which need to be soaked overnight.

Crispier Pakoras

Pakoras will be crispier if a pinch of baking soda or a little corn flour is added to the gram flour (besan) while preparing the batter.

Boiling Milk

While boiling milk, add a little amount of water at the base of the vessel to prevent  milk from sticking at the bottom.

Restore soggy chips or crackers

If you have stale or soggy chips and crackers, you can restore it :


Preheat the oven to 300°F. Spread them in a single layer on a
baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool, then seal in a plastic bag or container.

Benefits of Cinnamon-Honey Combination

The combination of cinnamon and honey is said to be magical. Check them out:

• Apply a paste of hot olive oil, a tablespoon of honey, a teaspoon of cinnamon powder before bath, leave it for 15 min and wash. This prevents hair loss.
• Apply the paste of cinnamon powder and honey on the aching tooth thrice a day until the pain is gone.
• Add honey to cinnamon powder mixed in boiled water or green tea and drink. This helps reduce cholesterol. Also helps in weight loss.
• Cinnamon powder sprinkled on a spoonful of honey taken before food relieves acidity.
• Mix honey with cinnamon powder and apply paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash away the next morning.  

Skin of few fruits and veggies have nutrients in them

•  Potatoes have their nutrients in their skin. So try using potatoes without peeling it.
•  Eat fruits like apples and peaches along with its skin.
• Even the garlic skin is good for heart . Try to use the whole bulb with the skin.
• I know, the skin of the kiwi fruit is little hairy and just not tasty. But it has anti-cancer properties. Try if you can eat them with the skin on, otherwise,  the best way to intake the skin of kiwi would be to  use the skin if you are juicing it.

If you know of any other tip, please mention in the comment section. 

Juicy Lemon

Few tips to extract lemon juice:

• Microwave a lemon for 15 seconds before squeezing and extract double the juice.
• Before squeezing the lemon, roll it on the countertop applying pressure with your palm. Then slice into half and squeeze.
• Place the lemon in warm or hot water for 5-10 minutes before you need the juice. Then slice it into half and squeeze.

If you know of any other tip, please mention in the comment section. 

Smelly Cabbage

An unpleasant odor fills up the entire home while cooking cabbage. Not only while cooking but even hours after cooking.

A couple of tips that help reduce the odor:

• Try to add one bay leaf while cooking the cabbage .
• Or, add 1 tbsp of lemon juice in the cabbage.
• The best option is to keep your windows open and the exhaust on.

If you know of any other tip, please mention in the comment section.

Onion Magic !!!

Drinking onion juice or eating raw onion every day helps:

• Lower blood cholesterol levels, 
• Cleanses the blood, 
• Improves digestions, 
• Relieves insomnia,
• Prevents Cancer,
• Lowers Blood Pressure,
• Fights Hypertension,
• Prevents Tooth Decay,
• Cures Cardiovascular Diseases,
• Relieves Stomach Ache, 

etc, etc , etc................ and many more benefits.

So, try to include onions in your daily diet. 

Stay Healthy..... Stay Happy !!!  :))

Wash , then Chop . Not the vice versa !!!

Do not wash the vegetables after peeling or chopping. This will wash out all the water soluble vitamins.
Wash them before chopping instead.

Prevent Fruits and Vegetables from Oxidation

When few fruits and vegetables are cut and exposed to air, they oxidize due to which discoloration occurs. To prevent them from oxidation, you can follow one of the following tips as soon as you cut them.

• When cutting raw banana( plantain ), potato or eggplant, soak them in water to avoid discoloration.
• Similarly, to prevent apples, bananas or peaches from browning, add lemon juice.
• Cover the cut fruits or vegetables tightly with plastic food wrap or ziplock covers.
• Cook the vegetables as soon as you cut them; the heat would stop them from oxidation.

If you know of any other tip, please mention in the comment section.

Peel the skin of Almonds, etc easily

To peel the skin of almonds, tomatoes or peaches, simply soak in boiling water for 5-7 minutes. The skin can be easily removed.


If you know of any other tip, please mention in the comment section.