Black Cardamom : 5 pods
Black Peppercorns : 1tsp
Bay leaves : 2
Cinnamon stick: 1
Cumin seeds : 5 tsp
Coriander seeds : 5 tsp
Roughly break the bay leaf, cinnamon stick and black cardamom. Add cumin, coriander and peppers and dry roast on medium heat for 7-8 minutes. Let it cool down and grind to make a fine powder . Sieve through any threads or harsh cores. Store it in air tight container for 4-5 months. Its fresh aroma phenomenally adds flavor to any curry !!!!!
Dry Methi Flakes:
Wash Methi (fenugreek) leaves (2 bunches) and clean discoloured leaves, if any. Now snip the leaves from the stem. Spread the leaves on paper towel or muslin cloth in a big tray. Let it dry in sun for 3-4 days till it thoroughly dries and becomes flakes. Now store in air tight container for 6 months. It fantastically changes colour of gravies and paranthas !!!!!
Dry Pudina Flakes:
Wash Pudina (Mint) leaves and clean discoloured leaves, if any. Now snip the leaves from the stem. Spread the leaves on paper towel or muslin cloth in a big tray. Let it dry in sun for 3-4 days till it dries properly . Crush it slightly by hand to make fine flakes. Now store in air tight container for 6 months.
It adds taste to yogurts and makes instant onion pudina parantha !!!!!
Dry coriander Leaves:
Wash Coriander(dhaniya) leaves and clean discoloured leaves, if any. Now snip the leaves from the stem. Spread the leaves on paper towel or muslin cloth in a big tray. Let it dry in sun for 3-4 days till it dries properly. Crush the dried leaves by hand and take off any hard stems. Now store in air tight container/ziplock for 1 month. It adds flavor to gravies and uthapams !!!!!
Dry Curry Leaves:
Wash curry stems and snip the leaves. Spread the leaves on paper towel or muslin cloth in a big tray. Let it dry in sun for 3-4 days till it dries properly. Now store in air tight container/ziplock for few months. Dry curry leaves can be added to make idlis, dhoklas or sambhar !!!!!
Instant Tadka:
Pasta sauce: 4-5 tsp
Ginger garlic paste: 1/2 tsp
Olive oil : 1tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, ginger-garlic paste and Tomato based pasta sauce. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes and add seasoning ( salt, chilli, garam masala and dry methi) to taste. Instant tadka is ready to be added to any gravy sans hastle of chopping onions and tomatoes !!!!!
Instant Gravy:
Heat 1 tsp of oil and add 1 pack (as per required) of knorr Tomato soup. Season it up with salt, chilli, spice masala, dry corainder/methi powder. Add few tsp of cream to make rich and thick red gravy. Its an ideal quick fix for paneer or dal makhani !!!!!!
Boil a glass of water with dash of cardamom powder and gradually mix half cup of panjiri to make instant halwa.
Perfect Round Dahi Bhallas:
Use ice cream scooper to pour the batter of bhallas/pakoras to make it of uniform and round size.
Scooper is also used to take out the balls of water melon, cantaloupe and honeydew. The equal sized balls are used to decorate the desserts or salads.
Aromatic Halwa:
Sprinkle a dash of home made garam masala (crushed long, elaichi, dal chinni) on top of halwa and cover it for 2 minutes. A wonderful aromatic halwa is ready is ready to be savored.
Refreshing Tea:
Sprinkle a dash of freshly crushed cardamom powder on tea, just before serving gives it a lovely refreshing aroma. Secondly, always cover the pot with a lid when brewing the tea. When the tea is done, let the teapot stand on, still covered for few minutes, allowing the spices to blend well.
Fluffy Long Grain Rice:
Take a little more (5 tsp) than double the quantity of water/stock to rice. Let the water boil and add 1tsp of sugar and a few drops of fresh lemon juice (vinegar) to boiling water before adding rice. This makes the rice really soft and fluffy and let all the grains seperated rather than being sticky.
VegeDough:
Add some vegetable soup/lentils while making the dough (for immediate use) to make nutritious paranthas or chappatis. Else, warm milk can also be added to make the dough more soft.
Use Jaggery:
Try to substitute your sugar with jaggery , also known as medicinal sugar, as it is full of vitamins and minerals or honey with white sugar where ever possible to enjoy more health benefits of the former.
Dry Roasted gram Flour:
Dry roast the gram flour (besan) and preserve it in a dry container. It can be used to sprinkle on dry veggies like cauliflour , edoes (arbi), fried potatoes. Makes the dish more crispy and gives golden brownish tinge.
