Kitchen secrets

Unleash your inner master chef with these simple cooking hacks

Even though it has become much easier for learners to cook nowadays, thanks to the numerous recipe portals available online, many desi women still believe that old kitchen tips are what keep the practice interesting. In this quest to keep good food alive, our mothers and grandmothers often pass down valuable cooking tips, hoping that the family taste will be retained for years to come. MsT has spoken to some seasoned family cooks and collected some of their unusual cooking secrets to help you out through the learning process. Read on and be on your way to culinary success!

Getting the biryani right: Biryani is undoubtedly the most popular rice dish in Pakistan. It is also one of the first recipes newbie cooks experiment with, owing to the easy process and delicious taste. But getting the tantalising aroma right can be difficult. This is why homemaker Naheed Shafiq resorts to milk. “I pour in about half a cup of milk to my biryani pot after I am done layering it and before I put it on steam,” says Naheed, who hails from a Bihari background. On the other hand is Sajida Rao of Lucknowy descent who was taught to add bhagaar to the dish before serving. “Before setting the pot on steam, I add bhagaar on top,” says Sajida. “It not only helps the rice look fresher for longer but also adds a distinct flavour and smell to it,” she adds.

Turn around over salting: If you have added more salt than required by accident, then fret not! All you have to do is add a peeled piece of raw potato to the dish. “The potato sucks up all the extra sodium out of the food,” explains Lahore-based homemaker Saira Khan. “And the best part is that no one suspects a thing!”

Rescue burnt rice: Before you embark on another culinary adventure, you should get one thing straight. There is absolutely no hack to make overcooked food taste good. This means that should you burn the rice, it can never go back to being uncooked! That said, there is a unique way to effectively conceal the aroma of burnt ingredients in your dish: simply place a slice of white bread on top. Allow the bread to rest on the rice for five to 10 minutes, giving it ample time to to draw out the burned smell and flavour.

Lemon drops: Most greens, owing to their habitat, are sandy and have an unpleasant metallic taste. Fortunately, a few drops of lemon juice can, however, cure this. Sajida, for instance, regularly adds lemon juice to her spinach dish to make it taste better.

Add in the whites: For most cooks, new or experienced, getting the consistency on desi sweetmeats like gulab jamuns or ras malai is quite difficult. Naheed, however, shares a useful tip: She adds misri or makhana to the mix which prevents them from hardening.

Perfecting an omelette: One of Saira’s oldest family cooking secrets is adding a portion of milk to the batter of an omelette. “Just two tablespoons of milk can yield fluffiness,” says Saira.

Cook Smart 

These quick kitchen tips can make your new life as a chef much easier:

1. If you’re unsure of an egg’s freshness, see how it behaves in a cup of water. Fresh eggs sink while bad ones remain afloat. 

2. If you need only a few drops of lemon juice, avoid cutting the lemon into two halves lest the unused half dries out quickly. Instead, puncture the fruit with a metal skewer and squeeze out exact the amount that is required. 

3. A bay leaf slipped into a container of flour, pasta, or rice will help repel bugs. 

4. Put rice in your saltshaker to stop the salt from hardening. The rice absorbs condensation that can causes clumps.

5. Believe it or not, honey is the only non-perishable food substance in the world. Therefore, don’t get rid of the jar if it crystallises or becomes cloudy. Give the honey new life by putting it in a microwave on medium heat in 30-second increments until it becomes clear again.

Hurmat Majid is a subeditor at The Express Tribune. She tweets @bhandprogramme

Published in The Express Tribune, Ms T, September 27^th, 2015.