Food SOS - Ask questions here!

Please use this thread to ask questions, seek opinions and clarify doubts with regard to cooking, instead of opening a new thread for each query.

Our resident culinary experts Mr. Hemant or Mrs Mano or anyone else will definitely address your problem.

PL. give me receipe 4 soanpapdi ,can it be prepared @ home?

Need crock-pot (slow cooker) recipes, please.

Thanks,
shanta

I solved my parippu vada problem. I soaked the lentils for 45 minutes-1 hour, drained thoroughly and then ground.This ensured the right consistency.

Also, I soaked thuvaram & kadala paruppu together with a handful of raw rice and the uzhunnu paruppu separately. Measurement used was 1 cup thuvaram+ 1/2 cup kadala + green chillies, dried red chillies, ginger, asofoetida, curry leaves and salt. Ground it in Sumeet mixie without much water, stopping regularly to mix the ground stuff in the bottom layer with the unground at the top. Drained the uzhunnu, and added it whole to the ground mixture and immediately made vadas. It turned out nice and porous and light and tasty.

Shoba

Hello Mr.Nov!
As you are from Malaysia, I want to know about a product which is from Malaysia. Have you heard about DXN Products? They are marketing some products which are made from RED Reishi Mushroom [Ganoderma Lucidum]. It is said that these products of this mushroom has a healing ability and there are highly herbal medicines. Have you heard about this?

Sorry Mrs Mano, I have not heard of this. To tell you the truth health products and I are miles apart. :)
I dont even believe in food supplements.

anyway, here is a link that may be useful: http://www.dxnmalaysia.com

Hi friends,
In spite of adding some oil and reducing the amount of water, the dal I cook in pressure cooker always boils over. Esp. mung dal, at least 4 or 5 Tbsp. always is fallen into the cooker body and is wasted. How to prevent this?
Thanks,
Kamakshi.

Kamakshi, have you tried using a larger container with a better fitting lid?

Just a thought..

Shoba

hello Kamakshi,

Try keeping it for less time than u normally do...I cook for 4 whistles & the dhals will be a bit mashed but not fully dissolved...If u want the dhal to be unbroken but cooked,try cooking for 3 whistles...I don't add oil for cooking the dhal...& i usually soak all dhals(excepy yellow moong) overnight...

I need your suggestions and help . I prepare chappathi in large quantity and put it in a ziploc bag and store it in fridge . When taken out for consumption i microwave it by putting a wet paper towel over the chappathis .They turn out to be very hard . But when taken fresh chappathis r soft . The same chappathis when used after refrigration r hard . Why is this happening ..
At the same time chappathis bought from stores remain soft even after 10 days . Are they using any special ingredient to keep the chappathis soft . Pleas help me out .. Thanks and regards ..

Food such as chapathi, thosai, idli should not be microwaved.
Use the tawa to heat your chapathi, but only after defrosting. Best to eat within minutes of reheating.

Hello NOV!
Thank you very much for the reply as well as the useful information.

i am sorry.with out knowing that there is separate thread to questions.i opened a new thread.can any one post a recipe with the baby cabbage

hi, can anyone help me on reliable brands of presurre cookers & mixers to buy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kulsam

i am sorry.with out knowing that there is separate thread to questions.i opened a new thread.can any one post a recipe with the baby cabbage

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kulsam: New threads for recipes is ok. This thread is mainly to clarify issues/doubts/questions that you face while cooking.

It's actually better if you can open new threads for different recipes (i.e. when you can't find them already in the existing list of threads). Otherwise, it may get buried in old posts. Hope that clarifies.

Could anyone plz tell me how to cook sundakkai (not the vathal..)

HI,

can someone give me a recipe for south indian style mutton kurma?

Thanks

posting deleted



No advertisements please!

Dear Mrs. Mano,
I am fm Malaysia n I have heard of this product. It is a kind of mushroom grown in China. it is believed to have a lot of medicinal properties and overall detoxifying. A professor in malaysia tried growing it n found that it grows very well here. The price is much cheaper too. there are a variety of products that use this mushroom like coffee etc. If u would like to know more pls send me an email

Hi Muthu,
Here is the recipe for chettinad style mutton kolambu.
for 1 pound of mutton
1 onion chopped, 1 tomato chopped, 1 tsp ginger and garlic paste,
make a fine paste of {5 to 6 tbsp of grated coconut or a handful of grated coconut, 2 tsp khuskhus, 1/2 tsp sombu, 1/2 tsp jeera.}
1 tsp chilli powder, 2 to 3 tsp of dhanya powder, little turmeric powder, salt to taste, oil and for seasoning 2 cloves, 1 cardamom, small pieces of cinnamon and 1 bay leaf.

heat oil in a pan, add all the garam masala items, then saute the onions,ginger garlic paste, mutton pieces then add tomatoes. once they are well sauteed, add chilli powder,dhanya powder turmeric powder, and the coconut paste and add water ,salt and pressure cook it as mutton takes times to cook.
if u want for thickness u can add powdered pottu kadalai or cashew paste finally and let it boil for few minutes before switching off the stove. (u can omit the coconut if u r concerned abt the fat content.)
if add small onions it will taste good and u can also grind the onions along with the coconut so the gravy is more thick.
finally add some chopped coriander leaves.

My hubby who never takes mutton started liking mutton after i made this kolambu for him.hope u like it.
Kz

Dear Latha!
Thanks a lot for the reply on the mushroom products. If I need more information, i will send a mail to you.

HELP HELP!!
My parents, bro and sis are leaving to India for a month. What's easy & and quick to make at home other than Ravai Upma that's vegetarian? Please help me out here.

Reagards. :D

Aval upma or aval with potato upma(aloo poha), bread upma, semia upma, sago upma, quick rava adai, ven pongal, bread upma-for time being, this shd be fine, guess!!

Has anyone tried freezing capsicum curry and how long will it be good.
Thankyou,Kz

this is my first vist to USA.we make dosas and idlis every week.So in the process I have blown 2 mixies(hamilton beach and ge) both purchased here.Can anyone please suggest me which mixie to buy which is both practical and economical?

Hi kaathyaini,
I have been using hamilton beach (10 speed) for over a year and i haven't had any problem with it so far.I think i got it for under $20...Maybe urs was a different model.This one has been trouble-free for me.Hope this helps.

Suganthi

Thanks for the help guys. :D

Hello everybody !
i bought a flour sifter with handle.(as available in US ).Flour got caught between the sieves and it is impossible to clean it.can anyone suggest a way to clean that ?Thanks in Advance.

Hi Foodlover,
Soak the flour sifter in hot water for thirty minutes and then using old tooth brush, brush the clogged holes .
All the clogs will get removed in jiffy.

Dear Kaathyaini,
I have an Oster blender 12 speed, which I bought from Walmart. It does a very good job in making idly/dosa batter. It has a food processor attachment also, which you can use for making vada etc. In Indian stores you can get a small blender ( around 5 dollars)which can be used with oster motor which works well for making small quantity chutneys etc. So with 40 dollars you will get a 3 in 1 mixie.

Hello Mr.Hemant Trivedi !
Thanks for the advice.the thing is it has two sieves and flour pieces get caught between the sieves.anyway i will try ur method.I made baigan bhartha according to ur recipe.It was very tasty.My Friends loved it very much.Thanks for posting an excellent recipe.

What is bay leaf in Tamil? I have only seen the shredded bay leaves sold in botles (McCormick brand) in supermarkets. Can anyone from Malaysia tell me whether I can get fresh bay leaves in Malaysia?

It's called 'Birinji ilai' in tamil. It's easily available in Singapore...So I guess, U should be able to get it in Malaysia too...

Hello everyone,

some of the recipes mentions to add cream in it. What type of cream should I buy?
Is it sour cream or Whipped cream?

Thanks in advance

Can someone give me a recipe for Kothu Parotta. I had it in India once, loved it. I tried to make it here. I had no problem making it, but had lots of problem eating it. So please, can someone give me the right recipe for it. Thanks a bunch.

Regards. 8)

Lemon Peels-any idea what we could use them for? These are the big, yellow lemon variety with thick rind.

Shoba

shobha,

you can add sugar and make sweet lemon rinds or you may pickle them.

Hemant, thank you for replying. Can I use the same method for making mango pickle for this as well-for eg., soak mango pieces in salt & turmeric for a day, then followed by sun drying, and resoaking of pieces in the drained liquid and adding of spice powders and finally pouring and mixing of burst mustard seeds in gingelly oil. Or, does the lemon peel need boiling coz of it's thickness and bitterness?

As for sweet lemon rinds-is the recipe in your cookery corner? If not, please post it here-thank you!

Regards,
Shoba

If you remove bitterness, whole fun of exotic taste will go.
Make sweet lemon rinds and not salted.
What I mean isadd raw powdered sugar weight to weighy and leave it in sun to melt.
If there is not enough moisture in peels, make 2 thread sugar syrup and immerse the peels in it and make murabba.

So, looks like I can follow the same mango pickle recipe for lemon rinds as well, without wondering about boiling the peels.

Unfortunately, there are no takers for sweet preserves at home!

Thanks for your prompt response, it's much appreciated!

Shoba