Tips to Stir Fry

Tips to Stir Fry

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Hi Friends,

Here I am sharing some quick tips to get a perfect stir fry:-

1. Stir frying is best done on an Skillet which hold the heat very well.
2. The surface area is important so that all the ingredients get equal heat distribution and not clumped .
3. If you are cooking Meat/Chicken along with vegetables then always cook the chicken/meat ingredient separately as the vegetables will take much less time than the chicken /meat.
4. The vegetables must be stir fried in an order so that the ones which takes more time add first followed by the ones which takes less time.
5. When chopping the vegetables try to cut in into more or less same size.
6. The skillet with the oil in it must be sufficiently heated before you put the ingredients.The temperature is important.
7. If using Broccoli , beans first blanch it which will retain the nice green colour. When blanching in the hot boiling water add pinch of sugar, take out the broccoli and beans from hot water and quickly immerse into cold / ice cold water and then strain them.

Cooking Tips

Cooking Tips

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Some cooking tips are as follows:-

1. Add whole spices ( whole “Garam Masala “ like whole cloves/Black peppercorns/Green Cardamom etc) when the oil is medium hot and give little time to infuse their flavours into the oil befoer you add your main ingredients.
2. To prevent spices from burning when added to oil you can make a mixture of the powdered spices such as turmeric,coriander powder,cumin powder etc with little water ( not too much water ) so that when you add them into the oil their chances of burning is much reduced.
3. You can also add the powdered spices along with Tomato(if using) ,the juice from the tomato will prevent the spices from burning.
4. If you are making Fried Rice,usually made with Basmati rice( for Indian cooking) always try to use a flat bottom utensil with raised sides and a glass lid.The flat bottom increases the surface are for even cooking and the glass lid will help to keep an eye on the rice and prevent it from getting overcooked of mushy.
5. For deep frying like making fritters temperature of the oil is important,if its too hot the pakoras or fritters will instantly burn outside with the inside uncooked.
6. To check if the oil has right temperature add a small pinch of batter into the oil,it will rise up and the colour of the pinch of batter when fried will also give hint whether the oil is ready or not,if the pinch of batter takes long time to rise up then the oil is not yet ready.
7. Before cooking Non veg dishes like Chicken marinate it,this will increase the flavour when you cook it in the curry.
8. If you have time in hand then use fresh ground spices for increased flavour and fresg crushed ginger garlic instead of the ready made store bought.
9. If you are making Saag ( green leafy ) then always add the salt at the end because they considerably reduce in volume so if you add salt before then you may end up adding much more salt than needed.
10. If you are adding curd/yoghurt in any curries then to prevent it from curdling always whisk it nicely,low the flame before adding and as you add stir well into the curry.(Sometimes adding very little flour into the curd reduces its chance of curdling,though I myself did not try this tip,so not very sure about it).
11. Last but not the least,mistakes helps to make us better,so do not be afraid to experiment with various ingredients,our Cuisine is a treasure house of spices,each state has their unique ways of using the same spices in various ways.Try them out and enjoy cooking :). 

Home remedies for minor cough

Home Remedies for Minor Cough

Hi Friends,

Winter is prevailing and many of us already have cold and cough so I would love to share with you all some simple home remedies for cough before you go for over the counter medicines.I frequently suffer from cold and cough so in that case I go for some help right from my kitchen.Some Of which I am sharing here today .

As soon as I start experiencing cough I do the following:-

1. Warm water gargle with enough salt.( atleast 2 times a day ).

2. Make a paste of half teaspoon dry ginger powder or 1/2 inch fresh ginger crushed with 1 teaspoon honey and sprinkle of black pepper and mix it and slowly lick it specially if you have dry cough.(twice a day )

3. Chew 1 clove slowly this also lessen the cough .

4. A herbal solution ( Paachon ),to give relief to throat pain due to continuous coughing,the recipe is given below.
 
    Ingredients :-

   1. 2 cups water
   2. 4-5 cloves
   3. 2 bay leaves
   4. 1 inch cinnamon
   5. Mishri (unrefined Sugar )- crushed and broken about 2 teaspoon
   6. Black peppercorns ( about 1/4 th teaspoon ) half crushed
   7. 1 inch Ginger crushed.
   8. About 5 Indian Tulsi ( Basil ) leaves.

    Cooking :-

1. Take an utensil and bring the 2 cups of water to a running boil and add all the ingredients.If needed add little more water if you find the solution to be very strong.

2. Put the flame low and simmer for 5 mins till you see the ingredients released the colours and the solution turning blackish brown.

3. Switch off  and strain the solution.

4. You can sip 1 cup when its warm just like tea to relive your throat pain and reserve the other cup to have it later.Just warm the solution before sipping.

Hope this will help you out to get better soon.

AKSHAYA PATRA - JoyOfSharing FoodForEducation

AKSHAYA PATRA - JoyOfSharing FoodForEducation 

Dear Friends

This article I am writing about  an Indian NGO dedicated to serve unlimited food for the underprivileged children so that these tender kids don't leave the school due to poverty and engage in child labour (a shame for our society)."Akshya"means which never diminishes and "Patra "means utensils.

God is very kind to many of us that we have more than the basic necessities of life and many a times in the journey of life we tend to forget to acknowledge it. Some eye-opening statistics follows :-

1. As per Akshaya Patra, just $15 per year (cost of a Pizza) could feed a child for an entire year.
2. They are serving wholesome meals to 1.6 Million School Children everyday.
3. They have 32 kitchens across the country.
4. Ten of Akshaya Patra’s kitchens have been certified as FSMS ISO 22000:2005 compliant, which means they meet the standards of the International Food Safety Management System (FSMS).

So friends, lets put our hands together to reach out these kids and gift them a better tomorrow. We are running a campaign for the same, link follows :-

https://www.foodforeducation.org/campaign/joyofsharing


Please share your comments and views on the same. Thank you.

Home remedy to do to get rid of acidity at home

Home remedy to get rid of acidity at home

Dear Friends,

At some point of time we all have experienced acid problem with symptoms of possible heartburn,nausea,regurgitation and bloating to name a few.

Mother nature is very kind to us as she has given us a wonderful remedy and as usual free of cost whether rich or poor and ever household has it.Don't get shocked to hear the name its "WATER".

I am very much thankful to my father who always taught me to resort to home remedies before trying other medications.He is the one who helped me out during my childhood days when I happen to have occasional  acid problems.

Just take a cup of  Luke warm water and slowly sip it just like you sip tea.After sometime you will see either you will burp and get relieve or vomit out.Try this simple remedy next time as soon as u experience symptoms of acidity before you go for any medications.

Your comments and suggestions are very valuable for me. Do leave a comment if you like.

How to Renew Indian Passport in USA

How to Renew Indian Passport in USA

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Dear Friends,

This article is regarding renewing Indian passport while staying in USA, hope these guide lines will be of some help for you:-

1. The prerequisite for renewing is that the passport expiration date is within a year.

2. Currently passport renewal is taken care  by CKGS (who does the initial paper works ) and then renewed by the Indian Consulate.

3. Initial documentation required are :-

a) Current address proof (it can be your electricity bill, current USA state's driver's license etc )

b) Your present passport which is going to expire.

c) Indian residential address proof if it has changed from the current passport address.

d) Your current passport size photos ( you can get it clicked from CVS pharmacy and they can provide the photos to you instantly ).

e) Your residential status (eg. -H1B copy/ approved petitions, L1 VISA or any other resident  status ).

f) There are some documents (provided by the CKGS ) which would need notarization and that can be done from the nearest public library FREE of cost.Also it can be done from the UPS store.

4. Apart from the above mentioned points some more important details follow:-

a) Check with your employer as most of the employers reimburse the passport renewal expenses which is around  $135.

b) If everything goes well the entire process takes around 15  business days to receive your new passport.

c) As a best practice get your passport renewed from here as it more convenient than in India.

d) If your VISA extension is in process and you don't  have the approved petition then they do not renew the passport for 10 yrs ,they renew it only for 1 year. ( We have faced this rare situation )so it is recommended that you renew your passport when you have the approved petition in hand.

e)For any queries reach out to CKGS customer care ,they are very helpful.

f) The CKGS link follows:-

https://passport.in.ckgs.us/howtoapply

NOTE :- 

The article is written with best of our knowledge and as per the present rules till date (12/25/2017).

Good luck with your passport renewal process :-)

Your comments are highly appreciated.