kitchen tips

If gum dries up, add a little vinegar and stir. Store nail polish bottles in the refrigerator to prevent the polish from drying up. To get a dry sketch pen working again, pour three or four drops of hot water into the sponge tube inside and wait a while. If grilled doors or windows start getting rusty, scrape off the rust carefully and paint the area immediately. You can also use a metal primer instead of paint. To remove mud stains from clothes, soak and wash them in water collected after boiling potatoes.

6. To make Aluminium vessels look good again, rub them with emery paper. Mere washing can't remove the black stains.
7. If an onion is too sharp in taste, wash, drain and toss into some beaten curd. Add a dash of salt and pepper, it becomes a tasty raitha.
8. To bake potatoes crisp and brown, soak the peeled potatoes in hot water for a while, pat dry and pierce all over with a fork before placing them in hot fat along with the roast.
9. If fish is to be stored for more than a day, clean it, rub with salt, turmeric and if liked, a dash of vinegar before freezing.
10. If dried herbs are used in a recipe, crush them first to release their fragrance.
11. Save the peel of apples, cucumbers and peaches. Grind them and add to the ingredients of a green chutney (coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger, coconut, salt and sugar). It makes a tasty and nutritious chutney and when mixed with curd makes an unusual raita.
12. Never scrape burnt leftovers from casseroles. Soak in a weak solution of vinegar, salt and soapy warm water for an hour or so. The stuck particles will come off very easily, without scratching the dish.
13. Always soak cauliflower in warm salted water for some time to get rid of the tiny insects sometimes present deep inside the florets and not visible to the eye.
14. Adding a little dry rice to sugar while grinding it, will keep it from becoming lumpy.
15. Easiest way to chop raisins. Sprinkle some flour over them so they don't stick. Cut with a small kitchen scissors as required.
16. Add a few pinches of turmeric, a small spoon of ghee, to dal before pressure cooking. This will impart a better flavour to the dal.
17. Rub the soles of new footwear (leather soled) with some sandpaper to keep from slipping on polished floors.
18. Cut a small piece of the base of flower stalks each day, and add a capsule contents of B complex to the vase water, to make cut flowers last longer.
19. Use a knife dipped in hot water to smoothen the icing surface and sides. Repeat the action till the whole icing is smoothened.
20. Use varied coloured doughs like green one above, to make shapes (leaves, cherries, braids, etc.) and deep fry on low till done. Decorate a variety of festive dishes like baked casseroles, au gratins, pulaos, etc. with them. Store in airtight containers for 2-3 days