Useful Tips for Economizing Time, Effort, Cost and Energy
Here are some useful tips for washing vegetables and lentils (‘dals'), chopping, cooking and storing. There are some general tips also which you may find useful. Some readers may not find novelty in some of the tips but all readers will surely find something useful or unique in these tried and tested suggestions.
CLEANING AND WASHING OF VEGETABLES AND LENTILS
1. Cleaning small grained commodities like mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, etc. can be very challenging. Not to worry at all! All you have to do is tilt the plate in which you have put the grains for cleaning. Keep stirring the seeds while the plate is slightly tilted towards you. Don’t tilt over 25 degrees. The particles of dust or trash will remain on top and the good seeds will start sliding towards the lower end of the plate.
2. I have noticed that people do not give importance to washing leafy vegetables. I have often found sand particles in cooked leafy vegetables served to me and that is a very poor form. To wash leafy vegetables properly and thoroughly, keep two small plastic tubs or large bowls. Fill them half with water.
If the ends of the leaves are dirty you can cut them off before washing the leaves. Immerse some leaves in one tub / bowl/ pan, wash and transfer them to the other tub/bowl/pan. Keep on changing the water after every wash and keep washing till the water becomes clear. Do this with all the leaves by taking them in small portions. Then put them in a colander or a large strainer to drain the water. This will help in drying the leaves before chopping. Never wash leafy vegetables after chopping, as the goodness will be washed away too.
3. Cleaning and chopping fenugreek leaves (‘methi') is regarded as a very tedious job. Don't worry, it is not that difficult at all!! Open the bunch, check for weeds and wash and dry it. Take a small portion of the bunch and place it on the chopping board. Start chopping from the top end (leafy end). Stop once you reach close to the stems. Pluck the leaves from the stems if they are not too soft.
If they are tender, you can finely chop the whole bunch. Lift the leaves gently and most of the stems will be left on the chopping board. Even if some soft stems remain with the leaves, don't let it upset you. Cook the ‘Methi' in a pressure cooker, once the steam is released you can open the pressure cooker and dry the water by letting the cooked ‘methi’ simmer. These stems will turn out very soft and edible. They are equally useful and healthy. They are a rich source of fibre which is essential for digestion.
4. Always soak ‘dal' (lentils/pulses) in water for about ten to fifteen minutes prior to cooking to clean the polish and wash away the insecticides from them. This also helps in making the ‘dal' tender so it can cook faster and eventually help in saving energy.
The 2nd Plate No Bite Wasted Description:
The 2nd Plate No Bite Wasted –
Is a cookbook with a very unique theme of recipes from leftovers, methods to curtail wastage, tips to economize cost, time and effort and maintain work-life balance and these themes should appeal to the readers.
The overall theme of the book is to economize in every possible way starting with recycling of leftover food and cooking in a manner so as to save time, money, effort and energy.
This book begins with information on buying essentials for the kitchen and has tips to economize time, effort, cost and energy. It has guidance for cleaning, washing, chopping, cooking and storing food. There are general tips and tips for hygiene. There are 77 recipes for use of leftover food along with 50 pictures and another 29 Bonus Recipes for the readers.
Most of the ladies in present day scenario lead a very hectic life and need to learn to maintain their work-life balance. The book will help today’s generation and others too in managing their work-life balance and conserving resources that are depleting day by day globally. The high inflation rates and recession demand that people learn to economize and this book will act as a guide in this perspective
Readers will be able to learn to a) economize and curtail wastage, b) learn to cook in shortest possible time, c) learn 106 recipes, d) learn to use leftovers and recycle them, e) gain from the tips on managing their kitchen and f) learn to balance their work and life by saving cooking time.
