The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown may have had several negatives and cons, but there were a few pros, too, for those who were looking for a silver lining. Apart from the rare opportunity that everyone got — to spend unlimited time with their family — a lot of us had to also become full-time cooks at home to sustain. Since home delivery of food was not available for a while, even when the services restarted, many were, and are still, apprehensive of ordering food from restaurants. So, in these times, of despair we all turned to our mums for easy tricks and kitchen tips to make our lives a little easier. The founder and chef of a local home-delivery outlet in Mumbai, Aai’s Kitchen, Nirmala Hegde, is a home chef, who has been whipping up home-made delicacies for all those in Mumbai, who are missing their mum or home food a little too much.
Turmeric: The multi-faceted spice
Hegde says that turmeric is a very useful ingredient. One of her most trusted tips is to add haldi to batata wada mix before frying it. Haldi helps in making sure that the wadas don’t soak too much oil.
Ferment it the right way:
Dosas are an all-time favourite breakfast dish that is quick to make and also filling enough to keep you satiated for a few hours. A lot of us buy ready-made dosa batter and just makes the dosas at home, but for those who like to make the batter at home, this tip will definitely come in handy. “To make dosa or idli, instead of overnight fermentation, try soaking the dal for about three hours early in the morning, and then grinding it and fermenting the batter in the sun. This will avoid acidity and bloating,” says Hegde.
A twist for the classic Puranpoli:
The classic Maharashtrian dish, which is very popular, can sometimes be a little unhealthy when made in the traditional way. But this tip can give your Puranpoli a heathy twist. “Puranpolis can be made with whole wheat instead of maida, all you need to do is knead whole wheat aata early in the morning to make the polis in the evening. This is also a healthier alternative,” adds Hegde.
The underappreciated king: Garlic
Apart from it’s several health benefits, garlic is an ingredient which adds loads of flavour in any dish that you put it in. For example, while making aalu bhajiya, add some pounded garlic cloves to the besan batter and stir well. This will add an extra flavour to the bhajiyas. Additionally, batata wadas become tastier with some peanut powder and crushed garlic, to enhance the taste.
