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Going bonkers, thinking of cooking tips to cover up culinary malfunctions? For those who came in late, this is a term I use to cover goof ups while cooking. How often have you ended up putting in too much of salt, sugar or condiments in food just before guests arrive? Not to mention accidental scorching of food while talking over the phone. So here are a few cooking tips to cover cooking disasters – Oops! Did I just say cooking disasters? I actually meant culinary malfunctions – sounds sophisticated enough? Phew!
Cooking Tips To Overcome Culinary Malfunctions
Too Much Of Salt
Blame it on everything else but me – I just added too much of salt to the soup. Now what? With my hard to please mother-in-law coming home in ten minutes, what do I do? Well, here are some great cooking tips – Make a salt free dough ball of flour, preferably corn flour or wheat flour and put it in the soup. Or better still, add a few slices of raw potatoes to salty soups and gravies. This will eventually absorb all the salt. For sauteed veggies that turn out too salty, sprinkle corn flour or chick pea flour (besan) to reduce saltiness.
Watery Batter For Pancakes And Dosas
Too much water in batter meant for pancakes or dosas can absolutely ruin them. All you need to do is add semolina or sooji or powdered oats to the batter, wait for a few minutes and then make pancakes and dosas. Rava or sooji and powdered oats will absorb excess water. Another one of my mom’s clever cooking tips 
Overcooked Rice Or Pasta
Overcooked rice or pasta that is all stuck together isn’t as bad as you think. Just transform it into something different. Stir fry veggies and eggs(optional) or cornflour(for vegetarians) in a tablespoon of cooking oil, added to a non stick frying pan. Add a few spices or soy sauce and black pepper powder. Add the rice or pasta and keep frying till it separates a bit, covered in egg. You can’t expect to see separate rice grains, but yes, this version is much better than the earlier gooey mess that it was.
Cooking Tips To Avoid Culinary Malfunctions
There are quite a few useful cooking tips to avoid culinary malfunctions as well.
Ran Out Of Curd
Now curd is an integral part of Indian cooking, used in curries, gravies and meat preparations. So what do you do when you need some curd to ferment left over milk and you remember this late in the night, when it is inconvenient to go to a grocery store nearby? Take a whole green chilly, not sliced; and put it in a cup containing milk. Or add a few drops of lemon juice. Leave this overnight. The next day, you have curd. Magical cooking tips? Naah…Just nature and science at work!
Appams That Never Turn Out Well
Now, Appams with stew is a highly relished breakfast delicacy loved by Keralites (Kerala – South India) all over the world. Making an appam is an art, which many do not get right, the first time. For newly wed brides and those who wish to make the perfect Appams, here is are super cooking tips I learned from my mother-in-law. When you grind the soaked rice meant for appams, add some cooked rice, grated coconut and the most important special ingredient – A yellow banana – (Elaichi Kela), followed by sugar to taste. The banana and sugar make the batter ferment and you get fluffy, soft appams with holes in them. With this tip, you can simply stop using yeast and soda bi carbonate to the Appam batter.
Image credits – Dollen
