Foolproof cook's Recipes

Wash and boil the potatoes. Cool them slightly, peel them and cube them. Keep aside. While the potatoes are cooling, you can make the gravy for them. In the pan or karhai, heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds and after a few seconds, the turmeric and coriander... - 42.2309

Before starting to cook, prepare the vegetable. The list of ingredients mentions that the ladies fingers must be washed and dried. This is important. You will not enjoy cutting wet bhindis and also, they will take longer to cook and turn out mushy and... - 44.1172

Put the oven on to preheat to 200 °C if you intend to eat soon after the bake is done. Boil, peel and cube the potatoes. Slice the onions. Boil the rest of the prepared vegetables. To do this, bring water to boil in a largeish pan, drop in the peas,... - 41.4992

In the larger pan, put 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few drops oil. Set it on the fire. As soon as the water comes to a boil, drop in the macaroni. In a few seconds, it will return to a rolling boil. Time 6 minutes. Pour the macaroni into the... - 43.2672

Wash and scrub the potatoes well. Put into the pressure cooker with 1 cup of water. Close the cooker. After it comes to maximum pressure, reduce heat and keep on the fire for 5 minutes. Take off the fire. After a few minutes, release the pressure. Open the... - 33.5068

Wash the cottage cheese, cut it into thick slices and then cut the 1 slices into cubes. Wash the capsicums. Lay one sideways on the chopping board. Slice off the top, stem-end. With your fingers, remove the inner ribs and seeds. Now slice the capsicums into... - 40.9558

Slice the cabbage as finely as you can. To do this, cut the cabbage in half. Lay the cut side down on the chopping board. Holding down with your left hand, start slicing thinly from the other side. As you keep cutting, put it into a colander. Slice the... - 33.2306

Put the dal along with the water in which it was soaked into the cooker. Add also the turmeric, salt, and green chillies. Close the cooker and let it come to maximum pressure. As soon as it whistles, turn down the heat and keep on fire for 5 minutes. Let the... - 42.5803

For every glass, put into the blender 1/2 cup of curds if you want a thinnish lassi, with 1/2 cup of water. Put a little more curds if you like a thicker result. Also drop in a few ice-cubes, 3-4 teaspoons sugar for sweet lassi or salt and pepper to taste if... - 21.1152

Pour the beaten curds into the serving bowl. Stir in the salt, cumin, sugar and coriander. Check seasonings, adding whatever is needed. Refrigerate. Just before serving, stir in the boondis. This is the delightful difference in this recipe.Normally, you... - 31.7643

First peel the potatoes, using the vegetable peeler. Wash them. To cut into chips, lay a potato on the chopping board. Cut lengthwise into slices. Cut each slice into fingers. Drop into the plastic bowl, filled with cold water. While you're cutting the... - 34.5424

Let the potatoes cool thoroughly after you boil them, then peel and cube them. Put them into the salad bowl. Prepare the rest of the vegetables. Peel, treat and cut the cucumber into similar sized cubes as the potato. Slice and add the rest of the vegetables... - 42.0866

Finely chop the onion, tomato and chilli. Put the pan on to gentle heat. Drop in the oil. Drop in the onion. Stir it around for about 30 seconds. (It should just start turning transparent.) Add the tomato and chilli. Stir till the fat starts to... - 37.6039

Heat a few tablespoons milk. In it dissolve for each glass 1/2-1 teaspoon coffee and sugar to taste. Pour this mixture into a blender with 1 cup milk and crushed ice cubes. Blend it and serve immediately. For a personal touch, add a sprinkling of malted... - 24.7598

In a large pan, in 1 tablespoon butter, lightly fry 2 chopped spring onions. Add 1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms. After another few minutes, add 1 tablespoon flour. Mix continuously for about 2 minutes till the flour no longer has a raw smell. Add 2 cups... - 30.6044

In a large pan or pressure cooker, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter. Drop in 1 bay-leaf, a few peppercorns and 1 onion, finely chopped. Fry till the onion just begins to soften. Chop and add florets from 1 small cauliflower (weighing about 300 gms). Coat well... - 29.7256

Boil the eggs. See the first chapter if you still don't know how to do it. Keep them aside. Chop the vegetables and puree the tomatoes. You need not peel them. Just quarter them and whizz for 30 seconds in the food processor or grinder. Heat the oil in the... - 43.6565

Slice the brinjal in rings. You should get 9-11. Lay them on a large plate or chopping board and sprinkle with salt on both sides. Leave for 20 minutes. Wash the brinjal slices well and pat dry with a clean cloth. Heat the oil in the skillet or pan. You... - 42.2229

Put the curds into the bowl. Use the egg-beater to lightly whip it smooth. Add to it the salt, cumin and chopped vegetables. Taste, check seasoning and add whatever is missing. Refrigerate till needed. - 29.8189

Peel the ginger. Wash it. Cut it into slicesCut the slices into sticks. Put into the glass jar. Wash the limes. Cut them in half. Using the lemon squeezer, squeeze the juice over the ginger sticks. Use just as much as is needed to cover them. Put the lid on... - 29.0417

Wash the chicken well. Pull off any fatty bits. Into the curds, mix the garlic and ginger. Drop the chicken bits into this mixture, rubbing it well into each piece. Cover it and keep it aside for at least half an hour and for a couple of hours if... - 43.3274

Cut the crusts off the slices of bread. (This is not essential. If you don't mind them, let them be.) Beat the egg and milk lightly with the wire whisk. Add the sugar (you will need at least 2 teaspoons) if you want sweet toasts or the salt and pepper if you... - 37.2666

In the pressure cooker, heat the oil. Drop in the onions and garlic. Stir and cook till the onions are softened, pinkish but not brown. Add the green chillies, oregano and mince. Fry till the meat is lightly brown. Add the tomatoes, sauce, salt and... - 42.0205

In a large pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Add 1 cup finely chopped onion. Spring onions taste best. Do add some of the green bits of the stalk too. Drop in 4-5 whole peppercorns. Cover the pan tightly and simmer on very low heat for 10 minutes, or till the... - 30.561

Pinch off two small pieces of dough, each about the size of a walnut. Roll out to a small circle about 3" in diameter. On one side of one circle, smear a little oil. Put the other circle down on the oily side. Press down lightly. Dust with dry flour. Roll out... - 28.5865

Pick, wash and soak the dals, all together in 4 cups water. It would be best if you let them soak for about an hour. If you soaked them overnight, that would be perfectly fine too. Heat the oil or ghee in the pan or cooker. This is another dal whose flavour... - 42.7563

Put the peaches into the bowl. Pour boiling water over. In a few seconds, the skins will slip off easily. Now cut the peaches in half, deseed them and put them into the pan. Add just enough water to cover the fruit Drop in the stick of cinnamon. Bring the... - 33.4704

Put the pan on the fire. Drop in the oil. Let the pan sit on gentle heat to allow the oil to spread all over the bottom. While the pan is heating up, break the egg into the bowl and beat with the wire whisk. (About 30-40 energetic strokes should be enough to... - 33.3944

First, let's clean the cauliflower. Stick your knife into a space between the florets and the stem. Slice it off. Pull off any remaining bits of stem. If there are any very tender bits, you may like to chop them and cook it along with the vegetable, otherwise... - 37.694

Wash the meat well. Remove any fatty membranes. Keep aside. Peel the onions and either chop them finely or cut them into quarters and grind them. Keep them aside. Peel the ginger, cut it in thick slices and put into the same grinder along with the... - 43.5451

Put the pan on the fire. Drop in the oil and after a few seconds, break the egg into the pan. Lower the heat. If you are using an ordinary frying pan, slide the spatula under the egg to ensure that it is not beginning to stick. Holding the pan by the handle,... - 30.13

In a large pan or pressure cooker melt butter. Drop 1/2 teaspoon thymol seeds. Fry a few seconds. Drop in 5 chopped tomatoes, 1 bay-leaf, a few peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander. Also add 1 cup water. You may add a soup... - 29.012

Treat and peel 1 large cucumber. Remove all the tough seeds. Chop the rest and put it into an electric blender with 2-3 tablespoons fresh curds. Whizz for a few seconds to get a smooth paste. Add more curd, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a few mint leaves, pepper to... - 29.8938

Beat the egg in a small bowl with a whisk or fork- It should just become frothy. Stir in the salt. While you are beating the egg, you can put the pan on to gentle heat. Drop in the butter. As soon as the butter starts melting, pour the egg into the pan. With... - 30.7176

Put the cooker onto the fire. Pour in the oil or ghee. Use the ghee if you have a taste for it. It does add to the flavour of this particular dal. Let it heat up for a minute. Drop in the cumin and after a few seconds, the aniseed. Let them turn just a shade... - 43.4637

Put the dalinto the pressure cooker along with the ginger, cloves, cinnamon, salt and turmeric. Put in all the water in which the dal was soaked. Put the cooker onto high heat. As soon as the pressure reaches maximum, i.e., the cooker whistles, turn the heat... - 43.3806

Soak the gram in water overnight then throw away the water, cover the gram with a wet cloth and leave for another 8-10 hours in a warm place. At the end of this time, you will find the gram has sprouted and is crunchy to taste. The sprouted tails will however... - 42.9599

Put the butter, honey and cocoa into the pan. Put it onto gentle heat. You have to watch it, stir occasionally and remove as soon as the butter is melted. Stir the butter, honey and cocoa together well. While the butter is melting, you can crush the... - 36.7156

In a large pan, in 1 tablespoon of butter, gently fry 1 tiny chopped onion and 1 clove garlic. Add about 400 gms spinach well-washed and chopped. Fry a few minutes till the spinach begins to wilt then add 2 cups water and 2 soup cubes. Bring to the boil. Add... - 29.6857

Put the milk and sugar into the handled pan. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Don't let the milk get too hot, you can take it off the fire as soon as small bubbles start forming on the side. While the milk is heating up, you can beat the eggs lightly in one... - 38.0502

Put the grill, in your oven on. Cut the crusts off the bread. Cover and keep aside. Mix the rest of the ingredients together. This is most easily done with the fork. Spread some of the mixture generously over each slice. Use the round-bladed knife. Lay the... - 36.951

For each glass, put 3-4 teaspoons of sugar into a glass. Put a few tablespoons of water and stir to dissolve the sugar. When that is done, add juice of 1/2 lemon, top up with water and ice and serve. A few torn-up leaves of mint add flavour. - 20.6592

In the pressure cooker, heat the oil. Drop in the onions and whole spices, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Fry till the onions are a light brown. Add the meat, salt and red chilli powder. Keep stirring and frying till the meat is a rich brown. This will happen... - 44.2598

Put the water on to heat. Let it come to a boil. Drop in the tea-leaves. Reduce the heat. Let it simmer for a minute then add milk and if you like, the sugar too. Bring to the boil once more, stir and serve. This tea suits those who like a strong, brewed... - 27.5653

Put the eggs, sugar and salt into one of the bowls. Beat at high speed with the hand beater or mixer till the mixture is light and fluffy. It will look a pale lemony colour. Add the coffee and beat a few seconds more to mix in well. Put the whipping cream and... - 40.2917

Wash the brinjal. Pat dry and put it directly onto the fire. For this step, it is best if you have a brinjal with a stem, so make sure of that when you're buying it. If you have two smaller brinjals, balance them over the fire, one against the other so a... - 41.4925

Pick and wash the gram. Put it in the small bowl with 1/2 cup water. Keep aside for 20 minutes. While the gram is soaking, chop the onions and chillies. Also peel and chop or slice the ginger and garlic. You need not chop any of these vegetables too finely or... - 42.3033

Sieve both the flours together, into the shallow plate. With the water, knead the dough. The method is the same as for a normal chappati (see introductory section). Keep the dough aside for a few hours before you use it. Into the pan or karhai, pour the... - 34.1724

In a pressure cooker heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil or butter. Drop in 2 cloves a small stick of cinnamon a few peppercorns. Fry gently for a few seconds. Add 1 onion finely chopped and green chillies to taste, also finely chopped. Fry till the onion is just... - 29.5136

Remove any excess fat from the chicken pieces. You can use any pieces that you prefer all breasts, all legs or half of each. Wash each bit well then pat with the cloth. Sieve the flour onto the plate. Mix in the salt. Lay each piece of chicken in it and see... - 37.078

Soak the rice in water for about 1 hour before cooking. Wash the meat well. Remove any fatty bits. Put it into the pressure cooker along with the whole spices, salt and 2 cups water. Close the cooker and put it on high heat. Let it come to maximum... - 42.1548

Put the eggs, along with enough water to cover, in the pan. Put the lid on and set the pan on the fire. On a slow flame, let it come to a boil. Turn off the gas. For half-boiled eggs, keep them in the water just a minute more, for hard-boiled eggs about 5... - 28.9222

Grind, in an electric grinder, the first 6 ingredients. You will have to peel and roughly chop the onion, peel the garlic, and peel and grate the ginger before putting them into your grinder. Put the pan on to the fire and drop in the oil. Let it heat up for... - 44.0827

Put the karahi on the fire. Let it heat up. Sieve the semolina and drop it into the karahi. Without oil, roast it lightly, stirring all the time till it turns light brownish. Pour out of the karahi into a plate or bowl. Wipe the karahi with a clean cloth.... - 41.2754

Put the oil in the pan. Let it heat up gently for about 5 minutes. Drop in the cloves and cinnamon. They will turn aromatic. Add the cumin. Let it turn just a few shades darker. Add the onion. Fry it golden brown. Add the ginger and garlic, if you're using... - 45.4439

Grate the carrots and coconut into the plate. After breaking the coconut, you can gently ease it out of the shell with a strong, blunt knife. Put the carrots and coconut into the bowl and squeeze over the lime juice. Sprinkle the salt, sugar and pepper. Cover... - 31.595

Chop all the vegetables finely and wash them well. If you are using spring onions, use some of the greens too along with the onion head. If the carrots are small and tender, slice them into tiny rings. If they are large, chop each ring into 4 or 6 bits. As... - 42.9241

Prepare the mint. Break off the leaves from the tough stems. Wash them well in a number of changes of water. Cut off the roots from the coriander. Spread it out on the chopping board or a plate and pick out any mushy, black leaves. Wash the rest well. Chop... - 38.4576

Put the potatoes into the pressure cooker with a cup of water. As soon as the cooker whistles, turn the heat down and keep 5 minutes. Release pressure. Carefully (the cooker will be steamy), lift out the potatoes after checking that they're... - 39.651

Put the water for the tea on to heat. When it is medium hot, pour in a few tablespoons of it into the pot. Put it back on the fire and let it come to a boil. Throw out the water you put in to warm the pot and drop in, for every 2 cups of tea, 1 teaspoon... - 26.383

Mix together the water and curds. Beat the curds lightly before you do this. You can use the egg beater or wooden spoon. Now mix the gramflour into the curds-water mixture. This is how you should doit so you have a smooth, and not lumpy mixture. Put the... - 42.5025

Make the chicken soup. After straining the soup and adding to it the chopped chicken, put it back on the fire, bring to a simmer and drop in a small handful of broken noodles. Cook about 6 minutes or till the noodles are tender. Finely chopped fresh coriander... - 19.9944

Drain the peach halves from the syrup. Crush the biscuits into fat crumbs. You can do this by putting them into the plastic bag and beating them gently with the rolling pin. If you prefer, you can also do it in an electric grinder. Grind the sugar and whip... - 35.2175

This gram needs to be soaked the night before. It also needs very careful picking since it often has in it small black stones indistinguishable from the gram itself. After you have picked it, wash it well and soak it in 5 cups water. The next morning, put the... - 44.3186

Lightly beat the curds. You can do it with the egg-beater or whisk. Treat the cucumber. Cut off a little cap from the stem-end. Make a few cuts with a knife in the cut edges. Rub them together. A frothy, white substance will come out. Do this for about 2... - 36.1738

Put the tava onto the fire. Pinch off a piece of dough. It should be about the size of a small sized potato. Roll it into a ball then flatten it slightly by pressing it between your palms. Dust it on both sides in dry flour, which you have lying next to you... - 31.0215

If you are making the dessert just before eating, put the oven on to preheat to 180° C. Make the topping. Put the butter into the bowl or plate. Sift the flour over it. Add the sugar. Rubbing with your fingers, mix these three ingredients together till... - 39.8287

Put about 3 cups of water into the large pan. If you cover it, the water will boil faster. Drop a few drops of oil into the boiling water and also add the noodles. The water will come back to a rolling boil in a few seconds. Turn down the heat and let the... - 42.0382

Cut the tomatoes into 4 pieces each. Mix the rest of the ingredients together. Pour over the tomatoes. Chill till you need to serve. Variation: Sprinkle over finely chopped fresh coriander before serving. - 28.0036

The gram needs to be soaked for at least half an hour so pick and soak first of all. Now chop the spinach. This needs care. Break off each leaf from the tough stem. As you do this, you can drop it into a pan of clean water. When all the spinach is done, wash... - 43.4887

Cool the potatoes. Peel and slice them. The slices should be on the thicker side. Beat the cream lightly. Mix into it the salt, pepper and coriander, if you're using it. Lightly grease the baking dish with a teaspoon of oil. Rub it all over the base. Put... - 35.6475

Put the dal into the cooker with the curry leaves, turmeric and salt. Close the cooker. Let it come to maximum pressure. After it whistles, turn down the heat and cook 12 minutes. Let the pressure reduce on its own. Open the cooker, stir the dal and check... - 43.1614

Carefully cut off the orange a little more than a quarter of the way down. You should have a cup-shaped bit left. With the metal spoon, carefully scoop out the pulp from the orange. Use your fingers if you need to gently pull it out. Do the same from the... - 34.6872