How to heat two bowls at once in a microwave?

Do you always wonder if only you could fit in two bowls in the microwave at once? Here’s an easy way!

This is useful tip for men and women equally!! How?

Share the Microwave & Be More Efficient

Is there a line at your work's microwave oven during lunch time? Become an office hero by teaching everyone how to heat up two dishes at once. Use something that's narrow and stable (like a coffee mug or heavy drinking glass) to elevate one bowl while leaving room for the other on the turntable below.

Bonus: This will prevent either of your dishes from drying out or overcooking, but you'll probably have to check and stir the contents a couple of times (or even switch the bowls' positions) to make sure everything heats up evenly.

Mooli Paratha

Mooli Paratha is an Indian whole wheat bread-stuffed with grated mooli/radish and some spices. They are usually served as breakfast in Punjabi homes. It’s slightly tricky to make in comparison with other parathas.

Radishes are also known as Diakons. With a very low calorie count, less than 20 calories in an entire cup, radishes are a great way to add nutrients, fiber and tons of flavors to your meals without compromising your health.

Because of their high vitamin C content and natural cleansing effects, regular consumption of radishes can help prevent viral infections. They help in relieving indigestion and naturally cool the body. Radishes are said to have effective toxin-purging effects, helping break down and eliminate toxins and cancer-causing free radicals in the body.

Ingredients	Quantity
White Radish (Muli/Daikon)	4-5 peeled and shredded
Coriander leaves	5 sprigs, finely chopped
Carom Seeds (Ajwain)	¼ tsp (coarsely powdered)
Chat Masala	¼ tsp
Ghee	1 tbsp
Salt	to Taste
For the dough
Chapati Flour	1 ½ cups
Salt	¼ tsp
Oil	¼ tsp (coarsely powdered)
Warm Water	½ cup +2 tbsp
Extra Flour	for dusting
Ghee	for frying

Method

Mix salt, oil with flour, add warm water. Knead to form a soft dough. Coat dough with few drops of oil. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle salt over shredded radish, mix well and set aside for 5-10 minutes. The salt will pull out the water from the radish. Squeeze out and discard all of the water from the radish.

Add coriander, green chilies, carom seeds and chat masala to the radish. Mix well. 

Divide dough into approx. 8 balls. Divide radish mixture into 8 portions.

Roll out one dough ball into a small disc using dry flour to prevent sticking. Place one portion of radish mixture in the center of the disc. Wrap the dough around the radish mixture to form a ball. Dip the ball into dry flour once again and roll out the paratha. Shake off any excess flour and place the paratha on a hot tawa.

When bubbles appear, flip the paratha over. Wait approx. 30 – 40 secs and spread a little ghee on the top. Flip the paratha back to the other side and gently press to cook. Spread a little ghee onto this side. Continue to flip and press until the appearance of raw dough has gone.

Store paratha in a covered or insulated container until ready to serve. Repeat with remaining dough.

Serve paratha hot with pickle, curd or butter.

Points to remember

• Make paratha as quickly as possible otherwise the radish will let out lot of water.
• If find it difficult to roll out the stuffed paratha you can also fry the grated radish (after the water is squeezed) in a pan with or without ghee but do not add salt.
• I prefer using red radish in this dish.

Jalapeño Soup

Jalapeño Soup is a creamy, hot, slightly tangy soup, perfect for a cold winter/rainy night. I love the flavor of this chili pepper. The soup is so easy to make that you can whip it up in a jiffy. The other ingredient in the soup just enhance the flavor of jalapeños and add more volume to the soup.

Jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper. The name jalapeño is Spanish for "from Xalapa" (also spelled Jalapa), a town in Veracruz, Mexico, where the pepper was traditionally cultivated. It is commonly picked and consumed while still green, but occasionally it is allowed to fully ripen and turn crimson red.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

Ingredients	Quantity
Garlic chopped	2 cloves
Onion chopped	1 medium
Tomato chopped	1 big
Jalapeños	4
Coriander springs(optional)	4-5
Green Capsicum chopped	1
Vegetable stock	2 cubes
Whipping cream	1tbsp
Cornflour	1tbsp
Cold Water	1 cup
Salt	to taste
Sour cream or vinegar of jalapeño	to taste
Butter	1tbsp
Cumin powder	1/4 tsp

Method

Finely chop 2 jalapeños and slice 2 jalapenos.

Heat butter in a pan and saute onion and garlic for 30 seconds.

Add onion, tomato, sliced jalapeño, coriander leaves, cumin powder, salt, capsicum and fry for 30 seconds.

Add 1/2 cup water, crumble vegetable stock cubes and boil till vegetables are soft. Add water if the pan is too dry. Cool and grind to a smooth paste.

Pour into the pan, add corn flour dissolved in cold water and boil for 3 minutes.

Boil till the desired consistency of soup is achieved. Check for salt. Add chopped jalapeños, sour cream and just heat till cream dissolves. Do not boil.

Garnish with coriander springs. Serve hot with garlic bread.

Points to remember:

• Check for salt in the vegetable stock cubes.
• If using the vinegar from canned jalapeño please check for sourness of soup and the heat of jalapeños. 
• If you feel the coriander sprigs does not go with the soup you can omit it.
• Sometimes, I garnish the soup with some dried parsley.

Garlic Bread

Refer to my other recipe for garlic bread.

Leftover Sauces?? Here is a cool tip to preserve and reuse those yummy sauces!!

Do you have lot of sauce left after a dinner party, but you don’t want to throw it away? Here is a tip to store them for future use.

Just put your sauce in ice cube tray and freeze it. Once it is frozen remove and store in a ziplock bag with sauce name and date on it. Presto!!

There are two advantages of this tip:

• You can store the yummy sauce for future use.
•  Since the sauce is in cube form you can defrost and use as many cubes as required. And you don’t have to defrost all of it at once.

This tip can be used for preserving leftover coconut milk, cream, tomato puree, pesto, or any kind of sauce.

Clues to check cake for doneness

Testing a baked good for doneness can be confusing, and it's easy to overbake a recipe in just a few minutes or even seconds. 

A dry, crumbly cake when you've been anticipating a wedge of tender perfection is a very sad thing. It can take practice (and a good recipe!) to know exactly when you've reached cake nirvana and should take it out of the oven, but here are four little clues to help you out.

·        When the Sides Pull Away: The cake is usually done when you see the sides of the cake just start to pull away from the pan. The outer edges will look dry and you'll see a gap forming between the edge of the cake and the side of the pan.

·        When the Cake is Pillowy: The middle of the cake should feel springy and pillowy if you gently press your finger against it. 

·        When a Cake Tester Comes Out Clean: Any thin skewer can be used as a cake tester, but many bakers just use a simple toothpick. If you insert it into the center of the cake, it should come out clean, with no streaks of batter. A few small crumbs are ok! If you really want your cake to be moist in the center don’t bake till the toothpick comes out clean.

Many recipes say to bake a cake till a toothpick tests clean. I personally suggest that you bake a cake until a toothpick shows a few moist crumbs still clinging. This is because pans hold residual heat and the cake will continue to “bake” after it is removed from the oven.

·        Take the Internal Temperature: If you're in any doubt, you can always take the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. The cake is done when the temperature in the middle is about 210°F/98-99°C ( internal temperature could vary largely from 160°F to 210°F or 93°C to 99° or even 100°C depending on the recipe.)

If you err on either side, err toward under-baking. Personally, I always prefer an overly moist cake to one that falls apart on the plate! (Then again, crumbly cake is a great excuse to make cake pops...)

Red Velvet Cake

Red velvet cake is a soft, spongy, melt-in-the mouth dessert. This decadent dessert is light on the palate. It gets flavor from the vanilla and cocoa powder but does not taste like a chocolate cake at all.

Traditionally, red velvet cake is iced with a French-style butter roux icing (also called ermine icing), which is very light and fluffy, but time-consuming to prepare. Cream cheese frosting and buttercream frosting are variations which have increased in popularity. I always use the White Chocolate Mousse to layer and frost my cake.

The main cake ingredients are flour, butter, buttermilk, and sugar. The red color comes from either beets or food coloring. These ingredients combine to create a red velvet cake.

Please don’t get intimidated by the long recipe, the actual cake is very simple but you need to make sure every step is followed in this recipe. Hence, the detailed explanation.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients	Quantity	Quantity for Eggless
Flour	1 ½ cup	½ cup
Corn starch	1 tbsp	1 tbsp
Butter	115 gms	115 gms
Sugar	1 cup	1 cup
Baking Soda	¼ tsp	¼ tsp
Butter milk	½  cup	½ cup
Vinegar	1 tbsp	1 tbsp
Cocoa Powder	1 tbsp	1 tbsp
Egg	1	1 tbsp oil+ 2 tbsp water
Egg replacer powder/Milk powder	-	1 ½ tbsp/1 tbsp
Vanilla extract	¼ tsp	¼ tsp
Red food coloring	¼ tsp	¼ tsp
Milk (optional)	¼ cup	¼ cup

Method

Sift together flour, corn starch and cocoa powder. Roughly divide into 3 parts.

Mix buttermilk and food color. Roughly divide into 3 parts.

In a large bowl cream* together butter and sugar using a hand blender until sugar is well combined. Add egg and beat at low speed till it is incorporated.

Pre heat the oven/microwave at 180°C for 10 minutes.

Add 1 part of buttermilk and 1 part of sifted flour. Beat using the blender once combined add another part. Blend the ingredients repeating the process. Add milk little at a time at this stage if you feel the batter is too dry.

Mix together vinegar and baking soda, add to the batter, add vanilla extract and combine well. The batter should be the same color throughout and it should not have any streaks.

Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. A few crumbs are okay but it should not have batter on it. If you are checking the internal temperature of the cake it should be between 93°C to 95°C maximum.

Eggless version:

Sift together flour, corn starch and cocoa powder. Roughly divide into 3 parts.

Mix buttermilk and food color. Roughly divide into 3 parts.

In a large bowl cream* together butter and sugar using a hand blender until well combined.

Pre heat the oven/microwave at 180°C for 10 minutes.

Add 1 part of buttermilk and 1 part of sifted flour. Beat using the blender once combined add another part. Blend the ingredients repeating the process. Add egg replacer powder/milk powder and mix well.

In a small bowl beat 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp water till frothy and add to the batter. Add milk little at a time at this stage if you feel the batter is too dry.

Mix together vinegar and baking soda, add to the batter, add vanilla extract and combine well. The batter should be the same color throughout and it should not have any streaks.

Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. A few crumbs are okay but it should not have batter on it. If you are checking the internal temperature of the cake it should be between 93°C to 95°C maximum.

Points to remember:

• For the cake shown above I have used White Chocolate Mousse as in between the layers. I have used the same mousse for frosting and then sprinkled the crumbs of the cake on top to make it look like a pillow.
• It is very important to use an apron while baking this cake as the food color might stain your clothes. Once you add food color to buttermilk mix very carefully. You could use a pair of disposable glove if you don’t like the color on your hands.
• Once you add the vinegar and baking soda to your cake the batter looks like its curdling, but you need not worry the reaction of these two ingredients result in a very spongy cake.
• Whenever you make a cake batter which requires you to use a hand blender use a large deep bowl to avoid splatter.
• If using the White Chocolate Mousse for frosting the cake as shown in the picture below you have to refrigerate the mousse before piping it. Transfer the mousse into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and refrigerate for 15 20 minutes or until the mousse is firm to pipe. 

Another way of decorating the cake

Hulling Strawberries!!

Once you’ve tried this clever trick for hulling strawberries, you’ll never look back!

As the strawberry season is approaching, I thought this tip might be handy. The first step in many strawberry-based recipes call for you to hull (or remove the tough stem) the fruit before using. The easiest way to do it is using a straw.

All you have to do is poke them with a straw!  You start at the bottom of the strawberry, push the straw up, and the stem and white bit just pop right up!  

Pudina Corn Pulav

Pudina Corn Pulav is a spicy rice dish prepared by combining flavors of mint leaves, coriander leaves and spices like cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf. The sweetcorn gives sweetness to this dish and balances the strong flavors.

‘Mint leaves’ or ‘Pudina leaves’ are very good for digestion and have anti-oxidant power when eaten raw. In India, it is widely used in chutneys for the same reason.

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2-3 people

Ingredients Quantity Corn or Green peas 1 cup Pudina (Mint leaves) ½  cup Basmati rice 1 cup Green chillies 2 or 3 Coriander leaves ½  cup Lemon juice 1tsp Pepper powder ½ tsp Grated coconut 2 tbsp Ginger (sliced) ½ inch piece Garlic cloves 3-4 Onion (sliced) 1 small Cashew nuts 10 -15  Ghee 1 tbsp Bay leaf 1-2 small pieces Cinnamon stick ½ inch piece Cloves 2 or 3

Method

Wash and soak basmati rice and keep aside for half an hour.

Grind together

In a blender add ¼ cup pudina, coriander leaves, grated coconut, ginger, garlic, green chilies, lemon juice and grind to paste.

Heat ghee in the cooker, fry cashew nuts till light brown, add bay leaves, cinnamon and cloves. Fry till aromatic. Add onions and a pinch of salt when onions turn transparent, add pepper powder.

Drain water from rice and keep on strainer for a while so that all the water is drained out and add to the onions. Fry a bit and then add the ground masala to the cooker, add remaining ¼ cup of pudina, salt, and 2 cups of water, mix well.

Close lid turn flame to high, when it starts steaming, put weight and after 1 whistle lower the flame and cook for a minute, turn off cooker.

Mix well before serving. Serve with raita.

Points to remember:

• You can use different combinations of vegetables like in any other pulav.

Pudina Pulav