No shortcuts to good cooking


Posted on 12th Jun, 2018 by Homemad Delicacies | Categories: Uncategorized

One of the best ingredients in cooking is patience. Temptation to take short cuts is there but then we should be willing to compromise on taste and flavour as well. For example, pressure cooking the carrot to make gajarhalwa or frying the alootikki on high flame will not yield the desired result.

Having said that, there are occasions when we are hard pressed for time and short cuts actually seem like a very smart option. But a better way to deal with such things is to either plan well in advance or have a list of things that can be whipped up in a short span of time.

Above I have given the example of gajarhalwa, which is a favourite with many of us. Let us discuss the example further. When you pressure cook the carrot it tends to make it swishy and mashed in texture. On the other hand when we cook it with the milk and not add the khoa (milk solids) separately it allows the flavours to come together beautifully and the carrots are cooked well and yet not mushy in texture.

Similarly, cooking the alootikki on high flame will give it a golden brown colour very soon, but this method does not allow for uniform cooking. Also once taken off the heat, the tikki (or patty) will not have that crispness and will be too soft, often giving a sense of being undercooked. Whereas if you cook it patiently on low flame, it will be crispy on the surface and soft from inside, well-cooked throughout.

Although these are two examples, but the thought of not taking shortcuts has universal applicability across dishes.

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