How to deodorize your fridge/How to remove the bad odor from your refrigerator

Its time for another tip. Yes its Tuesday and today's tip is How to deodorize your fridge/How to remove the bad odor from your refrigerator.Getting rid of bad odors in a refrigerator can be a nightmare. Rubbing and scrubbing might remove the stains, but the bad smell often lingers

A refrigerator that smells bad inside can stink up an entire kitchen, even when the door is closed. This can ruin an appetite in seconds flat. Most of the time, the source of a bad odor in a refrigerator is a sliced raw onion, garlic or spicy foods. Do not bother with costly store-bought fridge fresheners.

Tip 1- Clean the fridge. Clean all the shelves and drawers with a thick paste of baking soda and water. Not only will you remove food stains but odor as well.

Tip 2-You can then continue deodorizing your fridge with baking soda. Place an open container with baking soda inside and let it absorb the smells for at least 24 hours.

Tip 3- If baking soda doesn’t help, you can also distribute freshly ground coffee evenly on a plate and put it in the fridge for 24 hours. Coffee is known to absorb smells effectively. Instead of throwing the coffee away after the 24-hour stay in the fridge you can mix it with soil and use it as a fertilizer for your garden.

Tip 4-Place an open bowl of white vinegar in the back of the refrigerator. It will immediately begin to deodorize the fridge by neutralizing bad odors. Change the vinegar once every two weeks. Use the old vinegar to deodorize and clean kitchen drains. Absolutely nothing will go to waste, and the fridge and drains will always smell clean and fresh.



Stop holding your breath every time you open the fridge, and give these simple home remedies a try. Get rid of odors that are turning heads and turning stomachs. These really work! Have a happy refrigerator. 





* Disclaimer :::: Not all the information mentioned above is my own and some of it are taken from various books and online sources like Google including the pics. My pics will have my logo on them , rest all are taken randomly from Google

Mango Pickle with Asafoetida/ Aam Ka Heeng Ka Achar

Ok! I know I am very late to post this recipe because summers have already passed away. But I cannot wait for 6 months to post this recipe because this recipe is superb and tasty. Its Mango Pickle with Asafoetida/ Aam ka heeng ka achar. Please do try this next summers :) Its very healthy and improves digestion. Its no oil mango pickle

Ingredients:

Raw mango (peeled and cut long thinly sliced)- 2 kg
Mustard oil - 6 tbsp
Hing (asafoetida) grind - 2 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 2 tablespoon
Red chilli powder - 2 1/2 tablespoon
Mustard/sarso/rai- 1/4 teaspoon

Fennel seeds/saunf-1/2 teaspoon

Salt - to taste

METHOD:

1. Place the mango pieces, under the sun for 4 to 5 hours.
2. Now mix well salt and turmeric powder and mango pieces.
3. Take, a clean dry glass or plastic container, put the mango pieces in it, out if the sun"s heat is strong for 3 to 4 days.
4. After 3 to 4 days, add red chilli powder and hing and mix well.
5. Heat mustard oil, add saung and rai and let it crackle.Let it completely cool and add the mango pickle and mix.
6. Hing mango pickle is ready, you can start eating it.

Award- Vegetarian Cooking with Dahi by Sanjeev Kapoor for Orange chocolate cup cakes.

Good news!!... I won another award. The event was organised by Pallavi of Cook-eat-burrrp. I send 4 entries for the event " My Diwali Basket and i won 3rd Prize. 

I received a cook book-Vegetarian Cooking with Dahi by Sanjeev Kapoor for Orange chocolate cup cakes

Please see the round up here. My Diwali Basket

Tuesday's Tip- What to do with over-salted soup/curry?

Hey readers! I am starting with new section in my blog. Every Tuesday I will mention a tip or a trick that will be very helpful in your daily life. Something like how remove  stains, avoid bad odor in your refrigerator  how to clean stuffs, how to choose a fruit, some quick fix in the kitchen etc etc... Exciting! isnt it?? So stay tune. 

How many times have we all worked for hours and then realized that the Soup or Curry has too much salt?Do not throw it away, there is a perfect fix! And this is the tip of the week. What to do with over-salted soup/curry.

There are 3 tips that I will like to share.
Tip 1- If your curry is already cooked and you do not wanna over cook it then simply add large chunks of boiled potatoes (large because it will be easy to take them out) and let it sit in for 4-5 minutes. Taste and then remove the potatoes.

Tip2- If curry and vegetables are still cooking then simply peal a raw potato and cube it and add in the curry. Let the potato cook with other vegetables. Remove the cooked potatoes if you want to.


Tip-3 This one is very good. Simple take 1 tbsp of cornflour and mix with 2 tbsp of water and mix with soup or gravy. If the soup or curry turns thick add some more water. Cornflour will absorb the extra salt. 

I hope that next time if you have added extra salt in the food, these tips will be very helpful. 
See you on next tuesday with another tip.

* Disclaimer :::: Not all the information mentioned above are my own and some of it are taken from various books and online sources like Google including the pics. My pics will have my logo on them , rest all are taken randomly from Google

Chocolate Gulab Jamuns, Little Drops Of Heaven

I agree that Easter is over, but the festive period still goes on. So here is the old sweet dish Gulab Jamun but with a new twist; Chocolate Gulab Jamuns. I just experimented and the taste was too good. Bitter dark chocolate balanced the sweetness of gulab jamuns. Also I made them with milk powder which was new for me, they turned out to be very soft and spongy.All were surprised and asked me for the recipe. So here it is-

Ingredients :

Milk Powder : 1 cup
All purpose flour : 1/4 cup
Sugar : 2 cups
Baking Powder : 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter : 1 tbsp
Cardamom Powder : 1/2 tsp
Some chocolate chips
Oil for deep frying

Method :

Mix the milk powder with baking powder, flour, unsalted butter and little water, make a smooth dough. Cover it with a lid and set aside for 15 minutes. 
Divide the dough into small smooth balls. Fill chocolate chips in it and cover it with the mixture and make a ball.
For preparing sugar syrup add 2 cups of water and cardamom powder to sugar .Cook till sugar dissolves in the water, boil the sugar syrup for a few minutes, approximately 15 minutes.When syrup turns thick it means that the syrup is ready. 
Heat oil in a pan for deep frying the balls. Fry the balls on a low flame stirring them constantly for even browning. When they turn to golden brown color, remove from the oil and put them into sugar syrup. Soak for 30 minutes. 
Serve hot or chilled.

Tips:- Remember softer the dough, softer will be the Gulab Jamuns

-You can also fill jam,gulkand any nuts in between.

Enjoy the little drops of heaven.

Happy Diwali 2012

Happy Diwali....

Here's wishing all my readers  a very Happy Diwali. 

Have a safe and a prosperous Diwali!!

Diwali Snacks-Hot and Cold

Diwali snacks usually reminds us of deep fried stuffs like mathri, gunjiya, kachori, chevda etc. Why not this diwali try a healthier version of snacks. All the dishes that I have listed below are steamed, baked and roasted. I have divided them in 2 categories one that you can make 3-4 days earlier and other ones that are made and served hot.

Baked Channa Dal- Haldiram's Style

(Have crunchy dal, but without guilt)

Baked Mathri / Baked Salt Crackers

(Make sev puri, papadi chaat and enjoy without worrying about weight gain)

Curry Leaves Mathri

(A unique flavour of mathri-a must try recipe for diwali)

Aloo Badam Tikki

(Add crunchy badam and bring new twist to aloo tikki)

Micorwave Khandvi/Savory Swiss Rolls

(Steamed rolls, quick and easy in microwave)

Ragda Patties

(Enjoy spicy ragda with roasted patties and impress your guests)

Bean Patties/ Rajma Tikkis

(Give protein kick to your diwali menu)

Khaman Dhokla

(Bring delicious gujarat to your kitchen)

Paneer Pudhina Tikki

(Panner and mint what a combo! what else can I say now)

I hope this will be helpful. Do bring new taste to your kitchen this Diwali

Quick and Easy Diwali Sweets

Festive month is here. Diwali is festival of enthusiasm and with enthusiasm comes cooking inventions. Diwali is a time when we all love to make different sweets and dessert to please our guests.I have posted quite a few desserts and sweet recipes that are apt for Diwali and don't require you to slog in the kitchen. Who doesn't like a quick and easy Diwali sweet?? But more than that, who doesn't like a list of them! Here's mine. Hope it will be helpful.

Milk Powder Churma

Rice Kheer/ Rice Pudding

Chocolate Sandesh

Mango Phirni

Almond Cardamom Cookies/Naankhatai

Do try these. Happy diwali