What are the most common cooking mistakes?

 Not following the correct sequence of adding vegetables and spices while preparing a dish.

Vegetables as well as spices are added in a proper order with respect to their water content. Disturbing the sequence leads to improper frying of the ingredients,thus affecting the taste and texture of the dish.

For example, the correct steps to be followed while cooking the dish that's probably the most commonly cooked in Indian kitchens, the Potato Tomato curry affectionately known as 'Aaloo Tamaatar Sabzi', are:

1. After adding oil uniformly on the pan and allowing it to warm, add Chopped onions( and chopped green chilli). Can be initiated with cumin too.
   

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2. After they turn golden brown, add chopped potato.
   

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2. And then Tomato.
   

1. As Tomato has the highest water content among the three, adding it before potato and/or onions may leave them partially fried.
2. Its time to add the spices now. Generally they are added in no particular order,but its better to add Turmeric powder after Coriander powder and Red Chilli powder have been added as it leaves water when fried. DO NOT add Salt with them. Salt has comparatively larger amount of water of crystallization due to which the vegetables may not be properly fried.
   

1. After sufficient frying of the vegetable-spices mixture,add water followed by salt.
   

The sequence says: Do Not Disturb.

P.S. : Peas, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Carrot etc. are added after Tomato in similar curries.

What are some Indian cooking hacks?

 Roll lemons before cutting into them; they release so much more juice.

For great hash browns, throw your potatoes in the fridge the night before. The cold environment forces the potatoes to convert their starches to sugar and this promotes significantly better browning the next day.

Put whole ginger in the freezer; it makes it very easy to grate into a fine powder.

Put a piece of damp paper towel under a cutting board so it wont slip.

Heat pan prior to adding ingredients so the whole pan is evenly hot. Don't throw in everything at once to prevent heat from dropping.

A small pad of butter inserted into the center of a burger before cooking. Mmmmmm. Burgerrrr.

Throw onions in the freezer 10 minutes before cutting. No more tears.

Make your own flavoured oils! They add a little extra zing to any dish, and they are SUPER easy! Put either chilli, herbs (oregano, basil, thyme whatever you like) or garlic into a bottle of oil and let them steep for a few weeks. Experiment with the amount of chilli/herb/garlic you put int o make the perfect concentration. Sometimes it's useful to have a mild chilli oil and a super hot one too!

Grow herbs. A lot of them come back year after year and need very little care. Use them fresh!

Coffee pots also work for cooking ramen/maggi noodles. Poor water in top, put noodles in pot, then turn it on and go. Also, mix in the seasoning after the noodles are cooked and strained; much more flavorful.

If you want to put onions in your salad, soak them in ice water for a few minutes. It will remove the pungency and keep the sweetness + crunchiness

If you are making your own iced tea, put a pinch of baking soda in the tea while it's still hot. It cuts down on the bitterness and reduces the need for sugar.