Quick solutions for your cooking mishaps

Kitchen casualties of the cooking kind are all too common. Things can go ridiculously awry while cooking up a normal everyday meal or when guests are expected.

What to do if the salt’s a tad too much or that exotic piece of fish you are frying threatens to rip apart? Fret not, follow a few handy tips which could save you from possible embarrassment. These quick fixes will also pep up the taste and flavour of your dishes. So here’s to you.

- To keep fish from sticking to the bottom of the pan while frying, add a pinch of maida (flour) into the oil when it heats up.

- That extra lot of fried fish can be de-boned, crumbled and added to scrambled eggs or omelets.

- Rub in some soy sauce or lime juice onto the meat or prawns set for fried rice. This will soften them and make cooking easier.

- Ditch red chillies for pepper while grinding chutney. Apart from its fine flavour, pepper is good for cholesterol control.

- While grinding coconut and green chillies for 'moru curry', add buttermilk/curd instead of water into the blender. This enhances the taste of the ground mix.

- If salt is on the high, temper it down with tomato or a bit of curds. You could even put in a few balls of cooked rice into what’s being cooked and get them out later.

- A wee bit of sugar goes well with dishes low on flavour and taste.

- Want to save egg whites? Get them inside a bottle, screw on the lid, save in fridge. This can be kept for three days. As for yokes, get them apart into a bottle, cover them with a layer of water or cooking oil, screw the lid on and leave it in the fridge. This will keep for two days. Happy cooking!