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.

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- 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.

Kuttanad's own 'Chungam shaap' serves the taste of Alappuzha's traditional shaap curry
Kuttanad's own 'Chungam shaap' serves the taste of Alappuzha's traditional shaap curry

- 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.

Sprouted Green Gram Fried Rice
Sprouted Green Gram Fried Rice

- 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.

Kalan
Kalan

- 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!

sugar