Easy kitchen hacks using microwave oven

The concept of microwave cooking is yet to make an impression on Indian kitchens. It is used mostly as a cool contraption for heating. Though a lot has changed and many have opted to use it as a device for cooking, people are still ignorant as to how it can be put to best use in many ways. Here's a candid list of dos you can resort to with your microwave.

Toast veggies: Vegetables like mushroom and capsicum can be placed in the centre of the tray and those like carrots, cauliflower and potatoes that need more cooking time can be placed by the side and cooked.

Peel garlic: You can now get the skin off garlic in a jiffy. Microwave garlic pods (never separate them into cloves) for 20 seconds and watch the skin sliding off.

Juice: Want more juice from lime or orange? Microwave them for 20 seconds. It tastes just the same.

Chop onions: No more tears while chopping onions. All you have to do is cut both ends of the onion and put them in the oven for 30 seconds. As the juice inside dries up, it prevents one's eyes from watering.

Dry herbs: Want dry herbs? You can dry coriander leaves, celery, and parsley within minutes. Place the herbs along with their roots in a flat dish and heat them up in the oven for three to four minutes. They can be turned over if necessary.

Keep bread fresh: Bread, chappathy and pizza tend to turn dry while being warmed. Avoid this dryness by placing a glass of water along with the stuff to be warmed.

Heat food: When more volume of food, like rice is heated, the heat seldom spreads evenly. To avoid this, spread the food to the sides and heat it. The heat will spread evenly.