Before washing dirty curtains, soak them in plenty of plain
water overnight before washing. A major part of the dirt will
come off and an ordinary wash next morning is sufficient.
To prevent moulding of papads during monsoons, slip in a
piece of blotting paper under the papads in the container.
To keep coriander and other leafy greens fresh longer, wrap
them in a newspaper and place them in a perforated container
in the fridge.
After washing infant clothing, soak them in salt water for
15-20 minutes before drying. Baby odours will vanish.
Oil stains may be removed by rubbing the area with a piece
of lime dipped in salt. Later wash off with soap.
Should you by accident put extra salt into any food, add
one teaspoonful of brown sugar, and the salty taste will disappear.
Use a steel knife instead of iron to cut brinjals, plantains,
ladies-fingers and mangoes to avoid blackening.
Used tea leaves and residue of coffee decoction can be
put in plants instead of throwing out. They make excellent
natural manure.
Place two - three tablets of camphor in a hot iron vessel
to keep the flies away.
Dry used lime peels in the sun, grind it with channa-dal
to form a bathing scrub. Store the powdered mixture, mix with
curd and use daily.
Place thin slices of potato over and around your eyes. Relax,
lying down with them for 15 to 20 minutes. Wash face with
cool water. This helps remove tiredness and puffiness of the
eyes.
To remove scotch tape from walls (of posters, etc) without
damaging the paint - hold a warm iron over it for a few seconds.
A tiny pinch of alum add to the milk for making cottage
cheese (paneer) will make it whiter, softer.
Rub used lime peels all over hands. Rub till hands feel
dry. Wash after 10-15 minutes. Kitchen fatigue hands gain
back their soft, clean, fresh feel.
Put a used lime-peel or two in the pressure cooker when
cooking. It will keep the cooker from becoming blackened.
At parties, pour tomato sauce into pastry moulds or cake
papers and place on guests' paper plates. It keeps the plates
clean.
If garlic bread is not available, crush a few cloves of
garlic to a fine paste, cream it well into some butter. Spread
this on slices of bread and toast it. Serve with piping hot
soup.
Use a clean eye-dropper in the kitchen to measure food colours
and flavour essences.
Insert a hairpin into grapes to deseed them without cutting.
If the milk begins to boil over, quickly sprinkle a little
cold water over it and the overflow will subside.
Vary your everyday dal dish by changing the seasoning and
tempering (Tadka) ingredients. Try boiling the dal with salt,
turmeric and tomatoes, tempering it with curry leaves, mustard
and onions fried in oil, and finishing with green chillies,
sambar masala and 'kokum' pieces.
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