Tip to make perfect boiled egg (2 ways)

Method 1 (My favorite and foolproof method):

1. In a saucepan, take the eggs that need to be boiled. Pour in water such that the eggs gets immersed in water completely. 
2. Add 1/2 tbsp of salt to it. 
3. Place it on high heat. Let it come to a boil. 
4. Switch off immediately and cover it. Let it stand for 10 minutes.
5. After 10 minutes, pour out the hot water and fill the pan with normal tap water. Let it stand for couple of minutes. Replace the water again with normal tap water if you feel it hot or warm. The egg shells should be cooled completely before you start peeling it.
6. Take a boiled egg and drop it on the kitchen top and roll it under your palms applying pressure gently such that the shells crack in a circle, by the center of the egg. The shells would now peel off quickly.

Method 2

1. In a saucepan, take the eggs that need to be boiled. Pour in water such that the eggs gets immersed in water completely. 
2. Add 1/2 tbsp of salt to it. Place it on high heat.
3. When the water starts to boil, simmer the heat to medium and let it cook for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the heat. 
4. Pour out the hot water from the pan. Now run the normal tap water ( cold water ) on the eggs untill the shells cool completely.
5. Take a boiled egg and drop it on the kitchen top and roll it under your palms applying pressure gently such that the shells crack in a circle, by the center of the egg. The shells would now peel off quickly.

Storing Curry leaves

Curry leaves is one main ingredient in Indian cooking. If you have fresh curry leaves available to you at any point of time, I would consider you to be lucky. For us, we need to buy and store it whenever it is available at the grocery store for future use. So this is what I do to store it.

1. Wash the curry leaves thoroughly with water.
2. Pat it dry on a kitchen towel and line them on a plate.
3. Spray some cooking oil over them and spread it in a manner that all the leaves get coated with oil. Vegetable oil is preferable.
4. Seal them in a ziploc bag and freeze it. Use it whenever required.
5. It helps the curry leaves to stay almost fresh for months.

Trick to get perfect Chocolate garnishing !

Chocolate garnishing isn't just about melting chocolate and piping it out in desired shapes. I learnt it the hard way, when the chocolate garnishing on a birthday cake just bent down in few minutes.

What is the secret behind doing it right and how to do it? Tempering is what needs to be done here. Tempering is a way of melting chocolate in a way that its molecules do not break up completely. So, when they are chilled, they get back together to give it a firm shape.

1. First, grate the chocolate. Do not touch the chocolate with your hand, else it would melt. Shave it with a sharp knife having held it with a kitchen towel. 
2. Place 2/3rd of shaved chocolate in the microwave for not more than 8 sec. Take it out and give it a mix with a spoon. If its not melted completely, place it again in the microwave for few seconds, just enough to melt it. 
3. Once done, add the rest of the chocolate shaving and mix it with a spoon. It would melt in it and leave a thick and sticky texture.
4. Pipe it out of a piping bag or ziploc bag into desired shapes to decorate cakes, desserts etc. 

Watch this video, where I learnt it from.

Let the Coriander leaves stay fresh !

Did You Know that, wrapping coriander leaves in a paper towel, lets it stay fresh for a longer period of time.

Before you place them in the refrigerator, just untie the bundle of coriander leaves. Leave it for a while till the water on them(if any) gets dried off. Take a paper towel and spread the coriander leaves on it. Now roll it from one end to the other. Tie it in a plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator. Whenever you would need to use them, take out the ones towards the end of the roll. Remove the decayed leaves, if any, and then roll it back and place it in the refrigerator. The leaves would stay fresh for upto 1- 1 1/2 months.

Thanks to Lakshmi, my friend and neighbour for this great tip :).