Corinne's Cooking Hints & Tips

Chillies

Storing chillies

Chillies freeze very well. Store them chopped or whole in the freezer and use as required

Chopping chillies

When chopping chillies, hold the stalk and chop the chillies with a small knife. Do not touch the outer flesh or the core with the seeds as they all contain the oils that burn your skin and eyes. And of course, always wash your hands after handling chillies.

Quantities of chillies to use

In my opinion, it is better to use half the quantity of chilli in a dish and use the whole chilli, handling it carefully, than it is to cut out the inner membrane and remove the seeds. Some chillies are very potent and even after washing your hands, the chilli oils still remain on them and will burn your eyes if rubbed.

Spices

Buying spices

Try to buy spices from Asian or other shops where there is a fast turn around of these items. Buy Asian brands and try to buy spices that are properly packaged, where the smell of the spice does not escape from the packaging. It is nice to buy the whole spices and grind them yourself, but it is a lot of work. So I would recommend buying good quality powdered spices where possible and make sure that there is aroma as well as flavour in the spices you use.

Store cupboard spices

Start with the main spices, Turmeric, Chilli, Coriander and Cumin Powders. Then purchase a few seeds like black mustard and cumin seeds, so that you can make a ‘tarka’.

Curry leaves

Curry leaves are widely available in farm shops and supermarkets. You will only need about 1 sprig of curry leaves for any recipe. Store the rest in a container or a plastic bag in the freezer and use as required.

Other tips

Slice onions without crying

Use a small sharp knife to cut a cone out of the bottom of the onion (the tapering part of the onion). The diameter of this cone should be about a third of the diameter of the onion, and about 1/3 deep. Take this piece and throw it away. Now peel & slice or chop the onion.

Yoghurt... Learn from the Indians...

Both North and South Indians have plain yoghurt (curds) with nearly all our meals. The South Indians often eat rice and plain curds at the end of the meal and the North Indians, besides cooking with yoghurt, normally serve raitas with their meals. This helps with digestion as well as calms the mouth and the stomach after the heat of the spices.