Tips related to Curd (Dahi)

- Put bitter curd in strainer (chhalni) & drain excess water. Now add some milk & use it.
- Another option for bitter curd: add 4 cups of water & keep aside for half an hour. Later drain excess water deposited over curd.
- If jaaman is not present, then mix one teaspoon salt in hot milk & keep it at room temperature and leave it overnight. Curd should be ready next morning.

Tips for increasing Haemoglobin

Dont's
--------
- Decrease your dairy products consumption because dairy products limit absorption of iron in your body. Try to maintain your calcium intake with non-dairy products.
- Avoid caffeine intake.

Do's
-----
Have lots of iron rich food like carrot, jaggery (gur), spinach, beetroot (chukandar), fig.

Few tips that I've been told are as follows:
- Take a small amount of jaggery & soak overnight in a cup of water. Next morning, filter out the water & consume it empty stomach. This technique is said to produces excellent results within a month.
- Soak 2-3 dry figs in half cup of water overnight & consume next day.

PS: These tips are what I've come to know from people around me, books, etc. You could say these are typical Grandma's tips (Daadi-Naani ke nuskhe :) However, these tips are not meant to replace a doctor. Please use your own judgement, or take doctor's advice in case of any doubt.

Storing Potatoes

- To avoid potatoes pieces from blackening, put them in cold water.
- Do not wash potatoes before storing, to avoid them from sprouting.
- Always store potatoes at a dry place.
- If potatoes are kept for long, then roots grow on them. To avoid this, keep an apple with potatoes.

Indian spices, cereals etc. & their Hindi names

I often find myself being confused while going through any recipe (on TV, internet, magazine etc.). So I thought I would put as many information as possible here. Many things here would be too obvious, where sometimes you might get lucky & find what you're looking for :)
I would keep updating this list whenever I get additional info...

English - Hindi
---------------

Almonds - Badaam
Asafoetida - Heeng
Basil - Tulsi
Bay Leaf - Tej Patta
Bengal Gram - Chana Dal
Bottle Gourd - Lauki
Black Cardamom - Badi Elaichi
Black Pepper - Kali Mirch
Black Salt - Kala Namak
Carom Seeds / Thymol seeds - Ajwain
Cardamaom - Elaichi
Cashew - Kaju
Chilly - Mirch
Cilantro - Khada Dhaniya
Cinnamon - Dalcheeni
Clarified Butter - Ghee
Cloves - Long (or Lavang)
Corriander - Dhaniya Powder
Curd - Dahi
Curry Leaves - Kadi Patta
Cumin - Jeera
Cumin Black - Shah Jeera
Dates - Khajur
Aniseed / Fennel Seeds - Saunf
Fenugreek Seeds - Methi Dana
Garlic - Lahsun
Ginger - Adrak
Golden Raisins - Kishmish
Gram - Desi Chana
Gram Flour - Besan
Green Peas - Hari Matar
Green Chilly - Hari Mirch
Home Made Cheese - Paneer
Jaggery - Gud
Kidney Beans - Rajma
Lemon - Nimbu
Lentils / Red Lentils - Masoor Dal
Mace - Javitri
Mustard Seeds - Rai
Mint - Pudina
Mustard Oil - Sarson Ka Tel
Nigella - Kalaunji
Nutmug - Jayefal
Oatmeal - Vilayati Jau
Pistachio - Pista
Plain Flour - Maida
Pomegranate Seeds - Anar Daana
Poppy Seeds - Khus Khus
Raw Mango Powder - Amchoor
Red Lentils (or Lentils) - Masoor Dal
Rose Water - Gulab Jal
Rice Flakes - Poha (or Chooda)
Saffron - Kesar
Semolina - Rava
Sesame Seeds - Til
Spice Blend - Garam Masala
Split Green Gram - Dhuli Moong Dal
Tamarind - Imli
Terminalia Chebula - Harad
Thymol Seeds / Carom Seeds - Ajwain
Turmeric - Haldi
Vinegar - Sirka
Walnuts - Akhrot
Wheat Flour - Genhu ka Aata
Whole Lentils - Sabut Masoor

Self Care

- Mixing Aamla powder with oil for massaging helps in itching problem.
- Apply BitterGourd juice (or its peeling) to pimples.
- For headache caused due to dryness & heat; apply curd to roots of your hair. Don't do this if you're allergic to dairy products; or sufferring from cough, cold etc.
- To get rid of cold (jukaam), put 2 pinches sugar & 1 pinch salt in your mouth; then drink slightly hot milk on top of it. Cold would be gone in 2 days.

What to do when there is an insect in your ear?

Imagine yourself sleeping comfortably in your hammoc, or in your tent during a camping vacation and all of sudden you hear sound of an insect, drawing closer to your ear.... hey wait, that noise is not drawaing closer to your ear, it is coming from your ear!!!

First some Dont's...

- Don't put anything in your ear. This means, don't try to use any ear-bud, your finger, forcep or any kind of object to pull the insect out. You might hurt yourself & worsen the situation.
- Don't put any kind of medicine, oil or any kind of ointment.
- Most important - Don't panic.

Now the trick:
- Go to a place where it is really dark and hold a torch in front of your ear. In most of the cases, the insect would move towards light and eventually come out of your ear.

... and don't forget to see your doctor.

Self Care - Tricks to avoid Motion Sickness

I've been suffering from motion sickness for long, and frankly speaking, I haven't found anything that can cure it. However, I've come across various tricks that often help.
What I've read at various places is that motion sickness is caused due to confusion between what we are seeing and what we are feeling. Our eyes tell our brain that we're moving with respect to the whole world, whereas rest of the body feels that we're not moving (with respect to the vehicle). This leads to slight dizziness followed by nausea.
Anyways, enough theory, lets get to the points.

First, some Dos and Donts:

- Don't eat heavy food prior to traveling, but don't even stay hungry.
- Avoid smoking.
- While traveling don't read. Not even sms on your mobile phones.
- If possible, choose a seating location where you can feel some air on your face.
- While sitting, sit in a position such that your body is straight and you're leaning forward; as if you're paying attention in your class.


Now some tricks:

- Wherever possible, go for a nap.
- Eat ginger in any form; could be a toffee, some home cooked light food or even in raw form (if you can stand the taste).
- Mint is also helpful. For some people even chewing gum works.
- This one is slightly weird one: some taxi drivers even advised to sit on a newspaper. I don't know what's the reason behind it, but worth giving a try.
- This one is the most successful one for me: I purchase lots of lemon & orange candies, and keep at least one in my mouth all the time.
- This is another one that I found on internet; it sounds little weird but worth giving a try:
From the second you get onto the vehicle, start to chew gum.(About 3 pieces.) This helps with involving your jaw and ears both accumulate and it really works. Towards the middle of the trip, spit out your gum and snack on some saltines. These put more sodium in your body, which combines with the sugar, but also relaxes your jaws and forehead. Snack for about 10 minutes. When your done with your salty snack, put about 3 pieces of fresh gum back in your mouth and chew away. Once whatever you're in starts to stop, put in another stick of gum and chomp the gum like a cow, opening your mouth as wide as possible, circling and closing. Stick your fingers in your ears.
Once you start to exit the vehicle, keep going on with the cow chomps, but remove your fingers from ears.
About 10 minutes after landing, stomp your feet and your motion sickness should be long gone.

Taking care of your electronic gadgets

- If you are not going to use your electronic device (mobile, camera etc.); remove the batteries from it and keep them aside.
- If your mobile, camera has fallen into water then try following trick:
First, keep the device in a standing position so that maximum water drains out automatically. After that, keep device in a plastic container, and cover it with uncooked dry rice and let it stay there for 24 to 48 hours. Rice will absorb excess moisture.
This trick might not work for sea water.






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Cleaning Tips

- If you are not going to use iron based utensils for a while, then put a coating of lemon drops or mustard oil to avoid them from rusting.
- Never keep a metallic spoon in pickle jar.
- Always hang white clothes in direct sunlight and coloured clothes in shade.
- Washing cake too small to be used can be dropped in washing machine to wash some more clothes.
- Add salt to water for Washing jeans; it would remove all dirt.
- Newspapers are very good for wiping moist mirror surfaces. Specially helpful for cleaning car screens.
- If you're unable to find cellotape tip; then put it in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Instead of throwing away banana peels, put these in rose plants. These would act as fantastic manure.
- If oil, ghee or milk has spilled on floor; first put some dry wheat flour on it & then wipe with newspaper. Slipperyness & spots would vanish.
- Rub potato piece on burnt carpet area; burn marks would fade.
- Apply car wax on shoes to make them water proof.
- If you put little bit of salt in freezer section, then ice tray would not stick to the bottom.
- To break coconunt, draw a circle in middle of coconut with water. Later, strike gently on that line with belan, or small hammer. Coconut would break in perfect circle.
- To remove lipstick stains from clothes, apply some vaseline onto the stain & wash with soap after at least one hour.
- If thermas is not being used since long, it starts smelling bad. To remove this odour, keep some sirca/vinegar in it for some time; later wash the thermos with cold water. Smell would be gone.







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Cooking Tips

- If you've accidently added more salt to a gravy, then any of the following things could help:
      == Add a small piece of kneeded dough and cook, the dough would absorb excess salt.
      == Instead of kneeded dough, you can also use a peeled potato cut into 2 pieces.
      == Adding finely chopped onion can also help in removing excess salt.
      == Small pieces of bread can also be added.
      == Desi Ghee can also be used for this purpose.
- To keep salt flowing freely from salt shaker, put some uncooked rice in it. Rice would absorb excess moisture.
- If you are not going to use iron based utensils for a while, then put a coating of lemon drops or mustard oil to avoid them from rusting.
- To avoid rice grains from sticking together, put some drops of vegetable oil or ghee during cooking.
- To make crispy pakodas/fries, add some cornflour.
- To avoid tears while cutting onions, cut onion in 2-3 pieces and soak in water for at least 15 minutes.
- Another technique to avoid tears whil cutting onions, is to chew Chewing Gum.
- .... and another technique is to put the small onions in freezer for 30 minutes.
- Soaking BitterGourd (Karela) pieces in salty water for at least 2 hours, removes excess bitterness.
- While preparing stuffed vegetables, add some Gram Flour (Besan) to the stuffing; you will get tastier vegetables.
- To peel tomatoes easily, hold them with the help of a fork over flame.
- Before soaking rice for Idli & Dosa, roast it a bit. Idlis would be softer and Dosa would be crispier.
- If lukewarm water is used for kneading flour, rotis/chapatis would be softer.
- Add one teaspoon sugar in partially cooked pulao; each rice grain would be tastier to eat.
- While preparing Kachori or Samosa; add 1 tablespoon vinegar to Maida. Samosa would be crispier & it would consume less oil also.
- Shallow fry Lauki & Kaddoo peelings with little oil & salt; you'll have a tasty chutney.
- To make spongier cake, put 1 lemon juice in its mixture.
- To make daanedaar ghee, when it is half cooked; sprinkle some water drops.
- Dont throw away dried or stale bread; add some milk & cream; make small balls and fry gulab-jamuns. Dip to chashni for 10 minutes.
- If kadhi has become more salty; then add little bit of jeera-powder & grated coconut.
- To make tastier besan pakodis, add 1 teaspoon achaar masala in besan-mixture.
- While preparing daal, add little bit refined oit; or a small piece of ginger. This would help in avoiding gas problems.
- While preparing tomato ketchup; add bitter grapes with tomatoes; you'll get tastier ketchup.
- Adding a bit of lemon-juice to avoid egg smell while preparing omletter.
- If you add curd to egg mixture; you'll get tastier omletttes.
- If idli ghol is thin, then add bhuna rava.
- Adding few garlic cloves to rice, lentils prevents insects from entering the container.
- To remove jelly from the mould without breaking it; wrap a hot water towel around the mould. Jelly will easily come out within a minute.
- Peeling Jimikand causes itching in hands. Rub salt in your palms after peeling jimikand & you won't get any itching.
- Wash lentils & drain excess water. Put them in a casserole & cover the lid; you'll have sprouts next day.
- While making pizza apply some butter to the base, you'll have a crunchier pizza.
- While making upma; fry suji without oil till it becomes light brown. Your upma would be tastier and all its grains would be separate.
- If papaya is not sweet, then you can cook it as vegetable like pumpkin.


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Pest Control Tips

- To keep lizards away, keep empty egg shells at the places where lizards reside.
- Another option is to keep peacock feathers at the places where lizards visit frequently.
- To get rid of Ants, put some Wheat flour on the places. Ants would disappear within few minutes.
- To get rid of ants, put some drops of mustard oil & the places of ants' visit.
- To avoid Ants from entering Sugar jar, put some Camphor (kapoor) wrapped in a paper.




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