Wash vegetables before peeling or cutting to preserve the water soluble vitamins.

Peel vegetables as thinly as possible to preserve the minerals and vitamins.

Soak potatoes and eggplant after cutting, to avoid discoloration.

If you boil vegetables in water, do not throw the water, keep it to make gravies.

To avoid browning of apples after cutting, apply a little lemon juice on the cut surface. The apples will stay and look fresh for a longer time.

Keep coriander leaves in a muslin (cheese) cloth bag in the refrigerator. They will remain fresh for a longer time.

Remove the stems of green chilies while storing them .This will help them to stay fresh for long.

After peeling onions cut in half and soak in water for about 10 minutes before cutting to avoid crying.

Soak almonds in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes .The skin will peel off easily.

Chopping vegetables can be done in different ways using a sharp knife and a wooden chopping board. Cutting on a marble slab will blunt your knives.

Remove the outer leaves and husks from the corn (bhutta). Holding the corn upright with the flat end firmly in a board, take a sharp knife and run it down between the kernels and the cob to strip them away.

Wrap the fruits and vegetables in newspaper before refrigerating to keep them fresh for long.

Chopping dry fruits - Freeze them first for one hour & then dip the knife into hot water before cutting them.

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Hey Samantha, i thought the following info would be useful as part of your post

Tips On Frying :

Heat the oil thoroughly before adding seasonings or vegetables.

Fry the seasonings until they change color, to get full flavour of seasonings.

If masala sticks to the pan that shows quantity of fat included is not enough.

Add some hot oil and 1/2 tsp of baking soda in batter while making pakodas.

When coconut is used in grinding masala, do not fry for a longer time.

If you are making patties or tikkis of potatoes, always make sure that the potatoes are boiled well in advance and cooled before you use them. It would be better if they can be refrigerated for a short time. This helps the starch in the potatoes to settle down and the tikkis will not be gooey.

Smoke Mustard oil first before using for preparing vegetables etc.. by heating to a point till light white smoke emerges from it. This would remove the potency from the oil.

Poori can be rolled and place between well-rinsed wet muslin cloth at least an hour ahead and can be Fried before serving.

To make pooris more crispy add a little rice flour to the wheat flour while kneading.

Pakodas will turn out crisper if a little corn flour is added to the gram flour (besan) while preparing the batter.

Heat a non-stick pan and add a little more butter than usual. Now beat the egg and stir briskly (even while frying) with a fork. This way more air goes in your omelet, making it light and fluffy. Fry till done and serve hot.

Sprinkle a little amount of salt in the frying pan before adding bacon to fry. That way it will not splatter all over.

When browning meat in fat, choose a large, deep pan. This will enable you to fry quickly, without splashing the stove with fat and meat juices.

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Thanx a lot alen