Nani Approved Nuskas

Nani Approved Nuskas

138 crore Indians, living in different households, growing up in different cultures, but some things remain the same. Maa ke haath ka khana aur Nani ke desi nuske. And nothing but this is the right time to reminisce about all the desi jugaads that are slowly forgotten as we grow into the wilderness of modernity.

Here is an assorted list of 5 top kitchen nuskas that your Nani would have wanted you to use in your routine life.

The key to making a perfectly thick sauce/gravy is to add a tasteful amount of cornstarch (diluted in water) to your sauce/gravy. This simple hack will make sure your masala puree and water are bound together to make a smooth, perfectly thick sauce/gravy. 

Even refrigerators can’t keep your greens fresh. But guess what will? A clean dry Muslin cloth/bag. It’s easy. Wash your green veggies, dry excess water and wrap them in a muslin cloth. The fabric will absorb remaining water and retain moisture, keeping your veggies fresh and crisp for a longer time. And that’s exactly what we do to keep our veggies fresh before making the Kantha Bomb.

You peel the cardamom, use the seeds and then what? Throw away the shell? Oops. Your Nani would be so disappointed. Rather, put the peel in your tin of tea leaves and next time when you make a nice cup of chai, you’ll feel the flavours.

Yes, deciding to add little or more hot sauce is definitely one way to go about it. But that’s not how your Nani did it. Back then it was based on judgement, if you want your food to be hot and spicy - you would add the whole chilli pod with the skin and seeds to your cooking. And if you preferred it mildly spicy, then you would scrap the seeds and use only the pepper skin. Now that is our favourite hack!

The best kitchen hack coming from the olden is to pre store everything you can, without wasting anything. And that means, you have to know your greens, spices and chillies well. There are some of these which get an enhanced flavour when you dry and store them. For eg - Red chillies, ginger, mint leaves, mango (amchur powder) etc. While a lot of others fade their flavours when they are dried. For eg - Green chillies, coriander, curry leaves etc. So it's always better to use these fresh or puree and refrigerate them.

Well to conclude it all, there’s nothing as desi as old Indian kitchen hacks and clearly they are not leaving our modern kitchens for years and decades to come.  And while keeping the Indian-ness alive, we do our share by making bottled Indian passion for you, in the form of our Hot Sauces and Spice Essentials. Have you tried them?