Tips For Snacks

• Add a handful of puffed/crushed rice (chirwa or poha) to the pakora batter for extra crisp pakoras.
• Add a handful of puffed/crushed rice (chirwa or poha) to the rice while soaking for idlis. You will get fluffier idlis.
• If dosas stick to the tawa, cut an onion into half. Clean tawa with the cut side of the onion and a little oil. If this does not help, heat tawa empty very well till almost fuming. Switch off the gas. Let it cool. Then reheat and make dosas. Dosas will not stick.
• To add more flavour to dosas, add a few methi daana (fenugreek seeds) to the batter.
• To make neat and crisp dosas, everytime you apply oil on the tawa, sprinkle salt water over it.
• Add a little dahi (yogurt) to dahi vada batter to get softer vadas. They will also absorb less oil while frying.
• For getting a thick, crisp coating on cutlets or rolls, dip the prepared snack in eggwhite beaten with a few tbsp of water and then roll in fine bread crumbs. If you do not take eggs, dip them in a thin batter of maida and water and then roll in bread crumbs. Fry till well browned.
• In the absence of bread crumbs, suji may be used to get a crisp coating.
• If your cutlets fall apart, dip some bread slices in water for a second, squeeze it and add to the cutlet mixture.
• Wrap sandwiches without cutting the sides, in foil or cling wrap to keep them soft. Cut the crust only at the time of serving to prevent the edges from drying.
• To make crisp potato chips, soak them in cold water for 1 hour. Drain. Wipe dry and deep fry.
• To get extra crisp chips, sprinkle the soaked, dried chips with some maida (plain flour) before frying. Maida absorbs any excess water present.