Kitchen tips!

Cooking Indian vegetarian meals can be both enjoyable and rewarding, especially when you have a few smart tricks up your sleeve. These simple kitchen tips are perfect for making your everyday cooking easier, faster, and more flavorful. From prepping ingredients in advance to perfecting your tadka, these suggestions are designed to help you cook with more confidence and less stress—while keeping all the deliciousness intact.

Tip	Description
Prep veggies in advance	Chop and store in airtight containers to save time during the week.
Soak dals and legumes	Speeds up cooking and improves digestion.
Use a pressure cooker/Instant Pot	Great for cooking dals, rajma, chole quickly.
Master the tadka (tempering)	Heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin, hing, curry leaves for flavor.
Batch ginger-garlic-green chili paste	Store in fridge or freeze in small cubes.
Keep core spices ready	Must-haves: turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, red chili, amchur.
Use ghee for richness	Adds depth to dals, khichdi, or pulao.
Add hing (asafoetida)	Enhances taste and aids digestion, especially in dals.
Lemon/amchur for tang	Great tomato substitutes in dry sabzis.
Avoid burning spices	Cook till oil separates—don’t over-fry.
Keep herbs fresh	Wrap curry leaves & coriander in paper towels and refrigerate.
Make extra roti dough	Store in fridge; use within 2–3 days.
Batch-cook base masalas	Freeze onion-tomato or coconut masalas for quick use.
Soak for dosa/idli batter	Soak rice & dal 4–6 hrs, ferment overnight.
Roast spices before grinding	Brings aroma to sambar/rasam powders.
Use coconut wisely	Use fresh or frozen for chutneys; avoid desiccated coconut.