How to puree tomatoes

How to puree tomatoes

method

1. Wash the tomatoes thoroughly.
2. Boil some water in a stock pot. In another pot prepare ice cold water and set aside.
3. Cut a shallow X at the bottom of the tomato.
4. When the water starts to boil, turn off the stove. Put the tomatoes into the boiled water and leave it for 30 seconds or till the skin starts to loosen up.
5. When the skin starts to loosen take the tomatoes quickly from hot water and place it in the cold water to stop the cooking process. This method of drenching the veggies in boiling water and cooling in ice cold water is called blanching. Blanching helps to stop the enzymes responsible for ripening the fruits and veggies. By blanching the fruits and vegetables, we are preserving their freshness for longer time.
6. Once the tomatoes are cooled, peel the skin and puree it in a blender.

Tomato puree can be stored in the freezer for longer shelf life. It is hard to scoop out the frozen puree so I usually freeze the puree in ice cube trays & store the frozen cubes in a freezer safe container

Garlic Pickle

Ingredients

• Peeled Garlic - 1 1/2 cups
• Lemon Juice - Little less than 1/2 cup
• Chilli Powder - 2 1/2 tspn
• Salt - 2 tspn
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tspn
• Coriander seeds - 1 tspn
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tspn
• Hing - 1/4 tspn
• Mustard seeds - 1/4 tspn
• Sesame oil - 8-10 tspn
• Jaggery - 1 1/2 tspn

health tip

Garlic is rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin B-6, Selenium and has anti-microbial properties. Garlic boosts the immune system, helps control cholesterol and also helps in preventing cancer. Garlic is used as a home remedy to cure gas and stomach bloating.

Garlic Pickle

method

Pickling is one of the way to preserve the vegetables we get in abundance. The acidity of Lemon Juice or Vinegar is the primary ingredient that keeps the bacteria and fungus away from the pickle. Salt also plays a key role in preserving food by its anti microbial properties. Salt has the ability to draw water away from food and keep them dry for longer time. It is not advisable to store pickle in a metal container since the salt combined with the acidity in pickle corrodes the metal. Also, for longer shelf life, remember to store them away from moisture.

1. Peel the garlic pods. You may also do the peeling ahead of time & keep them refrigerated.
2. Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds & fenugreek seeds till they turn golden color. Let the dry roasted ingredients cool for some time.
3. Squeeze juice out of lemon as per the above measurement.
4. Grind the dry roasted ingredients above to a coarse powder.
5. Heat sesame oil in a deep vessel (to prevent splattering all over the counter top). Season it with mustard seeds & hing. Add the peeled garlic and saute it for 2 minutes.

   There is no need to saute the garlic for more than two minutes since sauteing more will over cook the garlic & will make the pickle mushy.

6. Add salt & ground ingredients to the garlic & saute them for one more minute. Finally add the lemon juice & let it cook with lid open till the lemon juice condenses to half the quantity. When the lemon juice is condensed & oil starts to separate add the jaggery & turn off the heat. Let the pickle cool. Bottle the pickle when cold. Adding some hot oil at the top acts as a barrier for moisture. Let them completely cool to prevent condensation & then cover it with a lid. Store the pickle in a cool dry place. The picture shown above is not the actual yield for this recipe.
   

   Room-temperature lemons or limes will yield more juice than those that are refrigerated. Microwaving the lemon or lime for a few seconds before squeezing will help extract more juice. Don't overdo it. You don't want to boil the juice. You may also use your palm to roll lemon or lime on your counter top a few times before squeezing to extract more juice.

Ginger garlic paste(preservative free)

Ginger and Garlic is an essential ingredient in Indian cooking. I normally purchase them in a nearby Produce where they usually sell it in bulk (2-3 pounds). It would go stale if we didn't use them up within a month. So I came up with the idea of freezing it by converting it into a paste to make it last longer & fresher. The main advantage of this over store bought bottled ginger-garlic paste is the lack of preservatives on this one.The frozen paste as I mentioned lasts longer & also retains the freshness. I have been using this method for over a year & have not run into any issues so far. You may also freeze them directly without making them into a paste. This way you can take them out & grate them onto your dishes directly whenever you like. However, to me, paste seems to be a more convenient approach than direct freezing. Below is the method for paste making & freezing.


1. Peel the skin from ginger or garlic whichever paste you are planning to make.
2. Grind the peeled ginger or garlic into a fine paste.
3.  Fill about 1/4th size of a freezer bag. Over filling will make the job tougher to break the ginger paste when needed. Garlic is usually pliable,so it doesn't matter even if you make the garlic sheet a little thicker.Ginger paste gets harder like ice when frozen. Simply add the paste 1/4 or less than the bag size.
4. Take out the air & seal the bag. Spread the paste into an even, thin layer  of sheet & freeze the paste by laying it flat in the freezer.

5. Whenever you need the paste, just break the quantity you need for cooking & put the remaining in the freezer.