• Prevent butter from burning – When shallow frying/ sauteeing ingredients in butter, add a tablespoon of oil to the pan to prevent butter from burning and browning too soon.
• To boil potatoes faster – add a pinch of turmeric powder and oil to the water. They will cook quicker.
•  For softer or caramelized onions – Add a pinch of salt to onions when frying them for seasoning. They will turn softer quicker. Or add a pinch of sugar to caramelize/ brown onions evenly.
• Color to curries – To give a rich red color to your gravies without adding too much chillies, soak 2 dry red chillies after removing their seeds in about half cup water for 30 mins. Then rub the chillies to obtain the color and add this liquid to the gravy.
• Next time you make parathas – When making stuffed parathas, apply a little ghee or oil on the rolled out chapathi before keeping the stuffing. Then close over the filling and roll out. This prevents stuffing from coming out while rolling out the parathas.
• Sugar to the rescue : For garnishing biryanis and pulaos with birista (fried onions) – slice onions very thinly and stir fry them with some oil and pinch of sugar. They will turn brown faster.
•  Salt to the rescue – Add a pinch of salt to the oil when frying fritters, pakoras, koftas. You will consume less oil.
• White on White! To preserve white color of cauliflower, add a teaspoon of milk or milk powder while cooking it.
• Soft paneer – Dip cottage cheese (paneer) in salt water before adding to any gravy.This will make them soft.