Store Onions the easier way..

I was asked by many of readers with queries on how to store onions. Today I thought to share with you all the method how I store onions, step by step.

To be frank I hate slicing/chopping, doing whatever required work with onions, because they burn the eyes a lot. I asked a number of people, and researched a lot on the net, and in the end I came up with this. During this time, I had heard a looot of tips like burning a candle while you chop them helps lessen the tears, or chopping them under cold running water help (I dunno how they do it under running water!) or wearing sunglasses aids! Working with onions is not a friendly task.. especially when you are cooking for more than two, and onions are so essential in everyday Hyderabadi cooking for us. It makes everyone cry, and sometimes, with eyes full of tears and a blurred vision, we end up hurting our poor fingers.

When my hubby gets onions from the market I put them into a cardboard box in a cool dark dry place. And I take some for the week’s use and prepare them ready for use.

What I do and find easier to do is,

• I first cut the two ends of the onion.
• Then I cut it into two halves.
• I then remove the skin of the onion..
• Lastly I wash them all in cold water, and put the week’s stock in airtight plastic food storage box/plastic re-sealable bags and store it in the refrigerator.

I do this every weekend, and keep the coming week’s onion stock ready. Putting the de-skined onions in the refrigerator helps save a lot of time, and also does not make one cry while you chop. Yes, I mean it, infact, sometimes I do not even get a single drop of tear while chopping/slicing the refrigerated stored onions. I just have to slice/chop/puree them, whatever.. and use.

However I welcome all tips and ideas of how you all guys store onions and the ways by which you all avoid crying while working with onions. I will be happier to know about the tips.

Adrak-Lahsun/Ginger-Garlic Paste

Ginger garlic paste is one of the most essential ingredients in Indian cuisines. It is added to almost all of the dishes in Hyderabadi cuisine. Every kitchen in India might have ginger-garlic paste stored in their kitchen.

I usually make Ginger-Garlic paste in very large amounts and store it in the freezer in small plastic boxes. I keep a box in the refrigerator and as it finishes, I take out one of the boxes from the freezer compartment and again keep it in the refrigerator, where they thaw and are ready to be used again. This is how I store my Ginger Garlic Paste.

I get many queries from my readers about the procedure to prepare Ginger-Garlic paste, so here goes the recipe:

Ginger garlic paste

Ginger garlic paste – Adrak-Lahsun ka paste

Ingredients:

Ginger Root – 250 gms
Garlic – 500 gms

Method:

-Wash and scrape the ginger root using a spoon. Wearing gloves, or else your fingers will burn after you finish scraping the whole amount of ginger root. Cut it into chunks.
-Peel garlic and cut each in half if the cloves are very large.
-Grind the ginger and garlic together, adding a very little water, just enough to help in grinding.
-Store in small plastic air tight boxes.
-Keep one box in the refrigerator and others in the freezer compartment.
-As the box in the refrigerator finishes, take a box out of the freezer and keep this in the fridge for use. -Continue doing this till the whole stock of boxes finishes. You can again make Ginger garlic paste and store it the same way. It comes handy in a lot of dishes from the Hyderabadi cuisine.

Luv,
Mona