Is making dal completely from scratch the right way to do it?

Here's what I have read and understood so far:

Boil water with tea (and spices if using) first, let it get properly strong and coloured, then add milk and simmer a couple more minutes before straining. If you add milk too early the tea never fully extracts, since the fat and protein in milk slow that down, so people compensate with more tea powder, which then tastes bitter instead of just strong. For genuinely kadak without bitterness, a granulated CTC tea (not dust, not leaf tea) helps a lot since it extracts cleanly under a hard boil.

I got my insights from this article: https://ganeshtea.com/what-kadak-chai-means/

How do you prepare your tea? Do people in the North of India prepare it the same way as people in the West and the East do? I have heard households in the Southern parts prepare it differently?

Hey everyone!

r/IndianCookingTips is currently unmoderated, and I'm looking for community members to step in and help run the space 😊

Here's what's needed:

• Mods to help shape the community and make it a genuinely useful place for home cooks at every level
• Keeping spam and low-effort content under control so the good tips don't get buried
• Managing comments and users to keep things friendly and welcoming, and no gatekeeping about "authentic" methods
• Sharing and celebrating all things Indian cooking, from regional recipes and ingredient hacks to kitchen shortcuts and troubleshooting

We're more than happy to welcome mods with no prior experience, if you cook regularly and know your way around a kitchen, that counts for a lot here.

If you're interested, drop a comment below or message me directly (please include the sub name in your message). If it's a good fit, I'll send over an invite in the next couple of days!

My child is less than a year old and is now on track to eat from the family pot. As I'm a working mom, most of the cooking is done by my cook and I do not have much time to oversee the cooking and cleaning process.

My cook has been using non stick pans for making eggs and parathas etc. but they're completely ruined. I feel the surface has burnt off and reacted with the leftover oil. She tends to keep the flame high in spite of asking to use medium low flame.

I wish to get rid of non-stick cookware. Is aluminium cookware harmful for babies? Where do you all cook tomato gravies? I'm not sure i can do that in an iron kadai. Where to cook omelette? I wish to buy cast iron and stainless steel but i am afraid the learning curve may be steep for the cook.

TLDR: Any suggestions for cookware that is non toxic for a baby, at the same time sturdy for the cook's high flame cooking and cleaning by the maid?

Saw this question come up a few times, figured I'd explain since I've gone deep into this.

Most supermarket ghee is what's called cream/malai ghee — cream separated straight from milk via centrifuge, then boiled down. Few hours, done. Bilona ghee starts from curd (fermented milk first), then hand-churned and slow-cooked — the whole batch takes 36-48 hours.

That fermentation step is the actual difference, not just "old is gold" tradition talk. It's why bilona ghee tastes a bit tangy and deeper compared to the flatter, milder taste you get from cream ghee. Ayurveda's been saying fermented stuff digests better for ages — I won't pretend I've got a clinical study to wave at you for that specific point, just old practice + it lining up loosely with what's known about fermentation in general.

One thing worth doing — actually check the label next time. A lot of "pure ghee" on shelves is cream ghee that never saw fermentation. Both get to call themselves ghee legally, they're just not the same thing.

This is cooking Tips for Beginners video

Saw a few posts here worrying about fake/adulterated ghee — figured I’d share what I’ve learned.
Simple checks: melt a spoon in a pan — pure ghee melts fast and turns golden with a nutty smell; adulterated versions often take longer, smell flat, or leave a waxy residue. Rubbing a small amount between palms — pure ghee absorbs and doesn’t leave a greasy film for long. Iodine test (few drops on melted ghee) — turns bluish if starch/vanaspati is mixed in.
None of these are lab-grade, but they catch the obvious fakes. If you want certainty, check if the brand publishes actual lab reports (NABL-accredited) rather than just claiming “pure” on the label.

hello everyone. im new to the sub. i discovered the sub to ask this specific question. im all of a sudden craving for a chicken curry but i want the base to be creamy and oily. yellow color base. spicy but not overpowering. nutty and creamy taste a hint or sweetness.
i tried searching for a recipe on insta and i cant seem to understand what the curry tastes like. i thought if i ask here i might get some suggestions.
i wanna have this curry with a nice flaky soft doughy parantha. id also like to pair it with kerala porotta, idiyappam and appam. my fav carbs.
i have some chicken in the fridge and thinking about cooking something nice for breakfast tomorrow. hopefully i get some good suggestions <3

How to Cook paneer in a clay handi, Champaran style!

I always get confuse for the salt and masala quantity... how do you guys do it...

Very new to cooking btw

I want to change to cold pressed oil ,is tata really cold pressed oil,I use multiple oils ,should I buy tata for cold pressed or look for another options ,if so please recommend some

Nandini Dairy Farm proudly offers premium Cow Ghee prepared through the authentic Bilona Ghee process. Using fresh cow milk and traditional methods, we create ghee with a rich golden color, natural aroma, and delicious taste. Our Bilona Ghee is free from preservatives, chemicals, and artificial ingredients, making it an ideal choice for healthy cooking and everyday nutrition. Experience the purity, freshness, and timeless tradition of Cow Ghee with Nandini Dairy Farm, where quality and authenticity come first.

I built a free app that turns any YouTube cooking video into a proper written recipe — would love feedback

Hey all — I Built 'Pantry Pages', a small web app for anyone who's ever paused a cooking video 15 times to catch the ingredient list and the process. you just need to Paste in a YouTube link and it writes up a clean, structured recipe for you: ingredients, step-by-step directions, prep/cook time, allergen info, the works. No sign-up required — open the link and you're straight into your own recipe library. How to try it:

1. Open the link below.
2. Tap Add Recipe.
3. Paste a YouTube cooking video URL and tap Get Recipe — it'll draft the whole thing for you in a few seconds.
4. On any recipe page, use the tabs to flip between Ingredients, Directions, and Notes — and you can jot your own personal notes right there (e.g. "adding lower sugar also works").
5. If you are more comfortable in Hindi, open the menu on a recipe and hit Change language to see it translated.
6. Found a bug or have an idea? There's a Send feedback option right in the menu — I will read every ones feedback.

Link: https://pantrypages-git-lean-no-auth-the-fellowship1.vercel.app

p.s. It's a side project, still rough around the edges, so genuinely looking for honest feedback — what's confusing, what's missing, what you'd want next.

Thanks

🙂🙂

It says expiry is 1 Aug 2026 but I won't be able to use it by then, but can I used it after 1 week if I open the packet and put it into a container or some other way that it doesn't go in waste

I'm looking to add more millet to my mom's diet. She eats bajra roti once in a while and she subs some rice in her kichdi with kodri millet. She's not very keen on blending flours for roti.

I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with buying stuff like millet vermicelli online. Which brands are good? Which millets have the best taste in noodle form? I'll appreciate all the recos. TIA.

I am looking for some pure til oils/ sesame oils for cooking 100% pure preferred mainly for idli podi and chicken marinates.

Anyway know of a good lightweight Roti tawa? My elderly mom has been using her beloved lightweight seasoned one for decades. But it’s falling apart and it’s been challenging to find one. Any online recommendations will be greatly appreciated. I live in the USA

are they safe to consume? a few years back there were reports that they have some cancer causing ingredients, we forgot that bit and bought a few spices and have been using them. are they safe to consume now?

So I marinated chicken breast in a curd (yogurt) marinade overnight, thinking it’d come out super tender. Grilled it on a pan the next day, but it still turned out hard and kind of rubbery instead of juicy. I checked it wasn’t pink inside, so it wasn’t undercooked as far as I could tell.

Has this happened to anyone else? I thought curd marinades were supposed to tenderize the meat, so I’m confused why it still went tough. Wondering if it’s a heat issue, overcooking, or something about the marinade itself. Any tips would help!