This is in continuation to the previous post :
A solution to the coffee problem [or the 'lack of coffee' problem] came across in the form of the electric kettle that Rash brought. We both were terribly thrilled with all the exciting gastronomic delights that were made possible by the kettle. For inaugaration, we decided on making coffee. The ad on the TV showed making instant coffee to be the next easiest thing to drinking a cup of water. The girl in the ad, her family (to whom she serves the coffee) .. even the coffee pot seem to be smiling!! So, we started off with sachets of Instant coffee powder and a bottle of water.The instructions on the pack said :
Step 1: Heat 150ml of water , to the point where it is just about to boil, but not boiling.
Step 2 : Add to this, the powder from one sachet
Step 3 : Stir
Step 4 : coffee is ready ! :D
So, we were all set to go! Problem 1 rose in the form of lack of a measuring cylinder :D Being chemists, or rather, biochemists, we were used to measuring using cylinders and flasks, but how does one visually estimate 150 ml?? Then, we, the young scientists, calculated that the bottle was a 600 ml one, so, roughly about one-fourth should suffice. Problem two was making the decision as to when the water was "Heated to the point where it is just about to boil, but not boiling". After a lot of watching the kettle (and trust me, the watched pot truly does not boil! ), we decided that the water had heated enough. Then, poured it into our coffee mugs [we believe doing things in style, you see..], added the powder and stirred (see, we did not forget a single step) and with a prayer on our lips, we took our first sips of the stuff........ and, realised, that the coffee was great.. if only, you could evaporate half the water from it :D Well, the one-fourth had apparently become more than a one-third while pouring out!
The second tryst with the kettle was making Maggi. Feeling that our canteen wala over-prices and under-serves maggi, we decided to make it with our newly acquired possession. Afterall, Do minute hi toh lagte hain , maggi banane mein! Well armed with packets of Maggi, plates, spoons and ofcourse, water, we began with our cooking experiment. This time, with additional care to add just as much water as the packet said, we proceeded with caution and excitement. The delicious aroma of maggi began to fill the air, and mouths watering, we waited for it to be done. After a much-more-than-do-minute wait, we had to sadly acknowledge that this time round too, the water was in excess.The instructions on the pack are for cooking maggi in an open vessel, where you can bring the water to a boil and let it evaporate, while the noodles cook; a facility, which the kettle, inspite of its several virtues, didnot possess! We, then, formulated a hypothesis that while cooking Maggi in the kettle, one should always add half the amount of water specified on the pack!! [ a bit of free gyan for those of you who cook using a kettle :D]
The lesser I say about the time I made tomato soup in the kettle, the better it is! I will just assure you that both the kettle, and ourselves are still very much intact! :D
By and by, after several attempts, few successful and well, few unsuccessful, we have now become experts at "Kettle Cooking" [Like , Microwave cooking :D] . We can infact, write a book, " Kettle cooking - to do and what-not-to do" It'll be a best seller among hostel-dwellers, for sure !!
A solution to the coffee problem [or the 'lack of coffee' problem] came across in the form of the electric kettle that Rash brought. We both were terribly thrilled with all the exciting gastronomic delights that were made possible by the kettle. For inaugaration, we decided on making coffee. The ad on the TV showed making instant coffee to be the next easiest thing to drinking a cup of water. The girl in the ad, her family (to whom she serves the coffee) .. even the coffee pot seem to be smiling!! So, we started off with sachets of Instant coffee powder and a bottle of water.The instructions on the pack said :
Step 1: Heat 150ml of water , to the point where it is just about to boil, but not boiling.
Step 2 : Add to this, the powder from one sachet
Step 3 : Stir
Step 4 : coffee is ready ! :D
So, we were all set to go! Problem 1 rose in the form of lack of a measuring cylinder :D Being chemists, or rather, biochemists, we were used to measuring using cylinders and flasks, but how does one visually estimate 150 ml?? Then, we, the young scientists, calculated that the bottle was a 600 ml one, so, roughly about one-fourth should suffice. Problem two was making the decision as to when the water was "Heated to the point where it is just about to boil, but not boiling". After a lot of watching the kettle (and trust me, the watched pot truly does not boil! ), we decided that the water had heated enough. Then, poured it into our coffee mugs [we believe doing things in style, you see..], added the powder and stirred (see, we did not forget a single step) and with a prayer on our lips, we took our first sips of the stuff........ and, realised, that the coffee was great.. if only, you could evaporate half the water from it :D Well, the one-fourth had apparently become more than a one-third while pouring out!
The second tryst with the kettle was making Maggi. Feeling that our canteen wala over-prices and under-serves maggi, we decided to make it with our newly acquired possession. Afterall, Do minute hi toh lagte hain , maggi banane mein! Well armed with packets of Maggi, plates, spoons and ofcourse, water, we began with our cooking experiment. This time, with additional care to add just as much water as the packet said, we proceeded with caution and excitement. The delicious aroma of maggi began to fill the air, and mouths watering, we waited for it to be done. After a much-more-than-do-minute wait, we had to sadly acknowledge that this time round too, the water was in excess.The instructions on the pack are for cooking maggi in an open vessel, where you can bring the water to a boil and let it evaporate, while the noodles cook; a facility, which the kettle, inspite of its several virtues, didnot possess! We, then, formulated a hypothesis that while cooking Maggi in the kettle, one should always add half the amount of water specified on the pack!! [ a bit of free gyan for those of you who cook using a kettle :D]
The lesser I say about the time I made tomato soup in the kettle, the better it is! I will just assure you that both the kettle, and ourselves are still very much intact! :D
By and by, after several attempts, few successful and well, few unsuccessful, we have now become experts at "Kettle Cooking" [Like , Microwave cooking :D] . We can infact, write a book, " Kettle cooking - to do and what-not-to do" It'll be a best seller among hostel-dwellers, for sure !!
5 comments:
well I'll say its a good start...ur learning to cook at this stage itself..[;)]
Learning to cook at a later stage causes trouble for everyone[:P]
and in case u need some fundae abt Kettle Cooking..Dont hesitate to contact me[:)]
consulatation is free of charge..
haa haa! sure, u learnt frm my cookbook itself, na!! :D
hey babe! Not a bad idea, tht cook book! ;).....btw, and no free of charge fundaes like this on the blog, ok?....we'll charge in style...only new one rupee coins accepted! ;) :D...Keep it up!...but abhi thoda sa padh bhi le...nahi toh life bhar kettle cooking hi karna padega! :P
A major trip down my memory lane... we too had tried the kettle maggi and after the prathama chumbanam dantha bhagnam, had got the hang of it:) while in MIT hostels. I really miss that life, when we used to do things that we wanted to. I still remember making a pact with one of the VCD theatre(?)s and advertising and selling tickets for the movie, while bagging all the profit and going for a trip to St. Mary's island with that moolah!!
I love MIT!
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