How to fry right

Culinary Tips

We all love things that are fried. Be it pakoras, papads, vadas or puris, fried food items are always welcome on our plates. But sometimes, we get tasty items wrong by getting all the fried techniques wrong. But frying isn’t all that difficult. It’s as simple as it sounds — cooking foods at high temperatures in the oil. Here are some tips that can help you get all fried things right:

Before you begin to fry your item, always test how hot the oil is, and the quality of your batter. Sometimes, when you put the batter into the hot oil, it might burst. This is when you might have to make a few adjustments to the batter. For all foods to be fried, add more salt than your regular quantity, as the salt content reduces after the food is fried.

Ensure that you make the perfect batter — not too runny and not too thick. Use a whisk to mix your batter as this will incorporate more air into it and make the batter light, thus making the items
crispier.

To make things crispier, fry them twice. While frying for the first time, fry till they are half-cooked. Take them out and fry the next batch. Then, put both the batches together in the oil and fry again.

If you have stored your frying batter in the fridge, let it come to room temperature and then use it to fry. Always fry your pakoras and bhajjis on a medium flame. This will prevent any instances of burning. Also, if you’re frying more than three batches in the same oil, make sure to maintain the temperature of the oil. If it starts to cool down, heat the oil again and then start frying.

Always drop the items to be fried from the sides of the pan. Otherwise, you will be splattered with hot oil.

Remember to always use a deep kadai for all frying purposes. Never overload your kadai with too much oil. And never use the same oil more than thrice for frying things.

If the oil starts to bubble when you put the batter in, it means the oil is impure. In such cases, add a small piece of dried tamarind, and then start frying again.