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NDTV
4 days ago
- General
- NDTV
3 Quick And Easy Ways To Make Sambar In Minutes
Sambar, the comforting South Indian lentil stew brimming with vegetables and a bold tamarind-spice flavour, is a staple across Indian households. Traditionally slow-cooked and layered with complex flavours, sambar is often considered a dish that takes time and care. But what if you could enjoy this wholesome delicacy without spending hours in the kitchen? If you are looking for a shortcut without sacrificing taste, here are three smart and speedy ways to make delicious sambar in minutes, with clever kitchen hacks and time-saving techniques. Here Are 3 Quick Ways To Make Sambhar: 1. Microwave Sambar Recipe in a Mug Yes, you read that right — sambar in a mug! This is ideal for solo meals or quick lunches, especially if you've got pre-cooked dal (toor dal or moong dal) at hand. What you need: 2 tbsp cooked dal 1 tbsp tamarind paste 1 tbsp sambar powder A handful of chopped vegetables (carrot, beans, tomato) Salt and water to taste A pinch of mustard seeds, curry leaves, and hing (asafoetida) 1 tsp oil or ghee How to make it: In a large microwave-safe mug or bowl, mix dal, vegetables, sambar powder, tamarind paste, salt, and enough water. Microwave on high for 5–6 minutes, stirring halfway. Ensure veggies are soft. In a small microwave-safe bowl, add oil/ghee, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and hing. Microwave for 30–40 seconds until mustard seeds splutter. Add this tempering to the sambar. Stir well, garnish with fresh coriander, and enjoy with rice or idli. Tip: Use frozen or pre-chopped vegetables to save even more time. 2. One-Pot Pressure Cooker Sambar Recipe: This is the ultimate 'dump-and-cook' method, especially handy for batch cooking or feeding the family. It works in a traditional pressure cooker or an Instant Pot. What you need: ½ cup toor dal (washed) 1 cup mixed vegetables (drumsticks, brinjal, pumpkin, okra, etc.) 1 small tomato, chopped 1 tsp turmeric 1 tbsp sambar powder 1 tbsp tamarind pulp Salt and water How to make it: Add all ingredients (except tempering) to a pressure cooker with 2 cups water. Cook for 2–3 whistles (or 8 minutes in Instant Pot on Manual). Once pressure releases, mash gently for a creamy texture. Heat oil/ghee in a small pan, add mustard seeds, dry red chillies, curry leaves, and hing. Pour over the cooked sambar. Mix and serve hot with rice or dosa. Tip: You can even add a spoonful of jaggery for a hint of sweetness — a regional twist from Karnataka. 3. Instant Sambar Using Ready Mix Perfect for emergencies or late-night cravings, this method uses store-bought sambar mix or paste. What you need: 2 tbsp sambar instant mix (available in Indian stores) 1 cup water Boiled vegetables (optional) Cooked dal (optional, for extra body) How to make it: In a saucepan, mix the instant sambar mix with water. Add vegetables and/or dal if available. Boil for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust salt or spice to taste and garnish with fresh coriander. Tip: Always keep a pack of instant mix and frozen mixed vegetables in your pantry for this emergency fix. With these three quick methods, sambar no longer needs to be a weekend-only indulgence. Whether you're using a microwave, pressure cooker, or instant mix, these hacks will help you whip up this nutritious, tangy delight in minutes, without compromising on flavour. Advertisement About Neha Grover Love for reading roused her writing instincts. Neha is guilty of having a deep-set fixation with anything caffeinated. When she is not pouring out her nest of thoughts onto the screen, you can see her reading while sipping on coffee. For the latest food news, health tips and recipes, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and YouTube. Tags: Sambhar Cooking Tips Quick Recipes Show full article Comments
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"I Was Bullied Horrifically For It": Older Adults Are Sharing Specific Things Today That Are 100% Better Than The Past
It's common for older people to wax nostalgic about the good ol' days. However, redditor @EnvironmentalZone189 recently asked, "What's one part of modern life you actually prefer over how it used to be?" The responses were thoughtful, illuminating, and a true reminder that everyday aspects of life are constantly evolving. Here are 17 responses that really stood out: Responses have been edited for length and clarity. 1."Not waiting 6-8 weeks for delivery." —scotty813 "Our usual Amazon distribution center is close enough that, if I order something early enough in the day, it will be there the next day. I am so spoiled by them and Chewy." —SemiOldCRPGs 2."Automatic bill pay: I can remember taking my stack of bills on the subway as I went to work and writing checks." —moverene1914 "I can remember, as a housewife, spending one day each fortnight on payday driving from one business to another to pay our bills in person with toddlers and a baby in the car!" —KismetMeetsKarma 3."Internet booking for international hotels: not that long ago, you had to write airmail letters and include paid international postage and wait for them to write back to you!" —CatCafffffe 4."Free long-distance calling: In college, everyone called home on Sunday because it was cheaper. Even a call to a neighboring town was a toll call, and you'd get in trouble with Dad if you called a friend in a different town." —CraftFamiliar5243 5."I love EZ PASS and cordless tools." —PissedWidower Related: 26 People Who Had Overwhelming Gut Instincts They Couldn't Were Right 6."Cell phones: I think about cell phones all the time when I'm at a big event, like a concert or convention. Or even just when I'm shopping with someone, and we wander off to separate parts of the store. It's so easy to text and ask, 'Where are you?'" —Imaginary-List-4945 7."Being able to set your home heater to multiple settings." —Theoldelf 8."Online bookings: The ability to book appointments and reservations online. I like being able to take my time looking at all the available options, scheduling what works for me, and paying online, which usually makes things run more smoothly and quickly at check-ins and check-outs." —common_grounder Related: 51 People Who Quickly Discovered Why Their Hilariously Clueless Partner Was Single Before Meeting Them 9."Microwaves: The microwave for cooking, and defrosting, and reheating. In the '60s and '70s, if you didn't get home from playing on time, your supper was cold." —Kingsolomanhere 10."Airfryers: I had a glass bowl convection oven before airfryers were popular. I got it for $30 at Home Depot. Used it for seven years till the cooking bulb burnt out. Then started using my Instant Pot airfryer option. I thought it was a joke at first. It's amazing." —I_Call_Everyone_Ken 11."The internet: I prefer nearly everything about modern life over how it used to be, but on-demand, easy, instant access to information and entertainment from around the world through the internet is far and away the best." —Hegemonic_Smegma 12."Word processing: Because typing a perfect paper sucked. You'd always make a mistake, and sometimes you'd want to change enough that you'd have to do the whole thing over again. And again. And again. Because the more times you re-did it, the more likely you were to screw up." —nakedonmygoat 13."GPS: My son is at the age where he is starting to take long car trips with friends. I was just thinking about how back in the day we would go to AAA to get all the maps needed. It's really a big deal how easy it is to get directions now." —browneyedgirlpie 14."Video calls: Being able to video call loved ones anytime, anywhere. It doesn't replace being there, but it makes the distance feel a little less heavy." —WarmClassroom4997 15."The Lord of the Rings fandom: Don't get me wrong, there are aspects of my childhood that I miss (I was born in '76, so primary school in the '80s, high school early '90s, going out to nightclubs late '90s). However, if I got to choose to start it all over again, I would choose to be in high school now rather than 30 years ago. Let me put it this way: I was really into The Lord of the Rings in high school, back before I had heard there were going to be big blockbuster movies about it. I was bullied horrifically for it, to the point I was so embarrassed. I was kind of forced to stop liking it for the shame. Now, it's a regular thing for people to admit they enjoy it and have LotR marathons and be considered 'normal people' rather than hardcore nerds/geeks." —ExaminationNo9186 16."Cable and streaming TV: Home entertainment was limited to four or five channels. Miss your favorite show? You had to buy a TV Guide magazine or the Sunday newspaper to figure out what night and time the re-run would air. Sometimes you had to sit up to 2 a.m. on a work or school night to catch last week's episode of Cheers or The Cosby Show. Want to watch a movie for a little cost? It took two to three years before movies you missed in the theater showed up on a ABC, CBS, Fox, or NBC broadcast." —Sufficient-Union-456 "I'm literally alive because of medical advances." —HeadCatMomCat Is there an aspect of modern life that you so prefer to the past? Let us know in the comments or through the anonymous form below! Also in Internet Finds: 15 Facebook Marketplace Items You'll Wish, From The Depths Of Your Soul, You Could Unsee Also in Internet Finds: People Are Confessing Their Absolute Pettiest "Revenge Served Cold" Stories, And It's Deliciously Entertaining Also in Internet Finds: 19 Things Society Glorifies That Are Actually Straight-Up Terrible, And We Need To Stop Pretending Otherwise
Buzz Feed
5 days ago
- Buzz Feed
17 Things Older Adults Prefer About Today's Culture Over The Past
It's common for older people to wax nostalgic about the good ol' days. However, redditor @EnvironmentalZone189 recently asked, "What's one part of modern life you actually prefer over how it used to be?" The responses were thoughtful, illuminating, and a true reminder that everyday aspects of life are constantly evolving. Here are 17 responses that really stood out: "Not waiting 6-8 weeks for delivery." —scotty813"Our usual Amazon distribution center is close enough that, if I order something early enough in the day, it will be there the next day. I am so spoiled by them and Chewy."—SemiOldCRPGs "Automatic bill pay: I can remember taking my stack of bills on the subway as I went to work and writing checks." —moverene1914"I can remember, as a housewife, spending one day each fortnight on payday driving from one business to another to pay our bills in person with toddlers and a baby in the car!"—KismetMeetsKarma "Internet booking for international hotels: not that long ago, you had to write airmail letters and include paid international postage and wait for them to write back to you!" —CatCafffffe "Free long-distance calling: In college, everyone called home on Sunday because it was cheaper. Even a call to a neighboring town was a toll call, and you'd get in trouble with Dad if you called a friend in a different town." —CraftFamiliar5243 "I love EZ PASS and cordless tools." —PissedWidower "Cell phones: I think about cell phones all the time when I'm at a big event, like a concert or convention. Or even just when I'm shopping with someone, and we wander off to separate parts of the store. It's so easy to text and ask, 'Where are you?'" —Imaginary-List-4945 "Being able to set your home heater to multiple settings." —Theoldelf "Online bookings: The ability to book appointments and reservations online. I like being able to take my time looking at all the available options, scheduling what works for me, and paying online, which usually makes things run more smoothly and quickly at check-ins and check-outs." —common_grounder "Microwaves: The microwave for cooking, and defrosting, and reheating. In the '60s and '70s, if you didn't get home from playing on time, your supper was cold." —Kingsolomanhere "Airfryers: I had a glass bowl convection oven before airfryers were popular. I got it for $30 at Home Depot. Used it for seven years till the cooking bulb burnt out. Then started using my Instant Pot airfryer option. I thought it was a joke at first. It's amazing." —I_Call_Everyone_Ken "The internet: I prefer nearly everything about modern life over how it used to be, but on-demand, easy, instant access to information and entertainment from around the world through the internet is far and away the best." —Hegemonic_Smegma "Word processing: Because typing a perfect paper sucked. You'd always make a mistake, and sometimes you'd want to change enough that you'd have to do the whole thing over again. And again. And again. Because the more times you re-did it, the more likely you were to screw up." —nakedonmygoat "GPS: My son is at the age where he is starting to take long car trips with friends. I was just thinking about how back in the day we would go to AAA to get all the maps needed. It's really a big deal how easy it is to get directions now." —browneyedgirlpie "Video calls: Being able to video call loved ones anytime, anywhere. It doesn't replace being there, but it makes the distance feel a little less heavy." —WarmClassroom4997 "The Lord of the Rings fandom: Don't get me wrong, there are aspects of my childhood that I miss (I was born in '76, so primary school in the '80s, high school early '90s, going out to nightclubs late '90s). However, if I got to choose to start it all over again, I would choose to be in high school now rather than 30 years ago. Let me put it this way: I was really into The Lord of the Rings in high school, back before I had heard there were going to be big blockbuster movies about it. I was bullied horrifically for it, to the point I was so embarrassed. I was kind of forced to stop liking it for the shame. Now, it's a regular thing for people to admit they enjoy it and have LotR marathons and be considered 'normal people' rather than hardcore nerds/geeks." —ExaminationNo9186 "Cable and streaming TV: Home entertainment was limited to four or five channels. Miss your favorite show? You had to buy a TV Guide magazine or the Sunday newspaper to figure out what night and time the re-run would air. Sometimes you had to sit up to 2 a.m. on a work or school night to catch last week's episode of Cheers or The Cosby Show. Want to watch a movie for a little cost? It took two to three years before movies you missed in the theater showed up on a ABC, CBS, Fox, or NBC broadcast." —Sufficient-Union-456 Finally, "I'm literally alive because of medical advances." —HeadCatMomCat Is there an aspect of modern life that you so prefer to the past? Let us know in the comments or through the anonymous form below!
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
9 foods to stop cooking in your Instant Pot, according to a pro chef
Your Instant Pot has become your go-to for whipping up a quick meal after a busy day. And who could blame you? The multi-cooker cuts down time spent in the kitchen and it's super convenient — there are multiple functions for turning out soups, meats, rice, slow-cooked dinners and more. But you should always be cautious about what you're tossing into your magical pot because some foods just don't belong. I spoke with Christopher Tanner, chef and executive director of the American Culinary Federation, to find out what you should avoid cooking in your Instant Pot. And don't worry: The list isn't long. You can continue making delicious meals in no time — just pay attention if you plan to cook these foods so you can avoid any waste. Tanner says that while you can technically put nearly any food in your Instant Pot, some simply will do better on the stove. There are a couple of dairy products that don't do so well when they're cooked in an Instant Pot, and milk is chief among them. Tanner says you should avoid putting milk into the device unless it's ultra-homogenized because it will separate — which is as gross as it sounds. Hold off on adding hard cheese to your Instant Pot meals too, he says, because these can also separate once they come to a boil. Instead, use dry cheese like parmesan. If your recipe does call for a hard cheese, Tanner says to add 8 ounces of Velveeta to the mix to prevent separation. You can also wait to add the cheese after the meal has already been cooked. They say a watched pot never boils, but an Instant Pot may have the opposite problem. "Pasta can quickly get mushy in an Instant Pot," Tanner says. Why is that? For one thing, the pressure-release knob makes it harder to check on it. You either have to throw on some oven mitts to avoid getting burned by the steam or let the machine naturally release it. Either way, you could be left with overcooked noodles. This rule doesn't necessarily apply to all pasta, though — avoid fresh pasta and any long pasta like spaghetti or capellini because it cooks super fast. But something like bowtie pasta usually comes out great, Tanner says. If you don't have time to keep an eye on the stove as your pasta boils the traditional way, try using a no-boil-over cover on your pots. They're an easy way to save yourself from a potential mess. If you're like me, you want your green veggies like broccoli, zucchini and Brussels sprouts super tender. But if you add them to an Instant Pot, they can turn grey and mushy, Tanner says. If you do decide to cook them in the Instant Pot, pay attention to the amount of time they're in there. Tanner says zucchini should be in there for around 10 minutes max — the same goes for broccoli, while Brussels sprouts need only a few minutes. Still, consider using the oven to avoid a grey mess. Your Instant Pot isn't a deep fryer, so making fried foods is out of the question. Tanner says not to try this one at all because most deep-fried recipes require too much oil, and the last thing you want to do is add a ton of oil to your Instant Pot. We'll explain why below, but it's for your safety. Now, if it's fried chicken you're craving, you can use a multi-cooker to tenderize the chicken and allow it to absorb all the flavours before you fry it in a skillet. About 10-15 minutes should suffice so the chicken doesn't overcook before you take it to the next phase. Leaner cuts of meat like chicken breasts and beef tenderloin can come out of an Instant Pot too dry. If you want to stick with leaner meats, Tanner recommends going for larger chicken breasts and making sure there's a lot of sauce for them to stew in to help lock in and preserve their juices. It doesn't take long for shrimp or fish to cook. For the most part, an Instant Pot is a bad move for seafood and can leave you with a rubbery, mushy mess. "There's no reason to put [fish] in there unless it's the only cooking device you have," Tanner says. If that's the case, try 5-10 minutes max, he recommends — otherwise fish can even disintegrate if left in for too long. The best practice is to cook your seafood pretty much anywhere else, like in an air fryer or, my personal favourite, on a grill. Instant Pot says to avoid recipes that call for more than ¼ cup of oil or fat — this includes oil, oil-based sauces, condensed cream-based soups and thick sauces — as it could result in a scalding or scorching injury, or even property damage. That's a nope for me. Stick to the stovetop for any creamy or oil-based recipes. If the recipe includes these ingredients, feel free to experiment. Tanner advises, however, that you follow the recipe exactly as it's written and be extra vigilant about checking comments for potential issues. A recipe may sound great, but the comments will alert you to any potential problems. This one's especially for your safety: Instant Pot temperatures fluctuate too much to properly seal canned foods. Since improper canning can leave you at risk of botulism or other foodborne illnesses, this isn't something you'll want to experiment with. It's best to stick to pressure canners designed for this exact job. They're one of only two USDA-approved methods for canning foods — the other, of course, is using boiling water. Looking to meal prep for the week? Make sure your diet contains superfoods (here's what they are) and check out these portion control tools to keep in your kitchen.
CNET
20-05-2025
- Business
- CNET
Walmart Deals of the Day: 50% Off a Previous-Gen Samsung Smartwatch
Walmart offers serious savings on everything from top tech to kitchen essentials. But with literally thousands of deals to sift through, you may need a little help finding the true bargains. That's what CNET is here for, and our dedicated deals team is bringing you the very best deals you can shop every day. For today, May 20, those include a budget-friendly Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 that's on sale for just $100, a seven-in-one Instant Pot multicooker that's over $40 off and a portable Jackery power station that you can pick up for $200. This 2021 Samsung smartwatch is now three generations old, but it's a great option for those on a tight budget who don't want to spend $300 or more on the latest model. It's equipped with a 40mm display and 16GB of onboard storage, and still has all the basic features you need. These include tons of fitness tracking functions like preset workout modes, sleep tracking and even a built-in ECG, as well as some convenient smart features like on-wrist notifications and support for tons of Android apps. Both the black and pink gold variants are on sale. This versatile multicooker has seven different cooking functions, which makes it an excellent addition to your kitchen if you're short on space. It can pressure cook, slow cook, steam, sautee, keep warm and make rice or yogurt as well. Plus, it has a large seven-quart capacity so you can whip up meals for the whole family or make snacks for a crowd. It also takes the guesswork out of recipes with built-in presets for soups, poultry, eggs, beans and more. The pot and lid are also dishwasher-safe for a quick cleanup, and at less than a foot tall, it's easy to store as well. This portable power station lets you charge your devices while you're off the grid, which makes it perfect for car camping trips and days at the lake. It has a 293Wh capacity, which is enough to charge your camera over a dozen times or your phone more than twice, and it supports 300W AC output power. Plus, you can fully recharge it in just about three hours. This bundle also comes with car battery cables, which can help you get back on the road in just 40 minutes or less.
