MICRO-WAVE OVEN...BASICS

BASICS OF MICRO-WAVE OVEN..
BEFORE STARTING COOKING IN MICRO-WAVE OVEN...
• Metal steel,aluminium vessels and glass containers with designs are not at all usable in micro-wave,,Say a big NO for metal vessels.To be on safe side,use plain  Corelle crockery sets.

• The plastic containers that you get as free gifts when you purchase microwave are better used only for reheating. Avoid cooking in it.

• To ensure that the glass bowl that you are using is microwave safe, fill it with water and micro high for 1 minute.  If the glass  bowl continues to remain cool, it is fit for cooking. For example-Use Borosil/Pyrex glass vessels

• Ensure that the vegetables are evenly cut- for even and faster cooking. Add water to just dip the vegetables  and keep adding when required as excess water will delay cooking. 

• Microwave cooking requires a little more water than cooking in gas.

• Rice is best cooked in microwave if soaked in water for at least 20 minutes.

• To cook dal faster in microwave, soak it in water for half an hour.Add 1/2 tsp cooking oil to the water while cooking dal.

• Before cooking potatoes, tomatoes, pierce them all over so that they don’t blast.


During cooking-

• Timing plays a crucial role in the success of a microwave recipe. The time taken to cook rice, dhals and vegetables 
differ with quantity, quality and size of the cut vegetables.

• Mix the food well once every 2 to 3 minutes, so that it cooks evenly.

• Be in touch watching the micro-wave while it is in use-Keep checking if there is sufficient water, else food will get burnt.

• For cooking dals, always use a larger vessel, add some turmeric powder and few drops of oil to prevent spilling.

• Microwave extracts more taste from spices and salt…Hence use a bit lesser quantity than what you use for cooking on gas.


After Cooking-

• Use some cloth or cotton cloth  gloves to remove the glass bowls from the microwave.

• After removing the glass bowls from the microwave, don’t keep it directly on slabs or  cold surfaces as it will develop cracks. Always place a thick towel and then the glass bowl on it.

• Always allow 2-5 minutes standing time for food cooked in microwave prior to consumption.

MICRO-OVEN...USES

USEFUL TIPS ...MICROWAVE=OVEN
Many of us do own a microwave-oven for the sake of prestige,and only for baking and re-heating purposes.But mostly, many of us dont know the uses of microwave oven  .

• I exchanged my 1st microwave oven,as I did not or say never used it after I purchased it,as I do not know how to use it to full extent..Once in a month or 2 months I used to reheat left over food at most for 3 to 4 minutes.Finally for not using it for more than 1 year it got stucked and I had to replace it with  a new one In India..
• Then I started to google full information of microwave ovens.Now  I  cook every day from morninng breakfast to night dinner in the microwave oven, freshly due to the hot temp here.
• I am sharing the information with my friends in my blog.Hence this article for you..

Time for cooking and boiling in micro-wave oven.

•  Cooking/Boiling Potatoes...Place 5 to 6 aloo in a micro-safe dish with half water. 
• Cover and cook in High mode for around 9 minutes and then allow it to stand for sometime. Then drain and peel.
• Cooking popcorns...Place a handful of corn in a micro-safe dish and cover it. Then cook on Micro high for 5 minutes and then transfer into a plate.
• Cooking curry... In a micro-safe dish put 1 tbsp of oil, 1 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste and cook on Micro high for 4 minutes.Now add some chopped tomatoes and the required masala for the flavor desired  and cook on Micro high for another 4 minutes adding some water to the mixture.
• Roasting of nuts...Spread the nuts on a ceramic plate adding salt or any other masala to taste and cook high for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve after 5 minutes.
• Cooking custard... Mix well one-cup milk, two tablespoons of sugar and two tablespoons of custard powder thoroughly and cook on Micro high mode for 2 minutes and after it is cooled place in the freezer and serve after cooled. 
• Preparing Pizza topping...Place 1 tbsp oil, 1 cup tomato puree, 1 cup tomato paste, and salt and pepper to taste in a micro-safe dish and cook on Micro high for about 6 minutes.
• Cooking vegetables...In a micro safe dish add 1 tbsp oil and add the seasoning and Micro high for 1 to 2  min ,and add onion chop and again Micro high for another 2 to 3 min,put about 250 grams of vegetables desired with salt to taste and about two cups water and cook on MicroHigh for 12 to 16 minutes depending on the vegetables.
• To make bread crumbs...Cook bread in the oven on High mode for 2 to 3 minutes and then crush it.
• Chappathi...Wrap the chapattis in a napkin or in a paper towel and heat on Microhigh for 1 minute.
• For crispy biscuits , etc...Place the biscuits, nuts or chips on a plate and heat on high for 1 minute and allow it to stand for 5 minutes.
• To prepare finger bowl...Micro High a small bowl with two tablespoons water and juice of one lemon. It can also be placed in rooms to absorb any strong odours.
• Preparing vegetable stock...Take the vegetables chop,onion chop and chopped potato and salt and cook on Micro@ 60% for 12 minutes.
• Roast nuts like cashews and groundnuts in microwave and store them for future use.  For this, spread out the nuts in the microwave safe plate (preferably plate instead of bowl) and Micro high for about 2 minutes for 1/2 cup of nuts. 
• However, just check once in between and ensure they dont get burnt. Dont consume immediately.  They become crisp when cooled. 
• Make paneer in the microwave-- Micro high 4 cups of milk in a doubly sized microwave safe bowl for 5 minutes.  Stir every 2 minutes in between. Now add 2 tbsp of curd and micro high for 1 more minute.  Leave it to cool for five minutes and then drain out the water. 
• To blanch tomatoes, use a toothpick to make holes in the tomato, and Micro high it for around 30 seconds. Allow a standing time of 2 minutes and then blanch them.
• To extract tamarind juice, add some water to it and Microhigh for 3 minutes in a microwave safe bowl. 
• Allow standing time of 5-10 minutes and extract the juice. Its much easier to do this way. 
• To get more lemon juice, Micro high the lemon for around 20 seconds in a microwave safe plate

MICROWAVE OVEN

MICROWAVE OVENS

Microwaves... are a form of the electro-magnetic energy,which
generate electro-magnetic waves, that are contained in the cooking   cavity.

• The micro waves cannot be seen. But microwaves act in three different ways.
• Microwaves absorb - the water molecules present in the food ,get stimulated and heated up when the food is microwaved,  and the energy of the microwave is concentrated on making the food cook  faster.
• Microwaves transmit - they are attached only to water molecules and so they ignore everything else except the food to be cooked.
• Microwaves reflect on metal - the microwaves  are absorbed by food and pass through materials like glass, china, wood, paper and plastic,  but they reflect on metal for sure.

Ovens types-There are two types of microwave ovens-

•  Simple microwave oven

•  Microwave and convection oven.
• The  simple microwave oven -cooks food ,boils as well as re-heats it.
• The microwave and  convection oven - not only cooks  but also heats, browns and dries the surface of the food for crisping.
• This type of combination cooking -is good for tandoori dishes, and the convection system -alone is best suited for cakes and other pastrys.
• But for microwave / convection /grill combination cooking, the cookware should be both heatproof, and also micro safe.
• For convection cooking,like cakes,pastrys  the cookware needs only to be heatproof.
• For microwave cooking only borosil/pyrex glass vessels and only microsafe plastics are used.
• Say NO-to metal objects in both microwave/ combination ovens.

TIPS ...ON USING A MICROWAVE OVEN

• Placements  of food-The food must be placed off-at the center as the microwave energy disperses more to the corners and sidewalls.
• Idlis should be arranged in a circle idli tray with space among them.
• Chops should be arranged with the thinner areas pointing to the middle of the utensils.

Cooking utensils...Ovenware

• Ovenware treated for high- intensity heat such as bowls, cake dishes and also bags, film, paper towels, practically any material can be used except metal.
• But metal can be used for the convection mode.
• Metallic dishes should not be also used in the combination mode.
•  Microwave safe  plastic ware declared to be  microwave-safe could be used in the common microwave oven.
• Ceramic wares can also be used but make sure that they don't have any metallic rim as they may cause arcing.
• Simple and plain Corelle can be used with no gold colour paint on it.
• Food items containing high proportion of fat and sugar should not be used in glass utensils, otherwise they can be used commonly. 
• Melmoware and melamine wares are to be avoided , paper towels, greaseproof paper and cardboard can also be used provided they don't have any staple pins in them.
• Wood items can be used in the micro-oven but not for a long time.

Container shapes...

• This is an important factor to be noted. Dishes must be ½ or ¾ filled depending on the liquid content of the food.
• If the dish is too small, the food will boil over and if the dish is too large the thick curry will spread out and  overcook.
• Shallow vessels make cooking faster.
• Cakes, chicken, meat and rice dishes cook well in large bottomed vessels, while round dishes are ideal for cooking vegetables and curry dishes.

MICRO-WAVE COOKING

MICROWAVE COOKING

• People in India think that delicacies can be cooked only on stoves/gas stoves in the kitchens..but Thanks to the man who invented microwave ovens,for  ladies are able to spend their time in the kitchen very happily and conveniently without fumes and clutter in kitchens.

• Those days have gone where women used to spend their whole time from sunrise to sunset ,cooking for the household in kitchens.
• Microwave Cooking, is a very easy clean and efficient way of cooking.
• The number of utensils used for cooking would be very less, thus making life easy for the women.
• Microwave cooking is fast, and different from regular cooking.
• It takes only one-fourth of the regular cooking time in the microwave than it takes in the normal cooking.
• So for working women,spending a quality of time with the family by reducing their time in the kitchen /and spending the balance  precious  time with their family, is a boon.
• Generally we think that delicious dishes cannot be cooked in the microwave oven unlike the normal cooking.
• In microwave Cooking ,the heat is created within the food, so the kitchen does not get overheated.
• The prices of microwaves are going lower with increasing in technology, and now everyone can afford a microwave oven these days easily.
• The microwave Kitchens are easy to clean.The natural taste and the nutrients is retained in the food  and Cooking for less time means the vitamins and minerals are retained in the food itself.
• A healthy living  is promised by microwave cooking in this way.
• Overcooking in normal methods generally removes the nutrients present.
• It is very economical and convenient to use the microwave oven.

Microwave cooking helps to make ones life easier. Healthy way of cooking,tasty meals in minutes time gives you more time to relax.

• In microwave cooking, the radio waves penetrate the food and excite the  water and fat molecules much evenly throughout the food.
• There is over all heat at once because the molecules are all excited together. Microwaves are high-frequency electromagnetic waves which release energy to food to cook or reheat without changing either the form or the colour.
• Microwave ovens are used to defrosting,reheating and cooking.Time is a factor,for cooking.
• The people in this modern world are not interested in the slow way of cooking practiced in earlier days.
• Microwave cooking is faster, healthier and very convenient to use nowadays,and even traditional homes too have added it in their kitchen room, since it is an instrument of great creativity.
• There are many uses of microwave cooking-as the food cooks evenly,quickly and efficiently in the microwave.
• The nutrients are preserved and the actual taste of the food is retained to a higher degree.
• Less oil is required for cooking continental as well as traditional Indian dishes and so it  seems desirable from the health point of view,good for heart.
• Less span of cooking time see that the food is cooked evenly all over,and  does not get burnt or over-cooked.
• Food may be cooked and served too in the same dish,so no smoking and fuming,no grease and humidity where the  kitchens with microwave ovens remains neat and spotless  all the day .

MICROWAVE OVEN-RECIPES

MICROWAVE OVEN-COOKING
MICROWAVE..

• Microwaves are short length high frequency,electro magnetic waves which are similar to TV waves.
• In a microwave oven,a vacuum tube called Magnetron generates are waves that penetrate the food and agitate the moisture molecules present in the food.
• The process of high speed agitation of water molecules releases heat which spreads to other parts of the food,which cook evenly.
• Hence we get a healthy and oil free food that too in 1/3 time of the normal cooking.
  Uses of Microwave cooking..
• Fast cooking..cooks faster as it takes only 1/3 rd time of normal cooking which we cook on stoves.
• Healthy cooking..all the vitamins,minerals and nutritions are preserved without loosing them.
• Oil free cooking..Very less oil or sometimes no oil is required for cooking.
• Convenient to cook..its very easy and hassle free cooking without smoke.
• Hot food at all times..reheating can be done,piping hot food at any time within 2 minutes.