It doesn’t matter how experienced at cooking you are – you will definitely make mistakes. What is important is to know if you can reduce the impact of those mistakes. Here are a few tips:

Things do go wrong. And anyone who has cooked, has dealt with the problem of too much salt, burnt dishes and the like. So how did they deal with them? Here are the tips.

Too Much Salt? Too much of salt can be dealt with, by adding a piece of raw potato or a piece of dough to the dish. If it is a curry, simmer a while after adding this. Dough or potato absorb excess salt, but remember to remove it before serving the dish. If it is still salty, add a bit of lemon juice and sugar.

Too much Chili? If a dish is too spicy, adding cream, yogurt or lemon juice depending on your dish, should be your first remedy. If it is still spicy, add a bit of sugar or jaggery, or throw in some raw onions.

Too much Sugar? Again, some lemon juice and salt should be able to take care of this. Spicing it up a bit with cinnamon, clove and cardamom powders would also help.

Burnt Rice? If you want to take the burnt flavour off the rice, place a piece of fresh bread on top of the rice and cover the pan. The burnt taste will be gone in some time.

Washing a vessel with burnt food? Half fill the vessel with water, and add detergent, vinegar or cooking soda. Bring the water to boil. The vessel will now be easier to wash.

Spoiled Milk? Do not throw away spoiled milk. Add some lemon juice to it and bring it to boil. After boiling it for a few minutes, strain the mixture using a muslin cloth. Press it a little by keeping a heavy vessel over it for some time, and you have cottage cheese (paneer) ready for use.