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So, you like Indian food, your husband can`t stand eating any other kinda cuisine and your kids freak out on your desi khana! With scarcity of time, a full time job, nuclear families and house help getting rare, how does one cope with cooking Indian every day? Simple answer to that is "Freeze!�

Is freezing Indian food an art? We bring you some helpful tips to make life easy

• Fruit, tomato and vegetable purees can be frozen in ice cube trays. That way you take out only what you need and the rest stays frozen for another day. Defrost small portions in the microwave.
• Vegetables with high water content will not freeze well. So avoid vegetables like courgette, pumpkin, potatoes etc
• Defrosted idli batter may make your idlis a little harder, so watch out! However the good news is, idli batter can be frozen for upto two weeks!
• Try freezing idlis and warming them in the microwave. They are ready to eat in minutes!
• Avoid freezing cooked rice, coconut or yogurt based sauces or cooked potatoes.
• Cooked dals can be frozen in small portions. Add "baghar� and they are as good as freshly made.
• Freeze your masalas: ginger garlic paste, onion-tomato paste etc. Cooking becomes so much easier and quicker!
• You can freeze chappatis and parathas.
• Serve instant desserts! See that you freeze kulfis, kheer or halwa.
• Freeze chicken broth or vegetable stock for easy-to-make soups and curry base.
• It`s a good idea to keep frozen vegetables in your freezer. They come in handy when you need to whip up a dish in a hurry.

Contrary to popular belief, Indian food freezes pretty well. The day you have time, cook a little extra and freeze it, to save yourself the bother on a busy day! More than being an art, freezing Indian food, is all about plain common sense!