Salt is an essential ingredient in every recipe. But too much salt in a dish can be hard to salvage.
You followed every step of the recipe, or at least that’s what you thought. You salted every step on the way, but maybe you went one step too far, and now the salinity level of your meal is close to that of the Dead Sea. It is inedible, and you begin to fret. Wipe your salty tears, as there are some effective yet simple ways of solving your problem.
Add yoghurt or coconut milk.
A lot of Indian curry recipes require the usage of coconut milk or yoghurt, and you can add either to a dish. Both coconut milk and yoghurt helps to tone down the saltiness. You need to add about 3 to 4 tablespoons of coconut milk, cream, or yoghurt and cook over low heat for a few minutes to let it blend. If you have prepared a sauce that is too salty, add some yoghurt. The creamy tanginess will dilute and tame the salinity.
Use acid a flavour mask
Vinegar and lemon juice—these two acids are your saving grace. Squeeze a lemon or mildly drizzle some vinegar to mask some of the aggressive salt with a better flavour. These acids will bring out the best in your recipe. You may also opt for something all-purpose like white wine vinegar, but remember to not go overboard: to avoid having something too sour and too salty.
Use potato to absorb
Peel a potato and plunk it into your cooking pot. The idea behind this is, the potato will soak the excess salt, and it can be removed before the food is served. The general consensus is that the potato will absorb the extra salt from your food, but it soaks up some liquid too.
Boil with chapati dough
Add some balls of kneaded dough to your salty curry and boil for 4 to 5 minutes. After turning off the heat, let it sit for another 5 to 6 minutes and discard the dough balls. The chapati dough will soak up the excess salt. Any dough can serve this purpose, except butter-laden crumbly pastry dough, as that might crumble into your dish.
Drain the gravy
If your curry has an excess amount of liquid, strain the gravy and discard it. Place the remaining gravy in a skillet, prepare a new gravy and cook it at a low simmer until the right consistency is attained.
With these simple tips, never again will you have to sit through a mouth-shrivelling salty dish.
