How to make pure and fresh hoia at home from milk, avoiding store-bought additives

Homemade decorative items lend a special atmosphere and elegant look to the home interior. A beautiful tablecloth placed on a central or dining table in the living room can completely transform the appearance of the room. If you are tired of buying expensive tablecloths in stores and want to show your creativity, try making such an item yourself.

Creating a floral tablecloth using a crochet hook looks very beautiful, but the process is quite simple. This is especially relevant for those who are just starting to learn crochet, as the item can be prepared with great ease.

To make a crochet tablecloth, you need to follow several basic steps and use simple patterns. Among the necessary materials are high-quality cotton or wool yarn of your chosen colors, a crochet hook of the appropriate size, and scissors for cutting threads.

The first stage involves creating small floral motifs. The simplest way is to start with a magic ring or a chain stitch to form small, delicate flowers.

Once you have gathered enough flowers, the next step is to connect them using a hook or a needle, forming a large shape, whether it is a square or a circle. You can use flowers of one color or achieve a multi-colored effect by combining different shades.

The third step is dedicated to edging and final finishing. A beautiful and simple net or fringed border should be made around the tablecloth. This will give the tablecloth a finished and professional look.

The advantages of this handicraft include low production cost, as well as the ability to easily adapt the size of the item to the needs of your table.

Sooji is an important component of Indian cuisine and is used in many dishes, including halwa, upma, idli, dhokla, and dosa. Despite its significance in the diet, most people buy sooji from stores, where it is often old or contaminated.

Consuming store-bought sooji containing impurities can negatively affect health. However, there is a way to prepare sooji at home. This is especially relevant before the festival of Navratri, when halwa made from sooji is necessarily prepared for the Kanya Puja.

Preparing this product is very simple, and with proper storage, it retains freshness for many months. Below is a simple instruction and secret tips for creating clean, grainy sooji from wheat.

To prepare, you need 2 cups of whole wheat (after cleaning), the required amount of water for soaking and washing, one teaspoon of sunlight or cotton cloth, and a sieve with small and large holes.

First, thoroughly wash and clean the whole wheat. Then, lightly spray the wheat with water and leave it for 15–20 minutes so that the outer layer of the husk becomes slightly moist and relaxed. After this, spread the moist wheat on a cotton cloth and dry it in the wind or under light sun for one to two hours. It is important that the wheat is not completely wet, but only the top surface is dry, while a slight moisture remains inside.

Place the dried wheat into a blender jar. Instead of running the blender continuously, it should be pulsed (on-off) only 2-3 times. This will prevent the wheat from turning into flour and will cause it to break down into fine grains.

The resulting mixture of ground wheat is first sifted through a sieve with large holes to separate large husks and whole grains. Then, the mixture is sifted through a fine mesh sieve. The fine flour that settles at the bottom should be discarded (it can be used for baking bread). The grainy residue left on the sieve is 100% pure and grainy sooji.

To keep the sooji fresh for a long time, it must be lightly roasted in a pan for 2-3 minutes over low heat, without adding oil or ghee. After it cools completely, the sooji should be transferred to a clean, airtight glass jar. In this way, homemade pure sooji will remain fresh for several months.