Home Facial Recipes and Treatments for Specific Skin Problems

To Cleanse the Pores:

Rub mashed tomato on your face and rinse with cool water. If your like me, you've thrown many tomatoes away. Don't! You may not want to eat it, but it will be fine for your skin treatment if it's not completely rotten. Just use the best of what is left because you only need a small amount.
Note: Some people find that tomatoes will irritate the skin. If so, try mashed grapes instead!

To Tighten and Refine Pores:
Whip the white of an egg and add a pinch of alum (drug store) and apply to the skin as a mask. Leave on for 15 to 20 minutes then rinse off with warm water. (never hot water!)



Peel and slice 1/2 a cucumber and puree in a blender or processor. Add 1 TBSP of plain yogurt. Mix well and apply to skin. Leave on for 15 to 20 minutes then wipe off with a damp wash cloth or rinse with warm water. Cucumber contains amino and organic acids. This blend will cool, refresh skin and tighten pores.

To Remove Dead Surface Skin Cells and Improve Skin Texture:
Gently rub a small handful of dry short grain rice against you face for a few minutes. This is a Japanese technique that has been used for centuries.

Add 2 TBSP of cornmeal mixed with enough water to make a thick paste. Gently rub on face in circular motions and rinse off. This makes a quick, inexpensive exfoliant.

Grind 1 TBSP of almonds into a fine meal. Mix with 1 TBSP of honey and 1 egg white. Apply to skin and allow to dry for 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with wash cloth and rinse face with lukewarm water.

To Add Color to Sallow Skin:
Mash 1/2 cup of strawberries in a blender and apply to face. Leave on for 10 minutes, then rinse with tepid water.

To Alleviate Puffiness in the Eye Area:
Place slices of a cooled cucumber over your eyes for 10 minutes or more as needed. It is a fact that models use Preperation H, a hemorrhoid cream, under eyes for puffiness. Do not apply heavy oils or creams around the eye area before going to bed. That would cause eyes to be puffy in the morning.

To Soften and Nourish the Skin:
Mash half of an avacado and apply to face. Leave on until it dries, then rinse off with warm water. Avacado contains essential fatty acids and other nutrients that can help prevent premature wrinkling.

To Moisturize Your Skin:
Mash up grapes with enough honey to make a paste and apply the mix to face as a mask. Leave it on for 20-25 minutes then rinse off. Grapes are a natural source of collagen and alpha-hydroxy acids

To Help Protect Your Skin from Free Radical Damage:
Add a few drops of green tea extract to your ingredients. You can also add the extract to your other beauty products like astringents and lotions. If your local drug store does not carry this, call your closest health food or general nutrition store. Green Tea is a wonderful antioxident that fights free radicals that are damaging to the skin and thought to be largely responsible for the aging of skin aside from sun damage. Drinking hot green tea is very healthy for you too!

To Soothe and Relieve Itchy Skin:
Grind up oatmeal in blender or processor to a fine powder. Add water to make a paste. Apply to skin and let dry, then gently remove with a damp wash cloth and rinse skin with tepid (lukewarm) water. This paste should not be runny. If you add too much water, add more oatmeal. A little goes a long way and this mixture can be used anywhere on the body for rashes, dry-itchy skin, or bug bites. I grind up 1/2 to 3/4 cup of oatmeal and store it in a baby food jar.

To Stimulate Circulation and Firm the Skin:
Combine 1/2 of a peeled cucumber, 1 TBSP of yogurt, a few strawberries, and 1 tsp. of honey in a blender or processor. Make a puree. Apply to face and let dry (or set well). Gently wipe off with a wet wash cloth and rinse skin well. This is a great all-around home facial recipe and treatment.

To Loosen Blackheads:
Combine equal parts baking soda and water in hand and gently rub in a circular motion on skin and rinse. As with any exfoliating type product, it is very important to not apply too much pressure. You do not want to scratch the skin. Instead, you want just a smooth circular motion with very little pressure and let the product do it's thing. Do not use scratchy or exfoliating products on irritated, inflamed or broken skin such as a wound, cut, inflamed acne or rash.

Paneer Butter Masala

Ingredients

· paneer (fried and soaked in water) - 100 gms

· tomatoes- 250 gms

· ginger - 10 gms

· garlic - 10 gms

· red chilli powder -1 tsp

· coriander powder - 5 gms

· onions - 15 gms

· butter 10 - gms

· kasoori methi - 1/2tsp

· garam masala - ¼ tsp

· cream - ½ tsp

· chopped coriander - ½ tsp

· sugar - a pinch

Method
1. Blanch the tomatoes. De-skin.
2. Make a coarse paste of tomatoes.
3. in a kadai, heat oil and add cumin, chopped onion.
4. Fry for a while. Add ginger-garlic paste.
5. Add chilli powder and coriander powder.
6. Cook for a minute. Then add pureed tomatoes and cook well.
7. Finish by adding fried paneer and kasoori methi.
8. Take out in a bowl and garnish with garam masala powder and chopped coriander.
9. Finish by adding the garam masala powder, kasoori methi and chopped coriander.

Masala Corn and Paneer

Ingredients

· sweetcorn- 2 cup

· paneer-50gm or 1/2 cup

· onion stalks - 3 to 4 nos

· tomato - 1

· green chillies - 2 to 3 nos

· pepper powder - 1 tsp

· red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

· chat masala - 2 tsp

· butter - 1 tbsp

· salt to taste

Method
1. Add 1-cup water to sweet corn and put it in microwave for 9-10 mins.
2. In the meantime heat butter in a pan and stir fry the green chillies and onion stalk for 2 mins.
3. Now add the sweet corn, paneer pieces and all dry masala.
4. Mix the whole mixture properly and take it off the heat.
5. Garnish with onion stalks, tomatoes and serve hot.

CASHEW PAKODA

Ingredients:

Gram flour 1 cup

Rice flour 1 tbsp

Onion 1 medium sized

Chili Powder 1 tsp

Asafoetida 1/4 tsp

Cashew 40

Fennel seeds 1 tsp

Salt Oil

Serve with

green chutney

Recipe

Chop the onions finely and put it in a bowl. Break the cashews in halves and add to the bowl. Add the gram flour, rice flour, crushed fennel seeds, chili powder, salt and mix loosely until it starts sticking to a thick mix and leave it for 15 minutes. Heat oil in a fry pan and drop the mixture in the form of even sized pieces - make sure each piece has enough cashews in it. Deep fry until it turns golden brown

LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN RECIPE

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breast Halves (skinless and boneless)
2 Garlic Cloves (minced)
2 tblsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Paprika
Salt and Pepper according to taste
2 tblsp Margarine or Butter
1/2 tsp Lemon Zest (grated)
1/4 cup White Wine

How to make lemon garlic chicken:

• Drizzle chicken with salt, paprika and pepper.
• In a skillet melt butter or margarine over medium-high heat.
• Combine chicken to skillet when pan becomes hot.
• Fry chicken on each side till it is slightly browned; it will take about 2-3 minutes.
• Place the chicken on a baking sheet.
• Sprinkle half of the lemon juice over the chicken.
• Bake it in a preheated oven to 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
• Mix garlic to the hot pan and fry till it appears brown in color, it will take about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Combine white wine to the pan to de-glaze.
• Combine lemon zest to the pan after 2 minutes. Reduce by half, then cover it and set aside.
• Pour the remaining lemon juice over the chicken once again.
• Bake for another 5 minutes.
• Take it out.
• Place chicken over dish of rice.
• Spoon the sauce on it.
• Garnish with some lemon-twists, sage or basil.

Modak

Ingredients
For dough:
Rice flour 2 cups
Maida flour 1/4 cup
A pinch of salt
water 2 cups
Ghee 1 tbs

For the filling:
Fried channa 1 cup
Peanuts 1 cup
poppy seeds 1/2 cup
Sesame seeds 1/2 cup
Dry coconut powder 1 cup
Jaggery 2 cups.
Cardamom 3 pods

Method:
Fry peanuts, takeout the skin. Fry poppy seeds and sesame seeds. Then grind everything in mixer into a powder. Add jaggery and powdered cardamom. Keep aside. Put water in a nonstick vessel. Add salt and ghee. When water starts boiling add rice flour and maida flour. Do not stir. Cover and cook for 6-7 minutes. Take off fire and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon .No lumps should be left. Take the dough in a microwave proof bowl and microwave for 3-4 min so that the dough will cook thoroughly. Then take two plastic sheets. Smear with ghee. Put a small ball of dough in the middle. Roll on the top of upper sheet with a rolling pin to a 3-4 " diameter leaf like puri. Place the stuffing on one half of the leaf and press the two ends on each other. Now it looks semi circular. Serve with coconut milk and ghee.

Ghevar

Ingredients
3 cups plain flour
1 cup solidified ghee
3-4 icecubes
4 cups water, approx.
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp. yellow food colour
1 kg. Ghee for deep frying

For syrup:
1 1/2 cup sugar

For topping: (optional)
1 tsp. powdered cardamom
1 tbsp. chopped almonds & pistachios
1 tbsp. milk in which 1/2 tsp. saffron has been already mixed
Silver foil

Method:
Prepare sugar syrup of 1 thread consistency. Taking one icecube at a time rub the ghee vigourously. Take more icecubes as required, till ghee becomes very white. Add milk, flour and 1 cup water. Mix to make smooth batter. Dissolve colour in some water and add to batter. Add more water as required. Batter should be fairly thin. Take an aluminium or steel cylindrical container. Fill half with ghee.

Heat till ghee is smoky hot.Take a 50 ml, glassful of batter. Pour in centre of ghee, slowly in one continuous threadlike stream. Allow foam to settle. Pour one more glassful in hole formed in centre. When foam settles again, loosen ghevar with an iron skewer inserted in hole. Lift carefully, at a slant, and place on wire mesh to drain. Keep hot syrup in a wide flat bottomed container to fit in ghevar. Dip ghevar in it, and remove, keep aside on mesh to drain excess syrup.Top with silver foil. Splash a few drops of saffron milk, sprinkle some chopped dryfruit and a few pinches of cardamom powder.