Skip to main content

The Basic 'Must Haves'

I just wanted to give a rough idea on the staple 'must haves'  that you need in your pantry.

Apart from the obvious Salt, Pepper and Sugar we need to stock up on many unique ingredients that form the basis of the exquisite Indian Cuisine. There is no way you can create a delicious  dish without the flavorful, fragrant and colorful spices. So lets start there.

Whole spices are a must have. Freshly roasting and then grinding them each time when required ensures you get the most flavor from them in your dish. Some of them can are available in the powdered form from stores. These are handy especially if you are pressed for time or find yourself busy.

These generally include :
Cardamom
Caraway seeds
Cinnamon
Cloves
Coriander seeds
Cumin seeds 
Dried red chilli
Fennel seeds
Fenugreek seeds
Mace
Nutmeg
Star anise / Aniseed
Pepper corns

Asafetida 
Mustard seeds
Fenugreek leaves
Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder
Kashmiri chilli powder
Cumin powder
Coriander powder
Dried ginger powder


Rice
There are many types of rice and all vary in taste, look, cook time and flavor. Based on your preference you could purchase from the store. But its good to have in your pantry the Basmati rice.


Masala Blends
You get ready made masala mixes with the right proportions of different spices for specific dishes like for a chicken curry, Sambhar, beef fry etc. Its good to have them in your pantry to take all the guess work out on how much of which spice needs to go in and again it helps when you want to make a recipe pronto.

Some of these are
Garam Masala
Sambhar Masala
Chicken Masala
Chaat Masala

Flours we need for making the famous Chapati (Indian flat bread) and yummy Pooris  and for all those fried goodies include
Corn flour
Gram flour
Wheat flour
Plain flour
Rice flour

Flavorful leaves make all the difference in a dish. They instantly transform an 'ok dish' to a delicious one. 
Curry leaves
Coriander
Mint

Apart from these some must haves include some liquids, pastes and some other items which we cannot do without.
Coconut milk
Soya sauce
Vinegar
Ginger paste
Garlic paste
Tamarind
Lemon / LimeCondensed milk
Grated coconut

Semolina
Vermicelli

Pulses you can stock up on based on your preference. Some of them are
Chickpeas
Red Kidney beans 
Toor dal
Urad dal
Mung dal

Fats and Oils
There is no way we can cook anything without them no matter how much you want to avoid them. And for different dishes we may need different flavor oils.
Butter
Ghee
Coconut oil
Gingelly / Sesame oil
Olive oil
Sunflower or Canola oil

Tea / Coffee
Tea and or Coffee is a must have. Tea or Coffee tastes so much better when its made over the stove top and the consistency turns out better when made with full cream milk or full cream milk powder rather with low fat milk. But then again its all based on your preference.









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chicken Istoo (Stew)

Chicken Istoo Hi All. Today's recipe is an all time favorite of mine. It's enjoyed so much by Malayalees and is a popular breakfast dish in Christian households. It's even a default, must- have dish served at Christian wedding receptions - your meal is going to start off with a serving of Istoo and Appam. It's just delicious. Istoo is a coconut based white gravy dish and it's amazing how a few ingredients can just create something so yummy. It isn't a spicy dish and so it's definitely something that can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone - young and old alike. So What Do We Need? About 1 kg Chicken - including bone pieces  - Cut into small to medium size pieces Clean the chicken well. Remove the skin off the pieces and give the pieces a good wash. Then in a bowl, take the washed chicken pieces and add a tablespoon of vinegar and a dash of salt. And fill the bowl with water. Let the chicken pieces sit in this vinegar water for 10 - 15 m...
1 comment
Read more

Sweet Potato Stir Fry (Mezhukkupuratti)

In Kerala, these stir fry dishes would be called Mezhukkupuratti . They are quick to make and are absolutely delicious. They go well with both rice and chapatti - a perfect side dish. And you can make mezhukkupuratti  with almost every vegetable :) So What Do We Need ? 1 big sweet potato. Clean it well and remove the skin completely. Then cut it into small thin rectangular pieces - almost like those thin French fries/ chips - just not as long - maybe half the length. Try to cut each piece out as evenly as possible. Also do  immerse the cut pieces in a bowl of water with around 1 tsp salt dissolved in it. Keep them in water till you are ready to cook them. This helps in preventing any discoloration of the pieces you have cut. 1 big onion or about 6-8 small onions/ shallots.   Cut into thin slices. Shallots give more flavor than the big onion. However use whichever you have availabl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mung Bean Coconut Stir fry - Cherupayar Thoran

Hi there. Today's recipe is an absolute favorite dish of mine - Cherupayar Thoran Who knew these small green beans could be so tasty without having to meddle with it a whole lot. Simple ingredients just elevate the flavor and result in an amazing dish. Its a prefect accompaniment to Kanji (Rice Porridge).  And I personally enjoy having cherupayar thoran with just rice and a little chammanthi (chutney). Yummy!   Now just fyi, both thoran and mezhukkupuratti recipes are stir fry side dishes. But the main difference between them is that in thoran will have grated coconut in it - mezhukkupuratti wont. So What Do We Need? Mung Bean / Green Gram / Moong Dal  - 1 cup ( 250 ml) Wash and soak the beans in water preferably overnight (or about 6 hours). This will help soften the beans and reduce the cook time considerably. The next day -  you will see that the skin / shell would have come off from the bean. And I usually d...
Post a Comment
Read more