What do you keep in your pantry?

DoDi

I have a question for those of you who cook homestyle Indian cuisine on a daily basis.... what do you keep stocked and on hand in your pantry so you don't have to run out to the store when you get ready to cook an everyday meal?

Also, what simple weekday recipe you make often?

Thanks to Hyderbad's tip about parboiled rice I went to an Indian specialty store on the way home from work and bought some... but the smallest size they had available was a huge 20 lb box.

So now I have a LOT OF RICE... and need to come up with something to serve with it besides the lovely fish pickles friends in Kerala gave me as going away gifts.

Thank You for sharing your simple meal ideas and basic shopping list.

traceyam

That's a long list. Here's what we keep around, off the top of my head:

basmati rice
onions
tomatos
potatoes
cauliflour
canned peas
frozen spinach
ghee
garlic paste
ginger paste
fresh garlic
fresh ginger
fresh cilantro
masoor dal
urid dal
moong dal
chapatti flour
canned tomatoes
ketchup
sweet mango relish
mango pickle
about four dozen different spices (I'll list them if you want, but give me a while!)
sugar
yogurt
limes
lemons
chilis
heavy cream
loose black tea
fat free half & half

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traceyam

I make chai and chappatis daily. For an easy recipe, I like aloo gobi, vegetable korma, spiced cabbage, raita, palak paneer (you can buy the paneer ready-made at most Indian markets, it's very simple to make but takes a little time) or roasted sweet potatoes sprinkled with lime juice and garam masala (what's that called)? Even veggie samosas aren't difficult to make (hint: brush them with oil and bake them instead of deep frying them. Same effect, much less greasy!)

Karma Queen

bloody hell tracey! you're ever so good! are you actually indian/of indian descent? i'm v impressed

me, i just made a chicken korma... the korma was tescos own, straight out of a jar! was still delish though!

DoDi

traceyam, you are wonderful! I'm printing your list to take with me to do my shopping this weekend.

(also I'm writing down what karma queen said about tescos koorma, jic)

Nick-H

Traceyam, how is Panneer made, please? I'm a convert to home-made curd (yoghurt) already.

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SHIMLA

I stock the following:

1. Plain Rice
2. Basmati Rice
3. Wheat flour
4. Canola Oil
5. Ghee
6. Iodized Salt
7. Sugar
8. Turmeric powder
9. Red Chilli powder
10. Cumin seeds
11. Branded Masalas
12. Corriander leaves
13. Mint leaves
14. Onion
15. Potato
16. Tomato
17. Garlic
18. Fresh Ginger
19. Radish
20. Carrot
21. Cucumber
22. Green Chilli
23. Lemon
24. Moong dal
25. Matpe dal
26. Chickpea
27. White pea
28. Red Kidney Bean
29. Frozen Mixed Vegetable
30. Frozen green pea
31. Papad
32. Chocolate or some sweet
33. Branded fruit juice in tetra pack
34. Tomato sauce
35. Filtered water

and above all,

36. A HEALTHY APPETITE !!

Other items like Yoghurt, cabbage, cauliflower, drumstick, Chicken, eggs, etc. are purchased fresh, on the day they are required.

My normal meal comprises Chapati, vegetable, salad, papad and water(my favourite drink). At times its rice, dal, salad, papad and water. I avoid chapati and rice in the same meal. Non-veg. curry (with chapati OR rice) once a week. A little sweet after each meal is a MUST !

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tadka

Dodi,

You're going to end up buying the entire grocery store!

Some people would argue that there's no such thing as an Indian pantry, because there's no such thing as Indian cuisine. The food varies too much from region to region and community to community for such a broad category to be meaningful.

If you're interested in a particular area, maybe you could specify it and the forum members could provide some thoughts on recipes, ingredients and cookbooks.

Cheers!

Tadka

rangss

Masalas and condiments!!!

They are stored in large round boxes made of stainless steel with cups in it. Looks like a carousel

Here is what I always need:


A Carousel with all the seasoning requirements: Mustard seeds, fenugreek, red chillies, peppercorn, coriander seeds, urad dal, masoor dal, asafoetida, cumin/fennel.

A carousel with cinnamon, cloves, cardomom, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, cashew, raisins, nutmeg, dry copra, garlic and shahjeera

A carousel with turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, rasam powder, sambhar powder and vangi bhaat powder.

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rangss

Indians! Each maintains her own grocery store at home.

So there is always enough to spare a cup of sugar or curds for the friendly Leela Bhabi, the friendly neighbour.

traceyam

I'm not Indian, I just try to cook like one.

Paneer

8 cups of whole milk
6 tablespoons of plain yogurt
4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice

Whisk the yogurt and lime juice together. Bring the milk to a boil over high heat in a large heavy saucepan, stirring frequently. As soon as the foam begins to rise, remove the pot from the heat and gently but thoroughly stir in the yogurt and lime juice. The milk will start to separate. Return to heat and boil until all the milk has finished curdling (it won't ALL curdle but you'll see it reach a point where no more is curdling).

Set a fine cheese cloth over a colander in a clean sink. Pour the contents of the pot through cheesecloth, allowing the liquid (whey) to drain out. Let the cheese drain undisturbed until the cloth is cool enough to handle, then wrap the cloth tightly around the cheese and wring it to squeeze out all the excess liquid. Wrap a kitchen towel around the cheesecloth and place it on second towel. Put a weight on top for 2 hours (I use two phone books). It is now ready to be cut into cubes or chunks for use.

It should last at least 48 hours in the refrigerator, so you can make it a day or two ahead.

If it crumbles when you cut it, it didn't drain long enough. You can still use it, but next time you prepare it let it drain for a little longer.

cyberhippie

I use masala packets by MDH, not for the purest I know but it does produce rather good Rajma, Paw Bhaji,Channamasala etc.
Another great labour saving invention are those packets off vacuum packed garlic ginger paste (ever tried making ginger paste??) 11 rps on Paharganj
other stuff in the cupboard

Achari
cinnamon
Black Cardemon
Jeera seeds
Cardemon
Tumeric
Chilli powder
Garam Masala
Mango Powder
Fresh Garlic
Sweet Purple Onions
Mustard seeds
Tea masala (though chai never seems to taste the same when I drink it here!)
Green chillis (no meal is complete withou them, no)
Channa Dal
Channa
Kidney beans

Oh and Nick now that Tracy has taught you how to make Panner try this cottage cheese. Lovely on crackers bread or even parothas!!!
Just take some fresh curd wrap it in Muslin squeeze out the excess juice tie off and leave hanging for about 24 hours.
Open the muslin add salt pepper and garlic to taste and you have a great cream cheese

steven_ber

Madhur Jaffrey.

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cyberhippie

What a great labour saving device!!

tadka

rangss,

Interesting spice pantry.

Do you mind me asking if you characterize it as pan-Indian, regional (from somewhere in Andhra maybe??), multi-regional or none of the above? (Perhaps not a fair question.) And what is vangi bhaat powder?

tadka