Key kitchen essentials

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The last year and some has been super interesting for me (and for you I hope). We’ve had kitchen successes and yuck-cesses, discoveries and disasters, managed classics and couture food. Despite having started out as a reasonably confident cook in the kitchen, the last few months have humbled

me into a respect for those who cater for a living, like people in my family, our favourite restaurants, our favourite caterers. Here it is not just flair and inspiration that counts as much as juggling available produce, managing budgets and breathing passion into a consistent standard of quality. Food, despite being a very trendy topic of conversation and interest now, is nothing short of a vocation: ergo, your kitchen is your temple. And so, I make the case for investing in kitchen equipment.
“Foodies”, I use the word disparagingly, will drone on about specialist knives, expensive machinery, bread-makers (though those are nice), trendy crockery and kitchen accessories that empty your wallet in the promise of filling your belly. Your mother and I look askance on this sort of frippery.
Home cooks need a basic list of equipment that is both pocket and storage-space friendly. My super-equipped family may have chuckled superciliously at me, but I’ve managed with a bare bones kitchen for over a decade, apart from the odd panic-attack because my wok is too small (and the fried squid was being eaten too quickly in the living room). If you’re setting up your kitchen, this list (compiled by researching what famous chefs have to say about home-cooking and talking to caterers and home-cooks) is pretty comprehensive. Buy the best quality you can afford. Keep in mind the best quality is not always the most expensive too. This is my last column in this avatar so I raise my glass at you and wish you much love in the kitchen and much laughter at your table.

You can start a conversation with the author about food at
http://loveinthekitchenlaughteratthetable [2]. blogspot.com

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Food Processor
Don’t be overwhelmed by the choice available. You need, at first, a sturdy, secure, basic model with a stainless steel blender jar and stainless steel spice grinder. Choose a brand with the option of later buying more accessories (a dough kneader or different blades for julienning & slicing for example) that will fit onto your basic machine. A brand that has been in the market for at least 5 to 10 years will ensure not just a reliable network of after-sales service but will also guarantee that if you need parts replaced, they will be easily available.

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Immersion Blender
As far as I’m concerned, this is the most important tool in your kitchen. I use mine everyday. Health freaks make smoothies, mummies make baby food, chana dal, mince and herbs are pureed to make melt-in-the-mouth shammi kebabs, pasta sauces are whipped to luxury, roast vegetables can be turned into soup... Though I use a plastic, heat-proof one that can be put into a pot, on the stove, I’d recommend a stainless steel one. Always leave your blender to soak in a bowl of water immediately after you use it. It will be easier to clean.

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Chopping Boards
You need three. Yes, you do. Skip the fancy wooden or glass ones and buy trusty, plastic chopping boards in three different colours. Why? You need one exclusively for the ‘dangerous stuff’: like raw meat and fish. Use the lightest colour for this purpose (you’ll replace this one first) and buy a special scourer only for this one which you will wash after each use immediately. Buy the largest board for raw vegetables that you will cook. And a medium sized one for salad or sandwiches that go directly to the table. This one should be stored in the freezer.

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Salad Spinner
There is nothing that will do the job of a salad spinner. And there is nothing as purpose defeating as serving a damp salad. Once you have the salad spinner, you can use it to spin any leaf you’re using in any dish. Slightly wilting coriander and mint can be refreshed in cold water, spun and added to your cooking or as garnish. Avoid the spring loaded mechanism ones. The basic, hand-held spinners have greater longevity. Buy as large a salad spinner as you can get: you will soon have people coming over for your salad.

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Set of Knives
Yes, the best knives are Japanese or German. I even bought a ceramic bladed, bamboo handled one. Chefs on TV seem to use all sorts of exotic weaponry. But those same chefs go home to their favourite knife: usually, a simple, alloy metal, plastic handled, 8 inch chef knife. Once you have this and a simple serrated knife (for bread etc), you could get a small fruit knife and maybe a chopper. Keep your knives dry and clean and buy a knife sharpening tool if you can manage it.

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Weights and Measures
The key to good cooking, especially baking, is accuracy. Even packets of instant noodles, cake or dosa mixes will recommend specific quantities of water, oil, butter for best results. Obviously, you can’t eyeball it. Enter measuring jugs and a kitchen scale. These will change your life. I know some people who bought these to help them cook but now use them to help them diet: weighing out food portions to help calorie count. When you’re ready to buy more stuff, a meat-thermometer is also handy.

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Kitchen Helpers
My sister swears by the silicon spatula. She calls it ‘The Hand’. To scoop out the last smidgens of cake batter into the baking trays or to fold airy egg white into a mousse, this delicate, flexible, versatile tool is becoming a must-have in kitchens across the world. Buy one or a set in different colours. You also need a colander. (I’d buy 2.) Whether you line it with paper to drain deep fried things or use it to wash tomatoes, they’re handy. You can use the colander to drain pasta too if you’re too lazy to buy a sieve. (Buy a sieve!)

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Immersion Blender
You need a medium sized (or two small) non stick frying pans for omelettes, fried eggs, pancakes etc. If you foresee having people over for breakfast in the near future, a great big frying pan is excellent for a movie-style fry up. A good quality stove top griddle is also good for making roast vegetables, steaks and sausages with those gorgeous sear marks on them. Finally, a pot with a tight lid (I love the see-through ones) that you can make steamed rice or a stew in and watch it for doneness. (Buy a set of large wooden spoons to go with these.)

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Wok
Wok’s not to love with this versatile, hardy, kitchen staple? You need a wide, not-too-shallow, heavy (stable) cast iron wok. If you can buy it with wooden, heat-resistant handles that’s good. Buy a larger one than you think you need, trust me, with any luck, you’ll use this one for life. Temper it according to manufacturer instructions and then minimise the amount of soap you use on it. Scour it with hot water and give it a wipe. You must aspire to a smooth patina forming that will mean needing to use less oil on it eventually.

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Pressure Cooker
I’m not telling you to buy that other Indian staple: a rolling pin because I think making rotis is harder than making sushi, so you can take your time graduating to that. But you need a pressure cooker. Whether it’s for popping corn, making dal or coaxing a delicious, deeply flavoured stock in one quarter the time it takes the traditional way, a pressure cooker is invaluable. A woman I know uses it to create a melting ham. Enough said. I prefer the twist-on-off lid with the removable pressure knob but go with what the matriarchs in your family advise.f