Once we have our groceries and spices in place, let us now look into the basic kitchen equipment which are essential in our day to day cooking. Some of these equipment's were already in place in our apartment or passed on by my mother during wedding. But none the less, we need these on a day to-day basis and form the basis of all experiments in the kitchen.
Cooking Utensils
A few basic utensils form the daily ground for our cooking.
A Sharp Knife
A sharp knife is a bare minimum equipment in every household. Either be it for cutting fruits or chopping vegetables every cook should have a nice sharp knife in their kitchen. They come in various sizes. The type and size of knife you need depends on what is comfortable for you. While making a choice on getting a knife think about why you need it for an how you going to use your knife.
A Cutting Board
This is another basic you probably must have. A regular sized cutting board will be sufficient enough to chop all the ingredients in one place making it easy to add them quickly as needed. In most supermarkets the commonly available ones are the hardwood cutting board and plastic cutting board. I personally have both of them. My mother gave me the regular plastic cutting board whereas mother-in-law gave me the hardwood cutting board which had a self attached cutter to it.
Mixing Spoons
A minimum of two mixing spoons preferably Find ones with long handles will be helpful so you don’t burn your hand while mixing.
Wok
The Wok is an essential equipment in all households. Traditionally carbon-steel, aluminium or cast-iron woks were commonly used as it is available at low prices and also cook better. These days we also have various nonstick pans serving same purpose which are easy to cleanup but more priced compared to traiditional woks. In my opinion if you are looking for quick heating of onions then the cast-iron wok is a good choice but for dishes which need you to cover the pan and cook for longer periods of time, nonstick is a good choice.
Tadka Saucepan
This is an optional pan you can use for making tadka. Tadka is an Indian cooking technique of heating up spices such as Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds or even Coriander Seeds to make a delightful flavor which is then added to a dish. My mother considers this pan among her essentials but my mother-in-law uses her saute pan itself for the tadka process.
Mesh wire spoon
A mesh wire spoon is suitable for stirring and deep fried type of cooking.
Spice Mortar
This is a good tool to quickly grind whole spices before adding them to a dish.
Food Processor/Mixer
This tool is a great time saver for grinding or making pastes and is a definite must have in every kitchen
Tongs
Tongs are an optional extension when needing to carry hot utensils or pour turn a mushroom or fish out an ear of corn from boiling water. My mother-in-law performs this using her kitchen cloth itself but I am somehow more comfortable using tongs to handle hot utensils.
Rolling Pin & Board
This is a basic essential for making chappatis. It is round in shape and great for keeping the dough looking round as you roll it out and the rolling pin is easy to handle and light enough so that you don’t use too much pressure on the dough which can make it stick.
Griddle or ‘tava’ -
These griddles are used specifically for chapatis, omelettes and other flat-breads. Traditionally iron griddles were commonly used but these days we have various nonstick griddles serving same purpose.
Spice Box
These are containers having multiple containers which help to store different spices. They are either made out of steel or plastic
Pressure Cooker
This is another very essential tool in every household for cooking rice or lentils. They have a whistle release feature which release the pressure in short duration independently and cut down on cooking gas and time.
These days we also get electric pressure cookers which can help save cooking gas and space on your stove. These cookers take more cooking time than normal pressure cooking.
Casseroles
This is primarily used as a serving vessel. It is used for storage of cooked food like Chapatis.
