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Kitchen Tools

If you come to my kitchen, you will see I have very basic cookware and tools that are sufficient for my no-fuss cooking style. Other than the basics of a good everyday paring knife, a chef's knife, and a set of stainless steel pots, pans, and skillets, including a good quality, safe nonstick skillet, here are some other tools I frequently use. Stainless steel is durable, dishwasher safe, and nonreactive to acidic ingredients such as tomatoes. I prefer to use heavy bottomed cookware since it gives me more control than thin pans do because the food does not heat up too quickly and possibly burn if you don't not keep a sharp eye on it, which I find hard to do with the distractions I get from my young child!

Blender/Immersion Blender

I like to have two types of blenders in my kitchen. The first is a traditional blender in which I make refreshing fruit smoothies and various chutneys. If you are using a blender to purée hot foods, let the food cool slightly before pouring it into the blender to avoid the lid popping open from the steam and creating a big mess.

The second type of blender I use is the immersion blender, also called a “hand blender.” The immersion blender has a stick handle and a small metal blade at the bottom. You hold it in your hand and immerse it directly into the pot of food to be blended. This works great for puréeing spinach when I make Spinach and Potatoes (page 87) because I do not have to wait for the hot spinach to cool and then transfer it to a traditional blender. Instead, I simply immerse the hand blender directly into the hot pot and blend the spinach until smooth. To avoid splattering, try to keep the blender fully immersed in the food while you're using it.

Box Grater This tool is used to grate (shred) food. A typical box grater has four different sides, each with a different purpose. I use the side with the largest round grooves to grate onions and the side with the small grooves to grate ginger and carrots. You might see some other prickly holes that look like small pointed rasps, which I use to grate whole nutmeg. You can even zest lemons, limes, and oranges on this side. Some box graters also have raised, sharp horizontal slits that are used to get shavings of food, such as cheese and vegetables. To use a box grater, stand it on a plate or cutting board, hold the grater in place by firmly grabbing the handle with one hand, and grate the food by holding it in the other hand and move it up and down across the surface. Be careful not to scrape your knuckles!

Cast-Iron Skillet When making flat-breads, a cast-iron skillet works best. You need a surface that you can get quite hot and retains heat well. A cast-iron skillet can be seasoned over time (to create a smooth and safe nonstick surface) by repeatedly heating up the skillet and coating it with cooking oil. A cast-iron skillet should be gently scrubbed with water only and immediately dried to prevent rusting. An Indian rimless cast-iron skillet is a tawa, also spelled tava or tawah. Tawa are commonly either 10 or 12 inches (25 to 30.5 cm) in diameter. It is slightly curved and used to make various types of Indian flatbread. I find that using my low-rimmed American cast-iron skillet works just as well.

Cheesecloth Cheesecloth is a lightweight, cotton gauze that is traditionally used in cheese making. The cloth allows the whey to quickly drain out, while retaining the curds, creating the Indian cheese called paneer. You can also use it to strain tamarind pulp and coconut milk if you want to extract them from whole tamarind and fresh coconuts. Cheesecloth is found in various departments of grocery stores. If you do not have cheese cloth, you may use a thin muslin cloth instead. The size of your cheesecloth does not matter—as long as you can fold it at least four times so you do not lose the curds. Do not cut the cheesecloth if it seems too large, since a big piece is easy for lining a colander and has enough excess cloth to hang over the edge. After using a cheesecloth, wash it by rinsing any food products off it, and then use a few drops of dishwashing liquid and rub it in the cheesecloth. Rinse the soap off thoroughly and hang outside on a line to dry, or drape it over a dish rack on your counter, or in an empty rack in your dishwasher.

Citrus Squeezer Small-sized citrus squeezers are used to squeeze lemons and limes, and sometimes they are big enough to handle oranges too. You can find sturdy metal ones at household stores, kitchenware stores, and sometimes even in grocery stores. If you do not have a citrus squeezer, you can squeeze citrus fruits by hand over a small strainer to catch the seeds. When using the citrus squeezer, place half of the lemon or lime face down in the squeezer towards the holes so the juice will come out and press the handles. A common mistake when using a squeezer is to place the cut fruit the wrong way, which will cause the juice to splash out the sides of the squeezer.

Cutting Board It is best to get a cutting board that is made with smooth plastic or composite material such as polypropylene rather than the glass ones with a grooved surface. The latter are bad for knives and can dull them quickly. A wooden board is also good to use, especially for fruits and vegetables, since you do not have to worry about washing away any bacteria from meat by immersing the board in water, which damages the board. Wooden boards should be wiped clean with a damp cloth.

Food Processor, mini This compact version of a big food processor is small and simple, with just a basic two-prong blade. I can easily shred onions with it and make Fresh Coriander Chutney (page 37) in a flash. Although some foods can be similarly processed in a blender, a blender is typically used to purée liquids or items with a soupy consistency. A food processor allows for more cuts than a blender, depending on the blade used. For the recipes in this book, a simple, mini food processor with just the basic blade and a low and high speed button will do fine. I do a lot of grating of onions, and that can be done with this mini food processor instead of a box grater.

Garlic Press This tool makes fast work of mincing garlic. It is usually made of metal and presses peeled or unpeeled garlic cloves through small holes, creating a close substitute for hand-minced garlic. Although this tool saves time, I have found the downside is that it can be hard to clean out since garlic can get stuck in the grooves. After using it, be sure to pry out any garlic stuck in the press so it does not go to waste.

Immersion Blender (see Blender) Juicer A juicer is a fun tool to extract the juice from the pulp of fruits and vegetables, including leafy greens such as spinach. Juicers come in manual and electric models; the manual ones being good for juicing citrus fruits such as oranges or grapefruits. But since I also like to juice fruits such as pineapple, and vegetables such as spinach and carrots, an electric juicer is ideal.

Mortar and Pestle A mortar and pestle is the traditional Indian tool used to crush and grind spices. It has a bowl-shaped base (the mortar) and a small bat-shaped stick (the pestle) that is used to crush the spices by repeatedly and forcefully pressing down on them while rotating the pestle. Mortars and pestles come in different sizes and materials, from marble or other stone, to wood, porcelain or metals. For all but very small amounts of spice or nuts, I prefer to use an electric coffee/spice grinder because it is faster. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can crush small amounts of spices or nuts by placing them in a plastic bag and, with the bag on a cutting board, tapping it with a rolling pin.

Parchment Paper This is a nonstick paper that is used in baking. I place a small piece between hot breads before freezing them so they will not stick to each other and tear or break when separating them for thawing and reheating. Even if the breads are very hot, they will not stick to the parchment when frozen. Parchment paper can be found in the same section of the grocery store where aluminum foil is found.

Rolling Pins I use mine to not only roll out dough, but I also use it to crush nuts and cardamom seeds and to ground up roasted cumin seeds. Rolling pins come in different material, such as metal, marble, silicon, and plastic. I prefer to use a wooden one because they are easy to find, relatively lightweight, and easy to clean. Tapered rolling pins can be pivoted and rotated while rolling out dough, which is very helpful when trying to roll out a perfect circle of dough.

Spice Grinder This handy gadget, also called a coffee grinder, can be used to grind spices, and definitely beats using a mortar and pestle—the traditional tool for grinding spices. From my experience, I have seen the motor burn out if you overload the spice grinder, or run it for a long time at one stretch. It is best to grind spices in small batches, and frequently rest the motor for a few seconds while operating it. To clean the spice grinder, I take a damp paper towel and carefully and slowly wipe the inside and the blade. You may also grind some uncooked white rice in the grinder so the spice aromas will be absorbed by the rice.

Sieve, also called strainer A sieve is a type of handheld strainer made of wire mesh that allows liquids to pass through, while keeping the solids in the strainer. They come in different sizes, from small to large. I use a small strainer when making Chai Tea (page 119) to collect the cardamom pods and seeds and the tea bags. I use a large sieve when making Tomato Soup (page 47) and also to squeeze out the liquid from the grated opo squash to make Opo Squash Fritters (page 51). A large sieve is also a great tool for washing rice and lentils without having to worry about losing any grains or lentils down the sink!

Spider Also called a wire skimmer, this tool gets its name because of its resemblance to a spider’s web. At one end of a long handle is a broad, circular, shallow bowl of loosely spaced, but sturdy wire mesh. The spider can be use to scoop up and strain a wide variety of ingredients such as vegetables or pasta in a boiling pot of water, or anything deep-fried. I especially like to use this tool when making Salted Fried Cashews (page 43), since I can put a batch of cashews in the spider, safely lower it into the hot oil, and then quickly raise the spider back up when the cashews are done.

Wok A wok is a round-bottomed cooking utensil popular in Asian cooking for stir-frying. It can be used to efficiently deep-fry, since the round bottom shape creates a deeper frying area that requires less oil than a flat-bottomed pot with straight sides. A karahi is an Indian wok that is used to deep-fry foods. The bottom of a karahi is not as rounded as a Chinese wok, but it is still an efficient utensil to deep-fry foods. If you prefer to get an Indian wok, they are sometimes available at Indian grocery stores, or you can order them online.