What’s on the shelf,
and how it gets used.

Ajwain

Almond

Amchur

Asafoetida

Pungent yellow powder, sometimes a hard resin. A tiny pinch transforms.

Ash gourd

Banana

Banana flower

Banana leaf

Banana stem

Basmati rice

Bay leaf

Beetroot

Bhujia

Bitter gourd

Black cardamom

Black chickpeas

Black pepper

Black salt

Black-eyed peas

Bottle gourd

Brinjal

Broad beans

Brown rice

Buttermilk

Byadagi chilli

Cabbage

Capsicum

Carrot

Cashew

Cauliflower

Chaat masala

Chana dal

Chickpeas

Cinnamon

Cloves

Cluster beans

Coconut oil

Coconut · fresh

The white meat of a mature coconut — never frozen if you can help it.

Colocasia

Coriander leaves

Bright herb with frilled leaves — fresh, never dried.

Coriander powder

Coriander seeds

Round straw-coloured seeds with a citrusy floral note.

Cumin powder

Cumin seeds

Slim brown seeds with a warm earthy aroma.

Curry leaves

Aromatic dark-green leaves on a thin stem — not a substitute for bay.

Dates

Dhokla

Dill leaves

Dried ginger

Drumstick

Long ridged green pods — only the pulp inside is eaten, the fibrous shell is discarded.

Dry dates

Dry figs

Dry red chillies

Elephant foot yam

Fennel seeds

Fenugreek leaves

Fenugreek seeds

Finger millet

Foxtail millet

French beans

Fresh coconut

Fresh cream

Fresh turmeric

Garam masala

Garlic

Ghee

Slow-clarified butter; nutty, golden, fragrant.

Ginger

Knobbly fresh rhizome with thin tan skin and pale gold flesh.

Ginger-garlic paste

Equal parts fresh ginger and garlic, ground with a splash of oil and salt.

Gram flour

Green cardamom

Green chilli

Long thin variety, milder than bird's eye but with a clean grassy heat.

Green peas

Groundnut oil

Guava

Honey

Idli rice

Indian gooseberry

Ivy gourd

Jaggery

Unrefined cane (or palm) sugar — caramel-coloured blocks or coarse crystals.

Kashmiri chilli

Kasuri methi

Kewra water

Khoya

Kidney beans

Kokum

Lemon

Lime

Mace

Mango pickle

Masoor dal

Milk

Mint leaves

Moong dal

Pale yellow split mung bean — quickest to cook, easiest to digest.

Moong dal (yellow)

Mustard oil

Mustard seeds

Tiny round seeds — always black or brown in South Indian cooking.

Nigella seeds

Nutmeg

Okra

Palm jaggery

Paneer

Papaya

Pappad

Pav bread

Peanuts

Pearl millet

Pistachio

Poha (flattened)

Pomegranate

Pomegranate seeds (dry)

Poppy seeds

Potato

Puffed rice

Pumpkin

Ragi flour

Raisins

Rasam powder

Raw banana

Raw mango

Raw mango

Hard, sour green mango — completely different ingredient from the ripe fruit.

Raw papaya

Raw rice

Short-to-medium grain South Indian rice — the everyday rice for sambar sadam, curd rice, and tiffins.

Red amaranth leaves

Red chilli powder

Red onion

Refined flour

Rice flour

Ridge gourd

Ripe jackfruit

Ripe mango

Rock salt

Rose water

Saffron

Sambar powder

Semolina

Sesame oil

Sesame seeds

Tiny flat oval seeds — white, beige, or black. Easy to confuse with mustard but flatter and matte, not round and shiny.

Sev

Small brinjal

Small onions

Tiny pink-skinned onions — sweeter and sharper than regular onions, the soul of South Indian sambar.

Snake gourd

Sona masuri rice

Sorghum

Spinach

Star anise

Stone flower

Sunflower oil

Sweet corn

Sweet potato

Tamarind

Dark, sticky, sour fruit pulp — comes seedless in blocks or as ready paste.

Tender coconut

Tender jackfruit

Unripe jackfruit, sold in green chunks. Doesn't taste of fruit at all.

Tomato

Ripe medium tomatoes — Indian cooking wants them slightly soft, not the firm hothouse kind.

Tomato puree

Toor dal

Toor dal

Yellow split lentil — the sambar dal. Mild, creamy when soft.

Turmeric

Bright yellow powder, ground from the dried root.

Urad dal · split

Hulled split black gram — pale ivory, looks a bit like split peas.

Vinegar

Walnut

White butter

White radish

White sugar

Whole green moong

Whole urad

Whole wheat flour

Yogurt · curd

Unsweetened set curd — the everyday south Indian one is more sour than supermarket greek yogurt.