Kitchen & Groceries

What you eat all year is decided largely by what is in the house, and what is in the house is decided in about forty minutes a week. That is where the leverage is.

A kitchen that makes eating well easy

Staples that keep: dal in two or three varieties, rajma and chana, atta, rice, poha, oats, ragi. Aromatics: onion, garlic, ginger, and whole spices, which keep their flavour far longer than ground ones. Fats: a neutral cooking oil, mustard or groundnut for flavour, and ghee. The fridge: curd, whatever greens are cheap this week, lemons, and one fruit you will actually eat.

Buying with the season

Seasonal produce is cheaper, better and more nutritious, and India's seasons are generous. Buying what is piled highest at the sabziwala is usually both the thrifty decision and the right one.

The healthiest kitchen is not the best-stocked one. It is the one where the vegetables get used before they turn.

Storing so it survives the week

Wash and dry greens before they go in the fridge and they will last days longer. Keep onions and potatoes apart - together they spoil each other. Whole spices in airtight jars away from the stove; heat and light strip them.