Essential Ingredients

Here is the list of food items I tend to stock regardless of what we’re making for the week. I find this pantry to be well stocked for Indian, Mexican, Italian and occasional East Asian foods we cook the most.

This also reflects that our go-to last minute meals are based around daal, eggs or some refried beans and cheese. I recognize that the list is quite long but they are either cycled through quickly (like onions) or they last for long periods of times.

Core Essentials

  1. Fine sea salt
  2. Maldon flaky sea salt
  3. Vegetable oil
  4. Extra virgin olive oil (cheaper)
  5. Fancy extra virgin olive oil (fancy)
  6. White sugar

Fruits and Vegetables

  1. Yellow onions
  2. Red onions
  3. Fresh garlic
  4. Garlic paste
  5. Fresh ginger
  6. Ginger paste
  7. Green chilies (usually serranos)
  8. Sweet potatoes
  9. Bananas
  10. Lemons
  11. Frozen fruit (usually blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and peaches)

Grains & Cereal

  1. Atta (chakki ground whole wheat flour)
  2. Unbleached all-purpose flour
  3. Bread flour
  4. Bakery/Artisanal loaf of sourdough bread
  5. Quick cooking oatmeal
  6. Cream of wheat
  7. Basmati rice
  8. Flour tortillas
  9. Long skinny pasta
  10. Medium tubular pasta
  11. Cheerios

Proteins

  1. Eggs
  2. Paneer
  3. Extra-firm tofu
  4. Masoor daal
  5. Mung daal
  6. Urad daal
  7. Toor daal
  8. Chana daal
  9. Whole masoor
  10. Whole green lentils
  11. Whole mung beans
  12. Fancy lentils (e.g. Puy, Umbrian etc)
  13. Dried chickpeas
  14. Dried kidney beans
  15. Dried black beans
  16. Dried pinto beans
  17. Canned refried beans (we’re a fan of Amy’s)
  18. Almonds
  19. Walnuts
  20. Peanuts
  21. Peanut butter
  22. Almond butter
  23. Tahini

Fats

  1. High end salted butter
  2. Unsalted Butter
  3. Parmesan cheese wedge
  4. Shredded Mexican cheese

Flavor Boosters (Spices etc)

  1. Cumin seeds
  2. Mustard seeds
  3. Whole black pepper (with grinder)
  4. Cinnamon sticks (both true cinnamon and cassia)
  5. Cloves
  6. Green cardamom
  7. Dried red peppers (spicy)
  8. Turmeric powder
  9. Red chili powder
  10. Cumin powder
  11. Coriander powder
  12. Chaat masala
  13. Crushed red chili flakes
  14. Mexican oregano
  15. Italian oregano
  16. Tomato paste (frozen into tablespoon sized blobs)
  17. Chipotle peppers in adobo Sauce (chiles individually frozen with adobo sauce)

Condiments

  1. Ketchup
  2. Dijon Mustard
  3. Brooklyn Delhi Tomato Achar
  4. Soy Sauce
  5. Sesame Oil
  6. Rice Wine Vinegar
  7. Sherry Vinegar
  8. Red Wine Vinegar
  9. Apple Cider Vinegar
  10. Rice Wine
  11. Distilled White Vinegar

Meals in a Minute

  1. Frozen Ravioli

Baking Essentials

  1. Baking Soda
  2. Baking Powder
  3. Brown Sugar
  4. Chocolate Chips

Snacks

  1. Costco Biscotti
  2. Annie’s Bunny Crackers
  3. Tortilla Chips