Kitchen Essentials for Singletons

(This post has been written keeping the typical Indian singleton in mind.)

 A list of things that you would need to set up your kitchen.

•  An electric rice cooker.
• A single burner gas stove, preferably Klix (if your cylinder runs out of gas, you have the electric rice cooker as a backup).
• Six small air-tight containers with spoons (one each for mustard seeds and urad dal, turmeric powder, red-chilly powder, garam masala powder, sugar, and dairy whitener).
• Three large air-tight containers (one each for rice, dal, and atta).
• One large chopping board (can be used to roll out chapattis, too).
• One rolling pin.
• A cooking-oil dispenser.
• A three-rack stand for onions, potatoes, and other vegetables.
• One flat frying pan (for making omelettes chapatis, dosas, etc).
• One deep frying pan with lid (for making mouth-watering curries).
• One long flat spoon for flipping omelettes.
• One long spoon for frying the ingredients in the deep frying pan.
• Two medium-sized vessels that can be used directly over fire and can double up as serving dishes.
• Glasses, spoons (both large and small), and forks (you are going to invite friends over for a brunch or two, aren’t you?)
• Two stainless steel knives with firm handles, one for chopping vegetables, and the other for meat (do not be tempted to buy a seven-knife set; you hardly use the other five).
• A salt and pepper shaker.
• Two or three cloth napkins.
• A pair of tongs.
• Two small bowls (the size of a soup bowl).
• A large vessel for storing drinking water (make sure that you boil the water before drinking it or using for cooking purposes).
• A stainless steel basket that would hold all the vessels. You will need the basket to dry out the vessels after washing them.

For cleaning purposes

• A good pair of washing gloves.
• Liquid soap.

Optional items

• A two-litre rice cooker (needed if your meal is incomplete without rice and you aren’t planning on buying an electric rice cooker).
• A mixer (needed if you love freshly ground spices).
• A small refrigerator (needed if you are going to cook regularly and can’t find the time to shop for vegetables and meat).
• A water purifier (needed if you find boiling water tedious; alternatively, you could buy canned water. My personal opinion is investing in a water purifier; you could strike “remember to get refill for water” on the “things-to-do list.”)

Check http://personalden.blogspot.com/2009/11/compact-containers-for-kitchen.html to get an idea about the containers used in kitchens.