Anjum Anand - Anjums Indian vegetarian feast

Indian
vegetarian
pantry

Most of the ingredients necessary to whip up
exciting, nourishing vegetarian food can be kept
handy in your pantry. As long as you have the
very basic fresh ingredients such as onions,
root ginger, garlic, tomatoes and yogurt you
should be able to whip up delicious meals without
last-minute dashes to the shops. This is a really
comprehensive list, so dont feel that you need
to buy and store all of these in your kitchen, but
do have a look through and see which make you
feel hungry! The more varied your vegetarian
diet the better, so be adventurous and seek out
ingredients that you dont eat yet.

PULSES

Obviously, these are a great source of protein, as well
as key minerals. I store both dried and canned beans.
I prefer the texture and flavour of dried beans, which
need to be soaked overnight before cooking, but I also
have cans of those beans I eat often, just in case of sudden
cravings. I never buy canned lentils, as these do not need
soaking. There are a whole panoply of lentils and they are
your friends in the kitchen: they need little attention and
minimal fuss to fashion into beautiful curries. Here are
some of the bean and lentil varieties I use most often.

BEANS
Black-eyed beans
Butterbeans
Cannellini beans
Chickpeas
Kidney beans

LENTILS
Bengal gram (chana dal)
Black gram (urad dal)
Puy lentils
Red lentils (masoor dal)
Split black gram
(dhuli hui ma dal)
Split pigeon peas (toor dal)
Yellow lentils (mung dal)

SPICES

Essential to the Indian diet; Indians are the alchemists of
the spice rack. I recommend you increase your spice larder
by one jar or packet a week, as these will really add a wow
factor to your daily diet.

WHOLE
Black cardamom pods
Black peppercorns
Brown mustard seeds
Carom seeds
Cassia bark (a hardier, less
sweet version of cinnamon)
Cloves
Coriander seeds
Cumin seeds
Curry leaves (ideally fresh;
if dried or frozen, use with
a heavier hand)
Dried red chillies
Fennel seeds
Fenugreek seeds
Green cardamom pods
Mace
Nutmeg
Panch phoran
(a mix of five seeds)

GROUND
Asafoetida
Chaat masala
(a store-bought blend of tangy
spices, this is really useful)
Chilli powder
Dried fenugreek leaves
(a great savoury flavour)
Dried mint
(adds lovely fragrance)
Mango powder
(gives a welcome sour note)
Pomegranate powder (with
an unusual, delicious tang)
Turmeric

How to roast spices

Only roast whole spices. Place the spices in a
moderately hot, dry frying pan and toast over
a gentle heat. Shake the pan often so the spices
brown evenly. (Do not use non-stick pans as
the coating may smoke and this is thought to
be toxic.) As the spices roast, they colour and
become aromatic. Take them off the heat once
they turn a few shades darker. (For the already
dark spices, test by aroma instead.) Remove
them from the pan or they will continue to
brown and might burn. Roasted spices can be
ground in a mortar and pestle, or a spice or
coffee grinder kept for the purpose.