Setting up kitchen for a single person is relatively easy as it is only you, you are responsible for. Back then, I could cook like three things and lived on those. I would make a huge pot of pasta and eat it for next three meals. At times, I'd have corn flakes for dinner. Afternoons were spent at university - so cooking wasn't a huge part of my life.
In terms of spices, I had the following.
Red chili powder
Black pepper
Salt
Oregano (pasta!)
Ground Coriander seeds
And that's about that.
The second phase was way more different than the previous time. I was responsible for running a grownup home, and I was anything but. I knew the basics. I needed pots and pans, stirrers and spatulas, some containers and that's about that. What I didn't realize that a functional kitchen has much more than I thought it would need. There are pots for cooking rice, meat and vegetables and there is a pot to make sweet dishes or boil milk in. There are different size pots for making tea and smaller pots for warming up food. A frying pan, deep enough for deep frying and a smaller one because the bigger one would take too much oil. a container for oil, plates - a lot of plates.
I bought a chakra belan (a rolling pin and a rolling board) and a container for the flour, but I forgot to but a dish big enough to knead dough. That I bought second time. I also realized that I needed strainers and colanders of different sizes for draining tea, rice, pasta etc. and then there were organizers, a container to store small gadgets - measuring spoons, measuring cups, funnels, a tiny grater and a bottle opener. On top of that my kitchen doesn't have drawers, so I have to get containers for cutlery and other stuff.
When it came to cooking there are more spices needed than the ones, I was familiar with. For example, I needed whole spices and garam masala and turmeric etc., I needed ginger-garlic paste and soy sauce and chili sauce and mixed herbs, just to make food that I wanted to eat.
Then there were baskets, for fruits and for other things. Packets of pasta, rice, spices, jars for jams, bottles for sauces. Just to keep things organized. It was also necessary for me to train my husband in the art of organization in our kitchen. I don't personally like men who knows nothing about their kitchen and can't find a spoon when needed.
Sometimes, when I was trying a certain recipe, I would realize that I am missing a certain spice, and I would decide to move ahead without it. The food was edible, and not perfect at all. I would add that spice to the shopping list for next time. I also had to collect recipes that we both enjoyed eating and were easy to cook.
Through all of this, all I wanted was a list of things for people who were starting new home from scratch. What are the must haves. Here I am making a list from my own experience.
Things to have in a starter kitchen:
1. Depending on people pots of different sizes: for rice/pasta/noodles, for meat and vegetables - things cooked with spices, for sweets and milk/tea.
2. Strainers and Colanders
3. Baskets for fruits (I have in different sizes)
4. a gridle (tawa)
5. a bowl/platter for kneading dough (I forgot this one)
6. mixing bowls
7. frying pans
8. containers for spices/ lentils/rice/flour etc.
9. Containers for storing half used packets of stuff.
10. spatulas and turners.
11. Wooden spoons for cooking and mixing
12. beaters and whisks
13. plates and glasses
14. serving bowls
15. cutlery
16. serving spoons
17. Rolling pin and rolling board/mat
18. Cutting board
19. Knives different sizes and knife sharpener
20. Blender and a grinder
21. pestle and mortar
22. measuring cups, measuring spoons, measuring jug
23. Water bottles,
24. Oil bottle/jug
This list is not at all exhaustive. Depending on your lifestyle and the kind of cooking you do, things can be added or subtracted.
If you are reading this and making a new home, I hope that your home brings you happiness and joy and you enjoy setting up your kitchen and using it.
