KITCHEN PRACTICE 1 — Pantry Audit
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Chapter: Indian Cookery 1 — Foundations & the Indian Pantry

TASK
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Audit your own pantry against this chapter's own list, and note
which missing items are needed soonest.

WHAT TO DO
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Go through the chapter's own pantry section item by item and check
off what you already have on hand:

  [ ] Whole cumin seeds
  [ ] Whole coriander seeds
  [ ] Ground turmeric
  [ ] Whole mustard seeds
  [ ] Green and/or black cardamom pods
  [ ] Cinnamon sticks, cloves
  [ ] Red chili powder or Kashmiri chili
  [ ] Asafoetida (hing)
  [ ] Garam masala (whole spices to make your own, or a bought blend)
  [ ] Ghee
  [ ] At least one or two lentil (dal) varieties

Then look ahead at what's coming:

  - Chapter 2 (roasting and grinding) and Chapter 3 (tempering) both
    need whole cumin and mustard seed almost immediately — the most
    urgent gap if you're missing either.
  - Chapter 6 (dal) needs at least one lentil variety and a
    pressure cooker.
  - Garam masala isn't needed until later chapters, so there's no
    rush sourcing or blending it yet.

WHY THIS MATTERS
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Most of this chapter's pantry is available at a well-stocked Asian
or Indian grocery store, and increasingly at ordinary supermarkets
too — the real discipline here is buying whole spices where you
reasonably can, rather than settling for whatever pre-ground jar is
already in the cupboard. Doing this audit now means Chapter 2's
roasting and grinding work doesn't stall on a missing bag of whole
cumin seeds.