aheli wanders

It’s no secret that I’ve been a recent convert to cooking. I blame New York and it’s mysterious “it’s cheaper to order take-out food than grocery shop” culture. Since moving to Brooklyn and gaining a human size kitchen and access to THREE, yes you read it, THREE grocery stores, I have become semi-obsessed with cooking. Today, I thought I’d share the five items that have made it possible.

Instapot

This kitchen appliance has reached cult-like followings on facebook and instagram. I’m pleased to say that I’m a part of that cult. Seriously, this is a miracle machine. We use it to make the perfectly cooked chili in 40 minutes, perfectly cooked potatoes in 7 minutes. Our friend made the best tasting greek yoghurt, using two ingredients. The Instapot is a 7 in 1 appliance, combining a pressure cooker, yoghurt maker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, saute pan and hard-boiler egg maker. If you get only one thing off this list, I hope it’s the Instapot.

Sous Vide Machine

This was the first kitchen appliance that we bought for our kitchen. At first, I was confused. Cooking meat in a water bath. That really didn’t sound appealing. And then, G convinced. Previously, I was scared of under or overcooking meats and fishes. Now, I put the protein in a zip lock bag, submerge it in water, hit two buttons on my phone, and 30 minutes later, I have the most perfectly cooked piece of meat/fish ever. The science behind it is fascinating. We got the Joule, and are

A Fancy Knife

There are some disagreements in our household as too which knife is the best. My first big kitchen purchase, back in the day, was this beautiful ceramic knife that I use for everything. G’s pride and joy his massive chef knife. We use both constantly. No matter what your preference, invest in a good knife. It will save you time and energy

Silicon Baking Mat

In an effort to become a little more green in our kitchen, I invested in a lot of different reusable tools. My baking mat is the best purchase that I made. It replaces aluminum foil, and you can bake anything- cookies, madeleines, frozen samosas, salmon.

A Wooden Spoon

Full disclosure: my mom left her wooden spoons in our apartment, after nicely cooking four huge trays of biryani for a family get-together. Instead of bringing them back to her, I’ve kept them and I’m not entirely sure I ever want to give them back. These are simple, but they are perfect for stiring pasta, extracting those Wiley hard-boiled eggs, and generally look wonderful. There is no science why, but I love these more than my plastic spatulas that always seem to get burned or melted. That honestly can’t be healthy.

Featured Image:  Jeff Sheldon on Unsplash 

Second Image:  byHuyen on Unsplash

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