How to Build a Traditional Indian Pantry

A traditional Indian pantry does not need to be extensive to be genuinely useful, a handful of staples across grains, pulses and oils covers a surprising range of everyday cooking.

Where to start

A wheat flour, Banshi is the easiest starting point, covers roti and paratha, the daily backbone of most meals.
A fast cooking pulse, split masoor dal, covers quick everyday dal without much planning ahead.
A versatile pulse, split urad dal, extends into tempered dals, khichdi and South Indian batters.
An everyday cooking oil, yellow mustard oil, covers tempering and general sabzi across most regional styles.
From there, daliya, semolina, a second wheat variety or a specialty oil like sesame can be added as your cooking grows more varied.
None of this needs to happen at once, a pantry built gradually still gets you cooking properly from the very first purchase.

Picked this week

Pantry starter set

Bagi Farm II · Bagi

Banshi Wheat Flour

$0.67 · 1 KG

Najirpur Farm II · Najirpur

Red Lentils Broken

$1.25 · 1 KG

Sajerah Farm I · Sajerah

Yellow Mustard Oil

$2.75 · 1 KG

Our standards

Building a pantry questions

What are the absolute essentials to start with?: A wheat flour, a fast cooking pulse and an everyday cooking oil cover a wide range of meals on their own.
Should I buy heritage wheat varieties from the start?: Banshi is a reasonable starting flour, with Kathiya and Paigambari worth adding once you know your preferences.
How many pulses do I really need?: Two is a reasonable starting point, one fast cooking and one more versatile, adding more as your cooking expands.
Is one cooking oil enough to start?: Yes, a single everyday oil like yellow mustard oil covers most basic cooking needs to begin with.

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