My Pantry

A good pantry encourages you to think out of the box. If you are planning to whip up new dishes with the vegetables and protein you got in your refrigerator, fill up your pantry with these:

Spices:
Dried Oregano, Basil, Parsley, Dill, Rosemary, Italian seasoning. These will last forever and add great flavor to any dish. You can grow indoor plants as well. But  I don't prefer buying them fresh at the grocery store as they are too costly (except parsley). Dried leaves have intense flavor than the fresh ones. You can replace 3 tablespoons of any of the above fresh leaves with 1 tablespoon of their respective dried variety.

Paprika, Chili powder, Chili flakes etc. to add little heat to the dish. 

Whole spices like Coriander, Cumin, Star Anise, Fennel, Garlic powder, Onion powder, Salt and Pepper.

Sauces:
Mayonnaise, Dijon musturd, Tomato sauce, Soy sauce (regular or low sodium), Rice vine vinegar, Honey, Toasted sesame oil, Sambal or Chili garlic paste, Fish sauce, Oyster sauce, Chinese barbeque sauce, good White wine.

Few more ingredients:
good Olive oil, Garlic, Ginger, Tomatoes, Capers, Lime juice, Lemon juice, Chicken stock / Vegetable stock.

And yes...all the wonderful vegetable produce you find at the market.

Well, it looks like a long long list. But believe me, these make life so much easier. If you stack these up in your pantry, they will last forever. Also, you don't need to have all of the above. Some of you might not like Chinese and some of you may not like Italian. You can always skip some of these ingredients according  to your preferences. But I would try every cuisine thats easy to make and tasty to my palette.