Fresh Produce

Aubergine, 1 piece — the large purple variety, known in Indian kitchens as brinjal, baingan, vankaya or kathirikkai, and in German simply as Aubergine.

The flesh is mild and spongy raw and turns silky and almost creamy once cooked, which is why aubergine is treated as a body-giving vegetable rather than a flavouring one. Roast it whole over a flame and mash it for baingan bharta; cube it for a Bengali or Andhra curry; slice and fry it for bhaja, for a batter-fried bajji, or for the Mediterranean dishes it belongs to equally — moussaka, parmigiana, baba ganoush.

Choose a firm, glossy one that feels heavy for its size. Salting the cut slices for twenty minutes and patting them dry keeps them from soaking up oil. Store in the fridge and use within a few days.

Beetroot is called chukandar in Hindi and Rote Bete in German. It is a firm, round root vegetable with deep red flesh, an earthy flavour, and a texture similar to a dense carrot once cooked.

In Indian cooking it is grated raw into a beetroot salad or raita, cooked into a beetroot sabzi or poriyal with coconut, and occasionally used in cutlets. In German cooking it is common boiled and sliced into salads.

How to use

• Scrub well; peeling is easier after boiling or roasting than before.
• Boil, steam, or roast whole until a knife slides in easily, then peel and slice.
• Wear gloves or wash hands promptly, as the deep red juice stains easily; store in the fridge and use within one to two weeks.

Spinach is called palak in Hindi and Blattspinat or Spinat in German. It has tender, flat green leaves with a mild, slightly earthy flavour that wilts down significantly once cooked.

It is a base for palak paneer and saag, is cooked into a simple palak sabzi with garlic, and is added to dal to make dal palak. In German cooking it is common as a creamed side dish.

How to use

• Wash thoroughly in a few changes of water, as sand collects in the leaves.
• Trim any thick, tough stems before cooking.
• Store in the fridge and use within 2 to 3 days, as the leaves wilt and spoil quickly.

Cauliflower, called Blumenkohl in German and gobi in Hindi, is a compact white head made up of tightly packed florets on a pale stalk, with a mild, slightly nutty flavour and a firm bite that softens on cooking.

It is a staple Indian vegetable, cooked into aloo gobi with potatoes, a dry gobi sabzi with cumin and turmeric, or gobi manchurian in the Indo-Chinese style. In German cooking it is often simply steamed or baked with a cheese sauce.

How to use

• Cut the head into florets, discarding the thick core and outer leaves.
• Rinse well, or soak briefly in salted water, as insects can hide between the florets.
• Store in the fridge and use within about a week; it browns and softens as it ages.

This is the common green cabbage, called patta gobi in Hindi and simply Kohl or Weisskohl in German when pale, though this variety keeps its fresh green colour. The leaves are tightly layered around a firm core, crunchy when raw and softening quickly when cooked.

In Indian cooking it is shredded fine for cabbage thoran or poriyal with coconut and mustard seeds, cooked into a simple cabbage sabzi, or used raw in salads. It also works in German-style coleslaw or a quick stir-fried side.

How to use

• Remove the tougher outer leaves and rinse the head before shredding.
• Cut out the hard central core, which is not usually eaten.
• Store whole in the fridge, where it keeps well for one to two weeks; wrap a cut half in foil or a bag.

Cluster beans, also called guar or gawar in Hindi and gokarakaya in Telugu, are slim, firm green pods that grow in small clusters, with a mildly bitter, slightly crunchy flesh once cooked.

They are usually cooked into a dry gawar ki sabzi with onion and spices, or gokarakaya curry in Telugu cooking, and can be added in small amounts to a mixed vegetable dish.

How to use

• Trim both ends of each pod before cooking; very young pods can be left whole, while larger ones are often cut into shorter pieces.
• Cook thoroughly, as the pods are tough and slightly bitter if undercooked.
• Store in the fridge and use within about 4 to 5 days.

Coriander leaves are called dhania or hara dhania in Hindi and kothimbir or kothamalli in other Indian languages, known in German as Koriander. The delicate green leaves have a bright, fresh, slightly citrusy flavour and are used raw rather than cooked for long.

They are used as a finishing garnish over dals, curries and chaat, blended into green chutney, and mixed into salads and raitas.

How to use

• Wash well in a bowl of water to remove grit, as it grows close to the soil.
• Chop just before use, including the tender stems, which carry a lot of flavour.
• Wrap loosely in a damp cloth or paper and store in the fridge; use within 3 to 5 days.

Cucumber, called kheera in Hindi and Gurke in German, is a smooth green vegetable with crisp, watery, mildly sweet flesh, most often eaten raw.

In Indian kitchens it is sliced into raita with yogurt, chopped into a kachumber salad with onion and tomato, or eaten plain with a little salt and chilli powder. In German cooking it is common in a simple vinegar salad (Gurkensalat) or on bread.

How to use

• Peel if the skin is thick or waxed, otherwise it can be left on and washed well.
• Slice just before serving, as cut cucumber releases water and softens.
• Keep in the fridge and use within about a week.

Curry leaves are called kadi patta in Hindi and karivepaku or kariveppilai in South Indian languages; they are known in German as Curryblätter, though they are unrelated to curry powder. The small, glossy green leaves have a distinctive aromatic, slightly citrusy flavour that is released when they hit hot oil.

They are used almost everywhere in South Indian cooking: tempered in hot oil at the start of sambar, rasam, and dal, or added to chutneys and vegetable stir-fries.

How to use

• Strip the leaves from the stem before use, or add small sprigs whole.
• Fry briefly in hot oil with mustard seeds at the start of cooking to bring out the aroma.
• Store in the fridge in a sealed bag or container, where they keep for one to two weeks; they can also be frozen for longer storage.

Drumstick is the long, ridged green pod of the moringa tree, known as murungakkai in Tamil, munagakaya in Telugu, and sahjan or saijan in Hindi; it has no widely used German name. The pod is fibrous and inedible on the outside, with soft pulp and small seeds inside that are scooped out and eaten while the tough outer fibre is discarded.

It is best known as an essential ingredient in sambar, and is also cooked into a moringa curry or added to avial and other mixed vegetable dishes.

How to use

• Trim the ends and cut into finger-length pieces before cooking.
• Simmer until soft, then eat by scraping the pulp out with your teeth, discarding the fibrous shell.
• Keep in the fridge and use within a few days, as it dries out and toughens over time.

These are beefsteak tomatoes, called Fleischtomaten in German and tamatar in Hindi. They are large, firm, and meaty with fewer seeds than smaller tomato varieties, and a balanced sweet-tart flavour.

In Indian cooking they form the base of most curry gravies, go into tomato chutney, and are used raw in salads. In German cooking they are common sliced in salads or on bread.

How to use

• Wash before use; a brief dip in boiling water makes the skin easy to peel if a smooth gravy is wanted.
• For a curry base, chop and cook down with onion and spices until soft and the oil separates.
• Store at room temperature for a couple of days for full flavour, or in the fridge for up to a week.

Pink Lady is an apple variety, called seb in Hindi and Apfel in German, with pink-red skin over a yellow-green background and firm, crisp, juicy flesh with a balanced sweet-tart flavour.

It is eaten fresh as a snack, added to fruit salad, or used in German baking such as Apfelkuchen, where its firm texture holds up well during cooking.

How to use

• Wash before eating; the skin is edible and thin.
• Core and slice for baking, or cut into wedges for snacking and salads.
• Store in the fridge, where it keeps for two to three weeks, or at cool room temperature for about a week.

Avocado is known by the same name in Hindi and German (Avocado). It has tough, dark green to near-black skin over pale green, buttery, smooth flesh surrounding a single large central seed.

It is not a traditional Indian ingredient but is increasingly used in salads, sandwiches, and dips, and can be mashed into a version of guacamole or mixed into a raita-style side.

How to use

• Leave at room temperature until it yields gently to pressure, which signals ripeness.
• Cut lengthwise around the seed, twist the halves apart, and remove the seed with a spoon or careful knife tap.
• Once cut, the flesh browns quickly in air; a squeeze of lemon juice slows this, and it is best eaten the same day.

Garlic is called lahsun in Hindi and Knoblauch in German. It grows as a bulb made up of individual cloves, each covered in a thin papery skin, with a sharp, pungent flavour raw that mellows and sweetens when cooked.

It is a base ingredient in most Indian curries and dals, usually ground with ginger into a paste, and is also fried whole in tempering for dals and chutneys. In German cooking it flavours sauces, roasts, and bread.

How to use

• Separate cloves from the bulb as needed, leaving the rest intact for storage.
• Crush the clove lightly first to loosen the papery skin, which then peels off easily.
• Store the whole bulb in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place, not the fridge; it keeps for several weeks.

Fresh raw green banana, 400–500g — the cooking banana, known as plantain, kaccha kela, vaazhai kai or aratikaya, and in German as Kochbanane or grüne Banane.

Picked unripe, it is starchy rather than sweet and behaves much more like a potato than like fruit. South Indian kitchens use it for vazhakkai poriyal and fry, for Kerala thoran and avial, for Andhra aratikaya curry and for crisp banana chips; Bengali cooking turns it into kanchkola kofta.

Peel under running water or with oiled hands — the raw skin gives off a sticky sap — and drop the cut pieces into water with a little turmeric to stop them darkening. Store at room temperature or in the fridge and use within a few days, before the skin starts to yellow.

This is white onion, called Gemuesezwiebel in German and safed pyaz in Hindi. It has pale, papery skin and white flesh, with a milder, sweeter flavour than red onion, especially when cooked.

It is used in the same way as other onions, as a base for curries and gravies, and works especially well in dishes where a lighter colour and gentler flavour are wanted, as well as in German cooking such as soups and roasts.

How to use

• Peel off the papery outer skin before chopping or slicing.
• Cook gently over medium heat to bring out its natural sweetness.
• Store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place, not the fridge; it keeps for several weeks.

Green chilli, called hari mirch in Hindi and mostly known in German simply as gruene Chili, is the unripe form of the chilli pepper: slim, glossy, and firm, with heat that varies noticeably from mild to sharp even within the same batch.

It is used throughout Indian cooking as a base ingredient, slit or chopped into curries, dals and chutneys, or fried whole with salt as a side. It also flavours pickles and tempering (tadka) for dals.

How to use

• Wash and trim the stem before slitting, chopping, or using whole.
• Remove the seeds and inner white membrane for a milder result.
• Store in the fridge in a paper bag or open container; it keeps for around a week.

Banana is called kela in Hindi and Banane in German. This is the common yellow dessert banana, with soft, sweet flesh once ripe and a thick peel that is removed before eating.

Beyond eating them plain, ripe bananas are used in Indian cooking for banana halwa or as an offering in pooja, while slightly under-ripe ones are sliced and fried into banana chips or cooked as a vegetable in some regional dishes.

How to use

• Leave at room temperature to ripen; a fully yellow peel with a few brown spots means it is ready to eat.
• Once ripe, they can be moved to the fridge to slow further ripening, though the peel will darken.
• Use within a few days of ripening for the best texture.

These are blueberries, called Heidelbeeren in German; there is no widely used Hindi name, as they are not a traditional Indian fruit. They are small, round, deep blue-purple berries with a firm skin and juicy, mildly sweet-tart flesh.

They are eaten fresh on their own, added to fruit salads and yoghurt, and used in German baking such as Heidelbeerkuchen.

How to use

• Rinse gently just before eating, as washing too early can make them spoil faster.
• Pick out any soft or shrivelled berries before storing the rest.
• Keep in the fridge and use within about a week.

Carrots, called gajar in Hindi and Karotten in German, are firm orange roots with a sweet, earthy flavour, crunchy when raw and softening when cooked.

In Indian cooking they go into gajar ka halwa, a sweet carrot dessert, into a simple carrot sabzi or poriyal, and into mixed vegetable curries and pickles. In German cooking they are a common base for soups, stews, and Rohkost salads.

How to use

• Scrub or peel before use, depending on preference.
• Grate for salads and halwa, or cut into rounds or sticks for cooking.
• Store in the fridge, ideally in a bag; they keep for two to three weeks.

Okra, called bhindi in Hindi and vendakkai or bendakaya in South Indian languages, is known in German as Okraschote. The pods are long, ridged, and tapered, with a mild flavour and a texture that turns notably sticky and mucilaginous once cut and cooked in liquid.

It is most often cooked dry, as in bhindi masala or bhindi fry with onion and spices, so that it stays less sticky, and is also added to sambar or a mixed vegetable curry.

How to use

• Wipe the pods dry before cutting, since wet okra becomes stickier.
• Trim the stem end and slice or leave whole depending on the dish.
• Cook over fairly high heat with the pan uncovered to reduce stickiness, and use within 2 to 3 days of purchase as it softens quickly.

Lemon is called nimbu in Hindi and Zitrone in German. The variety sold here is the familiar yellow lemon, with a firm rind, juicy acidic flesh, and a sharp sour flavour.

In Indian cooking it is squeezed over dals and curries just before serving, used to make nimbu pani (lemon water) or achaar (pickle), and added to marinades. In German cooking it flavours dressings, cakes, and drinks.

How to use

• Roll firmly on the counter before cutting to release more juice.
• A squeeze of lemon added at the end of cooking, rather than during, keeps its flavour brighter.
• Store at room temperature for a few days or in the fridge for two to three weeks.