Pantry Staples

Bonduelle Lentils 200g

Bonduelle White Beans 400g

Bonduelle Whole Mushrooms 200g

Erasco Lentil Stew 400g

Ja! Peeled Tomatoes 400g

Ja! Tomato Paste Double Concentrated 70g

Kühne Jalapeños 370ml

Priya Amla Pickle is Indian gooseberry, cut in pieces and pickled in oil with chilli and mustard, made without garlic. Amla is astringent and very sour on its own; the salt and oil round it out, leaving a puckering tartness that stays on the tongue well after the mouthful.

Best for

• Curd rice
• Plain hot rice with ghee
• Dal and rice, or khichdi

Serving

One piece at a time is plenty, particularly if amla is new to you, as the astringency is stronger than in a mango or lime pickle. Use a dry spoon and press the pieces back under the oil before the jar is closed, since anything above the oil line spoils first. Serve it alongside something plain and starchy rather than with another sour dish.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Coriander Pickle is fresh coriander ground into a pickle with oil, chilli and salt, made without garlic. It is green and herbal rather than fruity, closer to a preserved chutney than a cut-fruit pickle, and it spreads easily straight from the jar.

Best for

• Chapati and paratha rolls
• Hot rice with a spoon of ghee
• Sandwiches and toast

Serving

Use it where you would use a green chutney, but in smaller quantity, since it is saltier and sharper than a fresh one. Take it out with a dry spoon and level the surface so the oil covers the pickle again before closing the jar. Keep it in the fridge once opened and it will hold its colour longer, though it will darken with time either way.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Extra Hot Mango Avakaya Pickle is the Andhra avakaya made at a higher chilli level: raw mango pieces cured in mustard, chilli powder and oil, cut so the pieces hold their shape. Take the name literally. This is a genuinely fierce pickle and the mustard sits right behind the heat.

Best for

• Hot rice with a generous spoon of ghee
• Curd rice, which takes the edge off
• Plain dosa or pesarattu

Serving

A quarter-teaspoon is a serving for most people, so start smaller than you would with a milder pickle. Use a dry spoon at every serving and press the pieces back down so the oil covers the pickle before the jar is closed, because the part that sits above the oil is the part that spoils. Always serve something plain and cooling next to it.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Gongura Onion Pickle takes the same sour roselle-leaf base and cooks onion into it, which rounds off the sharp edge and gives the pickle more body and a faint sweetness. It is made without garlic, and it is the gentler of the gongura pickles.

Best for

• Hot rice with ghee or sesame oil
• Curd rice and dal rice
• Chapati, dosa and paratha

Serving

Because the onion softens the sourness, this one takes a fuller spoonful than plain gongura and works better as a spread on a chapati or roll. Use a dry spoon at every serving and press the pickle down so the oil settles back over the top before closing the jar. Never return leftover pickle from a plate to the jar.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Gongura Pickle is the Andhra roselle-leaf pickle, made without garlic: gongura leaves cooked down in oil with chilli and mustard until they turn dark and jammy. The leaves carry their own sharp sourness, quite unlike tamarind or lime, and that sourness is the reason the pickle is eaten.

Best for

• Hot rice with a spoon of ghee
• A side with pappu, or dal, and rice
• Dosa, idli and ragi sangati

Serving

Mix a teaspoon into the first few mouthfuls of hot rice and eat it with something plain alongside; gongura is strong enough to carry a meal on its own. Use a dry spoon and smooth the surface afterwards so the oil covers the pickle again before the jar is closed. Keep the oil layer intact and it will hold well in the fridge once opened.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Gongura Red Chilli Pickle is the sour roselle-leaf pickle with red chilli worked into it, so it runs hotter than the plain version while keeping the same distinctive leaf sourness underneath. It is made without garlic.

Best for

• Hot rice with a spoon of ghee
• Dal and rice, or ragi sangati
• Curd rice, which balances the heat

Serving

Start with half a teaspoon, since the chilli is noticeably forward here and it is easier to add a second spoon than to sit through the first one. Use a dry spoon and level the surface so the oil covers the pickle again before the jar goes away; pickle left above the oil line spoils first. Serve something plain alongside rather than another strongly spiced dish.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Green Chilli Pickle is sliced green chillies pickled in oil with mustard and salt, made without garlic. This is one of the hotter pickles on the shelf: the chilli is the whole point of it, softened but not tamed by the spices around it.

Best for

• Curd rice and plain dal and rice
• Paratha, roti and khichdi
• Pulihora and other tiffin rice dishes

Serving

Take one or two slices rather than a spoonful, at least until you know how hot you find it. Use a dry spoon and press the chillies back under the oil before putting the jar away, as any piece left above the oil line will spoil ahead of the rest. Serving it next to curd or yoghurt rice is the usual way to keep the heat in balance.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Lime Pickle in Lime Juice is lime pieces cured in their own juice and salt rather than in oil, which makes it sharper and cleaner on the palate than an oil pickle. The rind softens as the jar stands, and sourness leads, with chilli behind it.

Best for

• Curd rice
• Sambar rice and a South Indian thali
• Dosa, idli and chapati

Serving

Serve a piece or two at the side of the plate; this is a sharp pickle and a little sets off a whole meal. Use a dry spoon every time and press the pieces back under the juice before closing the jar, since fruit left above the liquid is what spoils first. There is no oil layer here, so the juice is doing that job and should never be poured away.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Tender Mango Pickle is whole baby mangoes, vadu mangai, cured in salted brine rather than in oil. The small fruit stay firm and are eaten whole, and the brine itself turns sour and salty enough to be spooned over rice on its own.

Best for

• Curd rice
• Plain rice with a little of the brine spooned over
• Lemon rice and other tiffin rice dishes

Serving

Lift out two or three mangoes at a time with a dry spoon, never with fingers, and push the remaining fruit back under the liquid before closing the jar, as anything left standing above the brine will spoil. The brine is part of the pickle and should not be drained off. This one is particularly good served cool with curd rice in warm weather.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Thokku Pickle is made in the thokku style, grated and cooked down in oil until it becomes a thick, spreadable paste rather than a pickle of whole pieces. It is made without garlic, and it is sour and hot in roughly equal measure.

Best for

• Hot rice with a spoon of oil or ghee
• Curd rice and lemon rice
• Chapati, paratha and dosa

Serving

A thokku mixes straight into hot rice without needing to be chopped or mashed first, which is the main reason to keep one in the house. Use a dry spoon on every occasion and smooth the surface afterwards so the oil covers the pickle again. Start with a teaspoon for a plate of rice and add more to taste, since the salt level is high.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Tomato Pickle is a cooked tomato pickle in oil, made without garlic. Unlike a cut-fruit pickle it has no firm pieces to bite through; it spreads like a thick chutney, sour and hot together, with the tomato cooked down until it darkens.

Best for

• Idli and dosa
• Curd rice and plain hot rice
• Chapati rolls and sandwiches

Serving

Because it is soft, it can be spread rather than spooned, which makes it the easiest of the pickles to use in a roll or on toast. Take it out with a dry spoon every time, and level the surface so the oil settles back over the pickle before the jar goes away. Do not return an unused portion from the plate to the jar. A teaspoon is enough alongside a full meal.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Annam Puffed Rice (Mumra) is rice puffed dry until it is light, crisp and almost weightless, sold plain and unsalted. It has little flavour of its own, which is exactly the point: it takes on whatever chutney, tempering or masala you mix through it and supplies the crunch. Straight from the pack it should snap rather than bend. If it has picked up any softness, spread it on a tray and warm it in a low oven or a dry pan for two or three minutes, then let it cool completely before using, which brings the crispness back.

Best with

• Bhel puri with onion, tomato and chutneys
• Chivda and other dry tempered snack mixes
• Jhal muri and quick masala mumra with peanuts

Pack and storage

400g pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

TRS Green Lentils are whole lentils with the skin left on — dark green-brown, firm, and quite different in behaviour from the split red kind. They keep their shape through cooking instead of collapsing, which makes them as useful in a salad as in a dal.

Best for

• Sabut masoor dal and whole lentil curries
• Lentil soups, stews and salads
• Sprouting

How to cook it

Rinse well and pick over for stones. Soaking is optional but a 30 minute soak cuts the cooking time. Simmer with about 3 parts water to 1 part lentils for 30 to 40 minutes, or pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles, until tender but still whole. Salt at the end — added early it keeps the skins tough.

Pack and storage

500 g. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

TRS Whole Yellow Peas are dried whole peas with the skin on — firmer and sweeter than the split kind, and they stay whole through cooking rather than falling into a purée.

Best for

• Ragda for ragda pattice and Mumbai chaat
• Matar ki ghugni and pea curries
• Thick soups, and sprouting

How to cook it

Soak for at least eight hours or overnight — unlike split peas, these will not soften properly without it. Drain, rinse, then pressure cook with fresh water for 4 to 5 whistles, or simmer for about an hour, until a pea crushes between the fingers but still holds together. For ragda, mash a portion and stir it back to thicken.

Pack and storage

500 g. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Annam Brown Sona Masuri is the same medium-grain South Indian rice left unpolished, so the bran layer stays on the grain. That gives it a tan colour, a firmer, chewier bite and a nuttier taste than white Sona Masoori, and it needs more water and more time in the pot.

Best for

• Everyday steamed rice with sambar, rasam or curry
• Curd rice and lemon rice, where the firmer grain holds up
• Pulao and one-pot rice dishes

How to cook it

Soak it for at least an hour before cooking; without a soak the bran keeps the grain tough. Pressure cook one cup with two and a half to three cups of water for four to five whistles and let the pressure fall naturally. In an open pot, boil in plenty of water for about thirty-five minutes and drain. Rest it covered for ten minutes before fluffing.

Pack and storage

5kg bag. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Yum Yum Instant Noodles Chicken 60g

Annam Idly Rice is a short, parboiled rice grown and milled specifically for batter, not for the table. Parboiling changes the starch so that ground with urad it ferments reliably and sets into idlis that are soft and spongy rather than dense.

Best for

• Idli batter, ground with whole urad
• Dosa, uttapam and paniyaram batter
• Adai and other ground rice tiffin dishes

How to cook it

This is a grinding rice. Rinse and soak it four to six hours, separately from the urad, then grind it slightly coarse, like fine semolina. Combine with smoothly ground urad at roughly three or four parts rice to one part urad, add salt and ferment eight to twelve hours somewhere warm until it has risen and smells faintly sour. Do not stir it down hard afterwards.

Pack and storage

5 kg bag. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.