Joseph Joseph Scoop Colander

Probably one of my better purchases from the US during my last trip. The scoop colander from Joseph Joseph. I use it regularly for deep frying chips and also when I cook pasta or boil vegetables.

Super handy! I bought the green one, btw :)

Claypot from Tamilnadu

These clay pots are extremely popular in Kerala for making Kerala fish curry, but Sudha got it from Tamil Nadu and uses it exlusively for her vegetarian dishes. Note from Sudha below:

My wish to submit a kitchen thing of mine to your blog 'meet my kitchen things' has finally come true!
I wish to submit a clay pot that I got it from India.

Its price is Rs 20, after bargaining (less than 50 cents USD)

I bought if from a stall put up during a Marriamman festival in my husband's native village near Kumbakonam - Tamil Nadu. (The best places to shop, in my opinion)

I use this clay pot to prepare vegetarain dishes like puli kuzhambu, pulisherry and mooru kozhambu.

The first dish I prepared it was red gram lentil curry.

More Silicon Bakeware from Chennai, India

Remember the Silicon Bakeware in Chennai that Divya shared with us a few days back? Well, my sis found some more awesome silicon bakeware in Chennai so check out what she has to say:

"I was on the look out for a shallow silicon bundt pan and came across these cute ones sitting pretty on the shelves of the home products section @Home Centre, EA Mall, Chennai.

The 24 ×13.5 × 7cm rectangular tray would be ideal for baking cakes and cookies in any kind of oven and is claimed to withstand the temperature range of -40C to +220C / -40F to +430F.

I am yet to lay my hands on this quality assured, chocolate coloured, refrigerator friendly product and will get back to you soon with my baking experiences!"

Price of the Silicon Rectangular Loaf Tray (size MIX 12) = INR 345

Location Purchased:
Home Centre,
Lifestyle International Pvt Ltd,
Express Avenue Mall,
49, 50L - White's Road,
Royapettah,
Chennai- 600 014

Website - www.lifestylestores.com

Huge thanks sis, for the contribution to MMKT :)

Stainless Steel Paneer Maker, Delhi, India

When I shared how I make paneer from scratch, Deesha left a comment saying she has a stainless steel paneer maker. I had never heard of a paneer maker so I pounced on her and kept harassing her until she very kindly shared the pictures and details with me.

How to use Paneer Maker from Scratch:

• Boil milk and split milk by adding sufficient lemon juice
• Place a vessel underneath the paneer maker to collect the whey
• Strain the curds into the paneer maker and close the lid
• Place a heavy object on top
• In about 15-20 mins time, all the excess water is strained through the sieve paneer is done

What? Stainless Steel Paneer Maker

Where: Karol Bhag, New Delhi

Price: Rs. 100 (~ USD 2)

Silicon Bakeware in Chennai, India

Silicon is all the rage when it comes to bakeware, especially for bundt cakes and muffins.

Divya shares with us her glorious find in Westside Chennai. In her words "I searched high and dry for Bundt pans and Silicone baking moulds in Chennai and Bangalore but in vain. But during my last visit to Westside in Chennai, I came across this lovely bakeware section which had Silicone/Non-stick Baking pans in all shapes and sizes. I chose a Yellow Bundt Pan and a Blue Mini bundt and was jaw-dropped at the price Rs.99 (approx 2 USD) per piece!"

That is quite a steal Divya! Congrats!! :)

What: Silicon Bakeware in Chennai, India
Where: Westside
Price: Rs. 99 (~ USD 2 per piece)

Boiled-Egg Squarer

Apart fromt the fact that it looks totally cool, egg squaring can help prevent them rolling off the plate or counter and imagine how neatly you can stack them in a sandwich!

To use, place a just-boiled, peeled egg in the middle and use use the swivel screw to push it down until its square.

Interested? Buy here.

Mini Porcelain Jugs from Thailand

Another cute find by Sala

Mini Porcelain Jug

"I saw these cute little creamer jugs on the plane to Bangkok; they were being used for the airlines dinner service. It was love at first site. I just had to find these little cuties when I got off the plane in Bangkok! Luckily, I didnt have to search hard. I found them at a kitchen goods store in the Emporium Mall. The sweetest part was they were just over a buck!

These jugs are perfect for serving milk along with tea or coffee. Ive also used them for honey, sauces etc. Here's a post where I've used it."


Cute stuff, we like!

Submit your own Kitchen Things. 

Baking Tins in India, Old Delhi

I remember back when I was living in India, getting ingredients for baking was always frustrating. In fact, sometimes getting the right bakeware in India was tough and usually expensive.

Deeba, the passionate baker we all know, fought through this frustration and emerged with this amazing find in Old Delhi.

Matchless Machine Tools

1730/B, Bazar Lal Kuan, Delhi 110006

Mohd Kashif, Ctc 9311150022

In her own words, "His stuff begins from about Rs30 and then goes up according to what you want. The individual muffin tins/molds were Rs40 or so. He deals in bakery ware, cake mould, bread mould, muffin tray, pizza tray, cake stand, halwai ware, kitchen ware, etc".

Here's Deeba's loot! That's a lot of stuff!!

So why wait, go grab them if you are live in or around that area and make the rest of us jealous. 

Lemon Reamer (Err.. What's a Lemon Reamer?)

Yep! That's pretty much the reaction I had when I saw Sala's email. When I saw this gorgeous lemon squeezing thingy on her Jalapeno Lemonade post (which, btw, have kickass photos!), I knew I wanted it to be up here in MMKT.

In Sala's words:

"When I first went looking for this kitchen tool, I asked the store assistant for the "thing you squeeze lemons with". "What thing?" she asked. I made a vigorous juicing gesture with an imaginary lemon on one hand, and this tool in the other. Thats all it require for her to point me in the right direction. Its called a lemon reamer or citrus reamer. It makes squeezing juice out of citrus fruit really easy. It comes in aluminum as well, but I like the wood one better."

(sidenote: Sala's pics are so gorgeous!)

What? Lemon Reamer / Lemon Squeezer
Where? Sala got it from Bed, Bath and Beyond. You can buy Online from Amazon (wooden reamer) or buy using this link on Amazon (aluminium reamer).
Price: USD 5.99 for the wooden one and USD 9.99 for the aluminium one.

Pyrex 1 Litre Glass Bowl with Lid

I have quite a few items sent to me by readers but I am being lazy and posting from drafts. From next week, the posts will be mainly from contributors and less about what's in my kitchen.

So, let's talk Pyrex bowls. This one was a hasty purchase because there was a sale and 50% off. I wish I had picked up one more because I use it for everything now. 

By everything, I mean, mixing batter for bajji, storing cut vegetables before cooking, freezing batches of dal, you name it. The nifty lid really helps transfer the glass bowl into a storage bowl in a jiffy. 

Its thick, its microwaveable, its Pyrex. Need more reasons?

What? Pyrex 1 Litre Glass Bowl with Lid

Where? Tangs Orchard, Singapore

Price: SGD 4 (at 50% off)

Microwave Egg Cooker

Cute kitchen tings always gets my attention, even more than cute babies do (sorry parents!). If the cute kitchen thing can also cook eggs in the microwave, even better. 

What? Microwave Egg Cooker

Where? NTUC FairPrice

Price: SGD 2

The one I have has a base and a lid with few holes on the top, for steam to escape. 

Its very simple to use and although it says 20-30 seconds, in my microwave, it took closer to a minute. 

I wish I had a picture of the cooked egg, but will post soon, I promise. 

Wooden Spoons - Dress Up Your Kitchen & Photos!

Sometimes you need to take a step back in life and appreciate the small things. Smallness that brings in joy and beauty - like wooden spoons do to a kitchen. I started using them mainly on my non-stick cookware but now I use them with pretty much any cookware. They are handy, easy to maintain and add a special touch to your food pictures.

Here's an example of that. Sala's gorgeous picture of her disposable wooden spoons, priced at 99cents (USD) for a pack of 6 from the World Market.

This pretty looking stack was sent by Mriganayani. Here's what she has to say about her collection. "No matter what kind of pan I use, I always use wooden spoons for cooking and stirring and scraping. I bought some of these from the shops in Guruvayoor temple when I visited there last time. The container that holds these is actually a wooden pickle jadi with a cover. But, I love to use this as a wooden spoon holder! They stay on my counter and look pretty. Each of these wooden spoons cost about Rs. 15  each. And the base was about Rs.600".

Here's a picture from my archives of Tomato Spinach Pulao featuring the coconut shell bowl and fork (the spoon is missing in the pic) that I bought for about Rs. 50 a pair.

Flan Mould / Cake Mould In India

Getting bakeware in India is probably not the easiest thing. However, a couple of contributors have begun to prove otherwise.

Reema has shared her very cute and chubby flan mould (which you can also use to bake bundt cakes in) with us. She has gone about some creative ways of sourcing bakeware in India although ordering stuff online in ebay.in is really a no-brainer. So get cracking guys, they have some good stuff, last time I checked!

What? Tramontina Brasil non stick cake / flan mould
Where? ebay.in
Price? 399 INR / 9 USD

Thanks a ton for sending this in Reema!

Ikea Egg Slicer

Here's a nifty little tool for mess-free slices of hard-boiled egg. In Sig's words, "It cuts hard bolied eggs into attractively thin slices and wedges for salads."

What? Egg Slicer
Where? Ikea
Price? Less than 5 USD

The egg slices look so pretty! And all it takes is a second with this slicer. You can see these egg slices in action on Sig's Curried Pork Belly Sandwich Recipe. 

Thanks for sharing your Kitchen Thing Sig!

Pie Pots - Dress Up Your Pies and Soups!

If something is versatile and pretty, that definitely gets my vote. And with these pie pots, what's there to not like?

What? Oven Proof Pie Pots
Where? World Market, Washington DC
Price? USD 3.99 each

 In her own words - "They are oven proof so great for things like pot pie or french onion soup. Their size is just perfect for individual portions. Who doesnt want a steaming pot full of something served in their own little personal pot! They came in red, yellow and green and I just couldnt resist the red!"

Thanks for sharing such a pretty Kitchen Thing Sala!

Spoon Rests - Pretty-fy Your Kitchen!

I am going to be honest here. I hadn't really heard of spoon rests before this was sent to me to be added to this site.

Now that I do know what they are, it all makes perfect sense. I am soon going to graduate from the small steel plates I currently use, to using a pretty spoon rest as soon as I can find one.

What? Spoon Rests
Where? Any kitchen store
Price? USD3 - USD10

This was sent to me by Mriganayani. If you haven't checked out her site yet, you should. She has some radical recipes in there - really.

A bit about her spoon rests, in her own words:

 My spoon rests - These are a must in my kitchen and they come in beautiful designs and colors - mine are simple though. But works perfect all the time. The really sturdy stainless steel ones cost more than the porcelain ones. But, I love the porcelain ones for their designs. But they do break easily - so you'll have to be careful with these especially while washing with soapy water. I've already broken a few in my cooking career! 


So what are you guys waiting for. Time to go spoon-rest shopping!

Spork? What's That?

These are funny yet interesting. I saw them in Tangs Orchard when I was browsing around for a new wok and immediately picked up two (from a whole range of bright and citrusy colours. Since I only chose two, I went for black and white.

What? Spork - a spoon-knife-fork combo

Where? Tangs Orchard, Singapore

Price? SGD 3.50 / Rs. 110 per piece

This is a nifty spoon-knife-fork combo, all rolled into one from the company Light My Fire. Mine say 'Made In Spain' although this looks like a US company. 

Anyway, they are cute, and a fun thing to have in the kitchen. They have a disclaimer that the knife edge may be too sharp for kids so be careful handing it over, although these look pretty and innocent.

Let me see if I can fit them into my food pictures soon!

Microwave Potato Steamer / Cooker

Raise your hands if you love potatoes. Yep, that's what I thought. This has got to be the most popular tuber out there and I'd guess that there are as many ways to boil them as there are types of potatoes in the world. 

Here's the simplest and most mess-free way I have seen so far.

What?  Microwave potato steamer

Where? Mustafa Centre, microwave gadgets section

Price? 10 SGD or 330 INR

Contributed by Raks, here's the description in her own words: 

"Want to cook potato in hurry? You might have seen potatoes kept as such in the microwave bursts and moves here and there sometimes. 

This cool gadget allows you to microwave and cook the potatoes (8 numbers maximum) in a jiffy. Takes only 4 minutes (+1 Minute standing time) to get cooked!! (Time may vary from one microwave to other but no huge differences. Only 1 or 2 minutes difference)

Just nail the potatoes in the sharp edges provided in the stand and microwave. The stand never gets hot!

What's more? The handle can be removed for easy cleaning and for storing purposes."

So,  how do you cook your potatoes?