Well first of all let me say that you will be able to cook good Indian food in nearly any reasonably well equipped kitchen. I came to the conclusion that whilst there are some really useful things, there is a huge amount of stuff that you can buy that you will use twice and then forget about.
You don't have to go buying all sorts of special equipment like a tava or a karahi and things like a tandoor oven is just out of the question for most kitchens (although some people build them in the garden and they are pretty good for barbeques).
If you want to cook with the stuff you normally cook with there are some points to make.
Pans. You will need to use heavy bottomed pans quite a lot. These distribute the heat better but also retain the heat, so that you can fry things quickly but also simmer food without burning or sticking problems. Before I bought some Indian pans I used a cast iron saucepan for a lot of curries and a cast iron frying pan for breads. Avoid aluminium for most curry dishes as this can taint the food.
There is also a good case for using some pans only for Indian food. Some of the spice seem totally impervious to all attempts at washing them off.
Utensils. I use a wooden spoon for stirring and other plastic utensils where possible. Again I think metallic things can taint the food, particularly if you have things lime, vinegar or lime juice amongst the ingredients.
Grinding Spices. Some like to use a traditional mortar and pestle to grind spices. I'm not sure that this really adds anything (except preparation time) and
I have a coffee grinder that, for reasonably obvious reasons, I use only for spices.Obviously, if you are going to buy pans or equipment especially for Indian cooking, then you may as well buy traditional Indian cooking equipment - its actually quite fun to use.
The first Indian pan I bought was a tava (or tawa or tawah). This is basically a griddle pan which I use mostly for making breads (chapatti, naan etc) and dosas. You can also roast spices on it and saute onions and other vegetable.There is a recipe I have seen somewhere for tava fried vegetables - basically an Indian stir fry - will do this and put it on the site at some point. Use it as you would a griddle pan. This is a nice size Nonstick 11inch (26cm) Flat Tava.
A kadai is an Indian pan but with a thick bottom and handles. It is circular like a pan and used as a general purpose pan that can be used for shallow or deep frying as well as stewing and braising. Traditionally they are made from cast iron which holds the heat very well. You can also get them in copper and stainless steel and can even get them non-stick these days.
You don't have to go buying all sorts of special equipment like a tava or a karahi and things like a tandoor oven is just out of the question for most kitchens (although some people build them in the garden and they are pretty good for barbeques).
If you want to cook with the stuff you normally cook with there are some points to make.
Pans. You will need to use heavy bottomed pans quite a lot. These distribute the heat better but also retain the heat, so that you can fry things quickly but also simmer food without burning or sticking problems. Before I bought some Indian pans I used a cast iron saucepan for a lot of curries and a cast iron frying pan for breads. Avoid aluminium for most curry dishes as this can taint the food.
There is also a good case for using some pans only for Indian food. Some of the spice seem totally impervious to all attempts at washing them off.
Utensils. I use a wooden spoon for stirring and other plastic utensils where possible. Again I think metallic things can taint the food, particularly if you have things lime, vinegar or lime juice amongst the ingredients.
Grinding Spices. Some like to use a traditional mortar and pestle to grind spices. I'm not sure that this really adds anything (except preparation time) and
I have a coffee grinder that, for reasonably obvious reasons, I use only for spices.Obviously, if you are going to buy pans or equipment especially for Indian cooking, then you may as well buy traditional Indian cooking equipment - its actually quite fun to use.
The first Indian pan I bought was a tava (or tawa or tawah). This is basically a griddle pan which I use mostly for making breads (chapatti, naan etc) and dosas. You can also roast spices on it and saute onions and other vegetable.There is a recipe I have seen somewhere for tava fried vegetables - basically an Indian stir fry - will do this and put it on the site at some point. Use it as you would a griddle pan. This is a nice size Nonstick 11inch (26cm) Flat Tava.
A kadai is an Indian pan but with a thick bottom and handles. It is circular like a pan and used as a general purpose pan that can be used for shallow or deep frying as well as stewing and braising. Traditionally they are made from cast iron which holds the heat very well. You can also get them in copper and stainless steel and can even get them non-stick these days.