Setting Comfortable Home in a new Place

Moving to a different place or country involves various tasks such as planning, shopping, packing, travelling/moving, unpacking and finally settling down. A safer and a smoother transition requires everything to be in sync. Not always things happen as planned and may often result in turmoil and trauma leading to messing up things.

A life saver idea is to be prepared well ahead of time with minimal tools and tips. One such life saver tool is 'LIST'. It helps us to stay smart and plan perfect to avoid last minute tensions. List doesn't need any formatting or alignment, so just pick up a note/scribbling pad and start listing items. Think in all possible angles and start listing tasks or items related to one room at a time.

Example: Start with kitchen, write down all the related tasks and items required and leave some extra space below to update later. Keep updating the list as and when you recollect and think of any tasks/items. Once done with kitchen, move on to other rooms like bedroom, kids rooms, pooja room, patio/yards/balcony and living room.

Once listing is complete, validate the items listed, shortlist the items and sort by categories like items to be sent by transport, items carried by you personally, packing style, validation of the items to check if they meet a country's custom policies. Ex: As per few countries' customs policies, perishable food items like sweets, fruits or vegetables or sometimes even pickles are strictly not allowed and may be asked to discard at the airport. Consider pros and cons of every single task to minimize wastage and unnecessary tension.

Follow the smooth list life cycle below:

Listing items > Updating list on a timely basis > Review > Shortlist the required items> Sort per categories> Finalize the list > Validation > Implementation

Kitchen

• First list down all the essential things you need for a convenient cooking.
• Depending on the destination place, take a call on how to gather or arrange for the required items.
• Do a little research on net, check forums or check with your friends/relatives living in that area.
• If you are moving within a same country, then its more like a cake walk but, if you are moving to a new country, you got to check various options like availability of all essential food items in that location, utensils catering to our cooking and their price, quality, accessibility to the nearest stores.

Note:
This is a common suggestion from most of my friends and relatives who settle here. This list can vary as per our regional cooking and preferences. You may customize the list or shortlist few items as per your interest or luggage permitting weight convenience.

LIST

Utensils and Cutleries

Pressure cooker (small) - any metal except steel as it burns food at the bottom
IDLY Plates
Rolling Pin BELAN (to roll chapathis)
Rolling pin Base Chakla (optional)
Mixer grinder (Preethi high power 110 W is good)
Chopping board (Anjali) Small - knife attached to board....for comfortable chopping
Desi Spice rack (steel spices box)

Wet grinder (for frequent batters)
Spoons and forks - 1 dzn
Mortar pestel - to grind fresh spices/garlic - small - optional
Dosa Tawa - light weight - Nonstick
Steel Spatulas and scoops to serve rice/dal

Steel Plates - 4 - small
Steel bowls - 4 - small
Apple cutter
Peeler
Long Coconut scrapper
Food
Sambar/Rasam powders....home made
Masala powders
Achars/pickles
Tamarind pulp home made (optional)
Vadiyams - home made and the list on and on.......as per your convenience

Miscelaneous Items (for living room/kids room/bedroom/personal)

Portable Family Snaps
Photo albums
Personal phone number diary
Travel safe Wall decors

Indianised dresses for parties
Regional language wall calendar for festivals
Animation Regional kids movie CDs/DVDs (you may not find them all in abroad stores)
Regional cooking books
Regional music CDs for car/IPod
Gods' photos
Pooja items
Favorite Indian designer bed sheets (optional)
Designer fancy Hair clips, Bindi, hair bands, comfort combs etc.

Things U Must Have Handy in Kitchen (Life Savers)

Its common for all of us at some point of our

mundane life to run in to a situation wherein we are unplanned/ have a short span of time to cook /unexpected guests coming for lunch/dinner. By maintaining few items in your kitchen handy, you can do wonders!!

These tips are for the benefit of my newly married cousins/friends, bachelors, students and for all the great homemakers who need a quick back up or life saving ideas with minimum kitchen handy items:

Refridgerator:

Maintain a minimum stock of the below items:

1. Eggs: You can make quick and pleasing dishes like Boiled eggs fry, egg gravy, scrambled egg, omlettes etc.
2. Milk: You can prepare flavoured milk, custard or kheer in no time.
3. Yogurt: Very gifted item during summers. You can make cool raithas, masala lassi, yogurt gravies (recipes soon).
4. Ranch Sauce: A great back up for yogurt or sour cream. It can be used for salad dressings, burger and sandwitches and also can be used in gravy curries like butter masala and kofta curries (recipes soon).
5. Tomato puree/paste: Can be used to make quick chutneys, rasams, gravies and soups.

Freezer section

1. Mixed vegetable pack - Available in freezer section of any grocery store. Maintain atleast 1 pack - a great backup for vegetables.
2. Butter (Fat free unsalted) - comes handy all the time - a great back up when you are running short of oil/ghee.
3. Puff Sheets - Peppridge farms brand - A great handy item for appetizers. You can bake any variety of puffs in just 10-15 mints.

Kitchen Shelves

1. Potatoes - maintain atleast 1 pound stock....a life saver and a great veggy and can be cooked in short span. Ex: Aloo crisps (receipe posted), aloo kurma and aloo paratas.
2. Onions - I know this is a frequently used item and very often we run out of stock. In such cases a fried onion pack can be a great saver. Fried onion packets are available in indian stores for about $3.50 cents. Better to keep a pack handy as it has got a longer shelf life. To be more cost effective, if you have patience make your own fried onions (receipe in vahrehvah) and store in an air tight storage box or zip lock.
3. Masala packs: MDH/Everest/Shaan brand. Keep handy each pack of Chana/Chole masala (great for any gravies, pav bhaji etc.), Biryani masala (use for any variety of rice dishes or even can be used for gravies), Chat masala (a great flavour to your raithas, boiled eggs and also fruit chats).
4. Kasthuri methi / dried flavoured fenugreek leaves: MDH brand: A great back up for coriander or mint leaves. Each pack lasts long for almost year. Comes in handy to garnish and also adds a great flavour in all butter masala curries.
5. Cashews/Almonds/Raisins: Always maintain minimum stock. You can use them in any dessert, also you can powder them and use to make flavoured milk/shake.
6. Bread/Bun: Make sure you keep a pack handy as its a great life saver. You can make yummy bread/bun pizza (recipe sooon), pav bhaji, burgers and sandwitches.
7. Miscellaneous: Aluminium foil sheets (for baking and grilling) saves a lot of clean up time. Zipper foils for left over storage.

Now I am running short of my ideas...well can't have a back up for this :) If you think there are any other tips you are welcome to share through comments and I would love to add them back here.