The Three Vegetables Every Curry Starts With

Before a masala, a kuzhambu or a simple poriyal takes shape, most Tamil cooking starts in the same place: a hot pan, a little oil, and some combination of onion, garlic and ginger. These three don't get much individual attention in recipe writing because they're assumed knowledge — but picking good ones and prepping them properly changes a dish more than almost any other single step.

Onion: the base that needs patience

Big onion is the workhorse of Tamil cooking — sliced or chopped and cooked down as the base of nearly every gravy. The difference between a good gravy and a flat one is often just how long the onion was given to cook: rushed onion stays raw-tasting and sharp, while onion that's been sautéed patiently over medium heat until it turns translucent and starts to soften develops a natural sweetness that carries through the rest of the dish. For a kurma or a kuzhambu, that patient first step is worth the extra few minutes it takes.

Garlic: whole cloves for tempering, paste for gravies

Garlic gets used two distinct ways in Tamil kitchens. Whole cloves, lightly crushed, go into the tempering (thalippu) for sambar or rasam, added to the hot oil along with mustard seeds and curry leaves for a quick burst of flavour rather than a slow cook. Ground into a paste, garlic (usually with ginger) forms the aromatic base for thicker gravies and non-vegetarian curries, added early and cooked out until the raw edge disappears. Buying whole heads rather than pre-peeled cloves and peeling as needed keeps garlic fresher for longer.

Ginger: for both gravies and the tea kettle

Ginger shows up almost as often outside the curry pot as in it — a slice or two goes into the tea kettle in most South Indian households, alongside its role in ginger-garlic paste for gravies and in rasam. For gravies, ginger is usually grated or ground fresh rather than used in slices, since the fibrous texture doesn't break down well on its own. A small knob goes a long way; ginger's flavour is strong enough that most recipes call for noticeably less of it than onion or garlic by volume.

Buying and storing all three

• Choose onions that are firm with dry, papery outer skin — any softness or dampness near the root end is the first sign of spoilage.
• Buy garlic as whole heads and store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated spot — not the fridge, where humidity encourages sprouting.
• Choose ginger with smooth, taut skin; wrinkled or shrivelled ginger has dried out and lost some of its bite.
• Store ginger in the fridge, ideally wrapped loosely rather than sealed airtight, to slow moisture loss.
• Peel only what you need for the day's cooking — pre-peeled garlic and ginger lose flavour faster than whole, unpeeled pieces.

None of these three keep as briefly as leafy greens, which makes them easy to stock up on rather than buy fresh for every meal — but buying them fresh still makes a noticeable difference in how sharp and clean their flavour comes through. All three are in the vegetables category, and with Express delivery in about 60 minutes, there's rarely a reason to substitute a stale clove of garlic for a fresh one.