Kitchen Essentials

Basmati is a long-grain rice, and it behaves differently in a rice cooker than the short-grain rice most cookers are tuned for. Here’s what we’d actually buy for cooking basmati regularly.

We compared the steel water bottles and tumblers actually available on Amazon in the US and Canada — Milton insulated flasks, a Cello vacuum flask, a chai tumbler and a budget steel bottle — with a buying guide and FAQ.

We compared the stainless steel masala dabbas and spice boxes actually available on Amazon in the US and Canada — Shradha Trading, Nature’s Own, COTSILR and more — with a buying guide and FAQ.

Packing a proper Indian lunch is harder than it should be with a Western lunchbox. We compared the tiffin and lunch-box styles actually sold on Amazon in the US and Canada, from classic stacked steel tiffins to a vacuum-insulated jar for hot food.

A good idli comes down to steam, not fancy equipment — but the stand you steam it in still matters. We compared the idli stands and cookers actually available in the US & Canada.