The mise en place

Mise en place,* literally the “putting in place,” is a technique by which you measure, separate, slice, chop, dice, mince or otherwise prepare ahead individual ingredients placing them into small bowls or containers before attempting to execute a more complex dish.

Here you can see the crushed garlic and parsley ready to be added to olive oil for brushing on the naan I’m making at the left while in front of the bowl of garlic, I have some of the ingredients for a khurma including (anticlockwise from the garlic) ground pepper, salt, tumeric, roasted coriander, sliced tomates, golden raisins, cashews, tomato purée and, in the center, ground and roasted spices (cumin, garam masala, cardamom, red pepper, etc.).

* It’s a French culinary expression, what did you expect?