New Delhi, April 18 -- In a professional kitchen, everything has a place and a purpose. But my home kitchen? I want to confess it is a different and chaotic yet aspirational landscape. It is a place where the boundary between the "chef" and the impulsive "feel good shopper" gets dangerously blurred.

While hunting for some honey toffee almonds tucked deep within the dark recesses of my wonder pantry, a search prompted by curiosity rather than hunger, I found myself excavating layers of forgotten indulgences gathered over months and years of travel.

Right behind the Sri Lankan mango chutney lay a clutter of edible souvenirs and sentimental curiosities. There was a small bottle of Old Bay Seasoning for shrimp boils, a half-used tin of butt...