Soya granules are the cheapest protein in the shop and one of the most useful. Dried, shelf-stable, and they take on whatever flavour you put around them.

Soak them in hot water first, then squeeze them out hard. That squeeze is what stops the finished dish tasting watery.

Use them as a mince substitute in keema, in stuffed paratha, in a dry sabzi, or mixed half and half with real mince to stretch it. They are also a straightforward way to feed vegetarians substantially.

In the pantry aisle at Curry Corner, North Melbourne.