How to Set Up Degchi in Five Minutes

Why setup matters more than you think

Every kitchen app has the same weak spot: the first five minutes. If it asks for too much, you quit. If it asks for too little, the suggestions feel generic and you quit a week later.

Degchi tries to ask only what changes the answer to "what can we cook today?". The welcome screen promises about 90 seconds. Give yourself five if you want to be thorough with your pantry, which is the bit that matters most.

This is the first post in the Degchi App Guide. Here is every screen, in order.

The screens, one by one

1. Language. You start by choosing your language. You can change it later in the app settings, so do not worry about picking wrong.

2. Where do you live? Pick your country, then answer "What food does your home cook?" You must choose at least one, and you can choose more than one. This decides which dishes appear first. A Pakistani household in Birmingham and an Indian household in Houston will see different shelves.

3. What are you here for? Choose My Kitchen. (A shop tool called Degchi Shop is on the way, but the kitchen is what is available now.)

4. Sign in or continue as guest. You can Continue with Google or Continue as guest. Guest mode works fine for trying things out, but without an account you miss family sync across phones, backup if you lose your phone, and publishing your own recipes. We explain this fully in Guest Mode, Google Sign-In, Backup and Privacy in Degchi.

5. How many people eat at home? Use the Fewer and More buttons to set your household size. Guests coming? You can change the servings on any single recipe when you cook.

6. Who usually cooks? You are listed by default. Tap + Add someone for a spouse, parent or helper who cooks.

7. What does your household eat? Choose Veg + meat, Mostly veg or Veg only; a spice level of Mild, Medium or Hot; and an Eggless only switch. You can also pick regional styles, such as Punjabi or Karachi street food. All recipes in Degchi are halal.

8. What do you want from Degchi? Goals like daily "what to cook" ideas, saving money on groceries, deciding meals with family, or learning to cook. This one is optional, and you can skip it.

9. When should we ask? This is the reminder screen: a lunch nudge, a dinner nudge and an optional water reminder. Tap Turn on reminders and your phone will ask for notification permission.

10. What's in your kitchen? The pantry setup, covered next.

The pantry step is the one to take slowly

You get two ways to fill your pantry: Pick dishes or Pick ingredients.

Most people find Pick dishes easier. It asks "What do you usually cook?" and you pick 5 to 15 dishes you make often. Degchi works out the ingredients for you. Then, on the next screen, "Mark what you have", it has already filled in the basics and you check the rest.

A small example. Say you pick masala chai, doodh patti chai and a few daals such as Masoor Daal or Split Chickpea Lentils. Degchi now knows you need tea leaves, milk, sugar, cardamom, lentils and so on, and you simply tick what is actually in the cupboard. It is faster than hunting through an ingredient list alphabetically.

Not in the list? There is a + Add an item that's not listed option for things like soy sauce.

The finish line

The last screens offer to invite your family. You can tap Maybe later and do it whenever you like. Then you land on a result screen that tells you how many dishes you can cook right now with the things in your kitchen. That number is the whole point of setup.

Why dishes beat typing ingredients

A pantry app is only as good as its starting data, and nobody wants to type in 80 ingredients. Picking dishes you already cook gets you a believable pantry in a couple of minutes, and the app fills in staples for you. That means your first suggestions are useful instead of random.

The reminders are gentle by design: one nudge at lunch, one at dinner, with the answer inside. We cover them in Meal Times and Reminders: Never Wonder at 6 pm Again.

Ready to try it?

Degchi is a free beta. The sign-up is just a Gmail address on the homepage form. Join the Degchi beta, set up your kitchen in five minutes, and tell us what we should improve.