Milk

Milk (दुध) is one of the universal kitchen essentials and is widely used in a variety of cuisines.In India, the liquid has a religious importance and is often offered to gods as प्रसाद (an offering). Most people use cow milk while some household may rely on goat or sheep milk for their daily quotas.

India being the world's largest producer of milk, the calcium-rich liquid finds it's importance amongst an array of Indian cuisines. A number of Bengali sweets use paneer/chenna which is a by-product of milk. Maharashtrian cuisine uses milk in a variety of forms.Liquid milk is used to make a spiced Masala Dudh, which is usually prepared on Kojagiri, an agrarian festival marking the end of monsoon and the harvest of kharif crops. Masala Dudh is sometimes thickened to make Basundi.
Yogurt is served as an accompaniment or in the form of chutneys for dishes like Kachoris etc. It is also one of the principal ingredients for dishes like kadhi, dahi wada etc.
Hung curd is used to make delicious Shrikhanda, while thickened milk or basundi is used to make Shahi Tukda.
Evaporated milk is a recent development so when during my mum's childhood, poeple would dilute Condensed milk and use that when regular milk wasn't available.
Milk is a good source of Calcium and Vitamin D, which are very necessary during the growing years. The Calcium in dairy is easily absorbed which builds bone mass. It is also essential for good healthy teeth. It is said that if in case one knocks of their permanent tooth, it can be preserved in milk untill the dentist can fix it. I hope nobody has to test that!