Indian food is famous all around the globe for its taste, the variety of spices and herbs, and the method of preparation. It is, therefore, common to find that obtaining the right Indian flavors and textures is due to using age-old Indian cooking utensils. For the Indian cook, the kadahi is as indispensable as the tawa, and these tools do more than just help prepare a dish – they define the food. In this blog, we will look at the different pieces of utensils that are traditional to Indian cooking and how they help you turn your kitchen into a place where you prepare real Indian food.
The Importance of Using Authentic Cooking Utensils
Historical and Cultural Significance
Most of the utensils used in Indian cooking are culturally and historically significant, and many of them are inherited. Tawa, kadahi and the vadi and cholak – the grinding stone–have been part of Indian kitchens for generations. Apart from their gastronomic cultures, they reflect the ethnic and geographical peculiarities of Indian states and the variety of recipes.
Impact on Flavor and Texture
One tip that can help improve the taste and texture of Indian food is to use real Indian cooking utensils. For example, a tawa is ideal for making chapati because it provides an appropriate surface texture. These tools are to emphasise the richness of Indian spices and ingredients, so that meals are cooked to ideal.
Modern vs. Traditional Tools
Modern kitchen gadgets are quite useful, but they cannot reproduce the real flavor of the utensils used in Indian kitchens. Products such as masala dabba or silbatta are designed to cater to Indian cooking and are a much more satisfying way to cook. It is important to use traditional utensils because they give the meal a taste and feel that no gadget can provide.
Essential Indian Cooking Utensils
Kadahi
The kadahi is a round base pan that is an all-time tool in every Indian kitchen. It is one of the most common utensils used in the kitchen for deep frying, stir-frying, and even making curry. The kadahi also has a consistent heat dispersion, which is crucial to providing the dense flavors associated with Indian dishes. This steady heat source is very helpful, whether deep frying pakoras or stewing a curry in the kadahi.
Tawa
A tawa is a flat or slightly concave griddle essential in an Indian kitchen for preparing a range of foods, especially flatbreads. This tool is very important in the preparation of most Indian breads, such as chapati, roti, paratha, and dosa, among others. The tawa’s material and surface ensure that the dosa has the right edges or that the chapati is evenly cooked. The uniform heat distribution of a tawa makes these breads cook well, thus the practice in Indian cooking.
Belan
The bean and chakra are traditional instruments commonly used in preparing Indian bread. These functions help to spread the dough to a thin and even consistency, which is important in making chapatis, puris, and other bread-like products cook evenly. The bean and chakra are also used to give the dough the required thickness, which is important in determining the texture and feel of the final product.
Masala dabba
A masala dabba is a round metal container well-known in India. It serves as a spice container in Indian kitchens. Because of the compartments, it stores spices often used during cooking in easy-accessible place to enhance the cooking process. The masala dabba is an essential utensil to preserve the quality of spices on which most Indian dishes are based. This useful accessory allows all the spices required to be easily accessible and within reach to add a burst of warm and flavorful notes to your dishes.
Idli steamer
An Idli steamer is an appliance used in preparing idlis, which are light steam cakes usually found in the South Indian territory. It is used in preparing steamed foods like idlis or any other steamed foods like dhokla etc. Stewing is an essential process in Indian cuisine, and the Idli steamer helps the food to be cooked properly and remain soft. It does not stick on the base and steams perfectly every time; thus, it is among the necessary utensils for cooking South Indian dishes.
Specialty Utensils for Indian Cooking
Mortar and pestle
The mortar and pestle, locally called the silbatta, are among the earliest tools that have been used in Indian kitchens. It is mainly employed for grinding spices and making pastes, which are the constitutive ingredients of many Indian recipes. The silbatta is useful in grounding spices in a way that releases the oils in them, thus improving the taste of the food. This traditional method also helps preserve the texture of the spices, unlike the electric grinder that leaves the spices powdery.
Chimta
The Chimta is a basic and important utensil used for turning over and lifting flat bread, such as roti and paratha, on the tawa. It is long and rigid, enabling a cook to handle flatbreads at high temperatures without making them tear or burn. The chimta holds delicate breads well without damaging them and is a must for anyone preparing traditional Indian flatbreads.
Achu murukku maker
Achu murukku maker is specially designed equipment for preparing fine South Indian snacks, particularly murukku. This utensil shapes the dough into tender, spiral forms that, when fried, become crunchy to the taste. The achu murukku maker provides uniformity in shape and surface area, which is essential for preparing these festive snacks in the traditional way.
Puttu maker
The puttu maker is a special vessel used to prepare puttu, which is a common dish in South India that is made with layers of steamed rice flour and coconut. This cylindrical steamer ensures that the puttu is steamed uniformly to get a soft and porous texture. The right equipment is important to achieve the right type of puttu which carries a lot of cultural value in the South Indian region.
Coconut scraper
Last but not least, the coconut scraper is widely used in most Indian families, especially in the southern part of the country. This is used for grating fresh coconut, which is commonly used in many recipes. Adding freshly grated coconut has its own taste and texture, as opposed to the taste and texture of frozen grated coconut. With a coconut scraper, you can add this essential component to your kitchen to make South Indian cuisine more genuine.
Conclusion
To make Indian dishes more tasty and original it is necessary to use Indian utensils for cooking. kadahi, tawa, and masala dabba are some of the traditional cooking equipment since they help develop the layered flavors of Indian foods. If you use these utensils in your daily cooking, every meal you prepare can be as exotic as the image you have in mind. Begin your experience with DesiClik and shop for various traditional Indian cooking utensils that will help you to cook and understand Indian cuisine much better.
