Introduction
India has a diverse and long heritage of traditional cookware. This blog addresses how traditional cookware has made a huge comeback and why it is time for you to put away that non-stick pan.
Traditional Cookware and Its Association to Indian Food
In fact, in the history of traditional food, even the food in our own homes is associated with the knowledge of ancient metals and other materials in which food was cooked, for optimum flavour and nutrition. Traditionally, a copper lota was filled the night before for the first glass of water in the morning. In the good old days, Traditional Brass & Copper utensils were extensively used because of their lightweight and amazing benefits to lead a healthy life. Any meat or vegetable or meat with the gravy was cooked in a brass degchi with ghee, dry vegetables in an iron Kadai and cold-pressed local oils. Rotis, phulkas, and dosas were prepared on a seething hot iron Tawa, with a brush of ghee; subtle Kerala fish stews were always cooked in a clay meen chatti. The most sought after and frequently used stone cookware is the one made of soapstone, called Kal Chatti. The most authentic tamarind based gravies and spinach are all made in this soapstone cookware.
The Transition to Modern Cookware
Somewhere during all this time, perhaps as recent as our parents’ generation, there was a shift from inherited pans and pots to the shining advent of aluminium and stainless steel — which did not need any scrubbing, shining, or seasoning – these utensils gleamed without the added fuss, maintenance, and expense of its predecessors. A little later, the non-stick Teflon coating pans took things in a completely different direction. Most people started believing that the traditional cooking patterns they had been following all those years were simply unhealthy. The non-stick Teflon cookware made the country inherently question all its traditions and food habits. Everything was thereafter a mathematical equation of protein, fat, fibre, and carbohydrates. The only discussion about food in the late 1990s and the early 2000s was diet food, and disapproval towards traditional foods that used ghee, sugar, and oil as their base.
However, drawbacks in this new age system began to show. Slowly and steadily, people began to rediscover the traditional utensils that had long been forgotten – such as the golden brass degchi with a fine tin lining, perfect for slow-cooked pulaos and gravies; the impressive, eeya chombu (Tin vessels) to prepare the best tomato rasam, the majestic Bronze uruli to make payasam; most fell back in sync with their buried mortar and pestle. People started pulling out their copper lotas to drink water from every morning. Potato roast, ladies finger fry or the tastiest of the chicken or fish fry, the distinct taste of making it in cast iron Kadai is memorable. black pottery Kadai is aesthetically appealing, gives a unique flavour and aroma to the food cooked, retains heat for longer, cooks without burning food and kills harmful germs.
The Pandemic and Renewed Interest in Traditional Cookware
Compared to aluminium and non-stick vessels, traditional cookware requires additional maintenance, and some has varied cleaning methods, and needs to be cured before use. Clay, stone, and iron need to be gradually heated. Brass and copper, highly reactive with acidic elements, required to be lined with tin — an olden purifying metal. However, the pandemic created a renewed interest in traditional cookware. The key reason for this renewed interest is that it is a well-known fact that conventional utensils boost immunity. Immunity, coupled with intent towards mindful eating, tasty and aromatic food, and safe cooking methods, has seen a huge surge in the requirement for conventional utensils. Several now understand that traditional cookware also cooks food faster and saves fuel and cooking time. Many households are now replacing their non-stick cookware for woks, cast Iron tawas, Kalchatti, brass and bell metal urulis, and earthen pots.
The surge in the demand is such that most sellers are working round the clock to make brass, bronze and copper vessels. Urulis of different circumferences are witnessing the demand from customers all across India. These vessels are also being customized according to today’s need. They come in varied sizes and shapes, which helps a family to choose according to their needs. Some of them come pre-seasoned so you can start using them straightaway,
Conclusion
In many instances, the cookware has been modified for modern, smaller families. All dishes cooked in traditional cookware give a more authentic flavour. Not only does the food cooked in traditional cookware taste pure and clean, but it also has a host of health benefits. Going back to the roots in the kitchen is the best option.
Zishta provides a range of authentic hand-crafted traditional home and kitchen products direct from place of origination to enable a sustainable holistic lifestyle.
