Do you remember the unique taste of your grandmother's food? Of course, many of us still crave our grandmoms' handmade dishes because they had such a distinct flavour. One of the reasons behind the special taste is the use of conventional cookware and traditional cooking techniques. The utensils that we use today are very different from what our ancestors used for cooking. The traditional cookware is a part of the rich culture of the Indian heritage. Most of the utensils that were used ages ago are still being used in everyday cooking to date. Let's know about the 6 traditional utensils of India in this article.
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Here Are 6 Traditional Kitchen Utensils Of India That Are Still Popular:
1. Sil Batta
Sil batta is one of the oldest kitchen tools that is used to make wet pastes. This is a traditional grinder made of a flat stone slab known as 'sil' and a cylindrical stone masher known as 'batta'. The herbs are kept on the sil, and with the help of batta, they are turned into a thick wet paste. The batta is pushed through hands in to and fro motion which requires a lot of muscle strength. But it produces flavours like no modern appliance can.
A flat stone grinder to make wet pastes.
2. Soru Vadi Thattu
Also known as a boiled rice strainer, soru vadi thattu is a natural rice filter tray made with palm leaves. It is used to sieve hot water from boiled rice. The palm leaves filter tray does not get hot easily; this is what makes it best to hold and strain hot water in large quantities. These are mostly used in weddings while preparing a huge batch of rice.
3. Mathni
Have you seen your mother churning lassi at home with a long churner? Yes, that churner is called the mathni. It is a traditional Indian muddler made of wood, which has a long wooden handle and circular base with wide gaps. Mathni is basically used to churn out buttermilk and butter easily at home. Nowadays, stainless steel mathnis are also available in the market.
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4. Khal Dasta
Also known as mortar and pestle, khal dasta has been an important part of Indian cooking. Years back when mixers and grinders were not available, people used stoned carved mortar and pestle to grind dry spices and herbs. These take lesser space as compared to the sil batta and can easily be used too.
Grind dry spices with your hand on a Khal dasta.
5. Matka
Before water bottles and refrigerators were introduced, people in India used matka to store water and keep it cool. Matka is a traditional Indian water pot made of clay. For years, it has been used to carry and store water. The water in matka stays naturally cool due to the porous nature of clay. Matkas are still available in different sizes in the market these days.
Matka keeps the water cool naturally. Photo Credit: unsplash
6. Kal Chatti
Kal chatti is a traditional earthen stone pot. 'Kal' means stone and 'chatti' means a pot that is used for cooking. This authentic pot is famous in south Indian kitchens. It is a deep and heavy pot made with carved stone. What makes this utensil so unique is that it is seasoned with hot rice water for a few days before using it for cooking so that it does not crack when kept on fire.
Do you use any of these traditional Indian utensils? Do let us know in the comment section below.