Are you using your Kadai, Sauce Pan and Fry Pan properly?

It is definitely easy to dream of a perfect kitchen but very difficult to keep it maintained and “dreamy” as you imagined it to be!  Once you have surpassed the purchase phase; when you picked up the best fit utensils and kitchen ware for your kitchen. The following phase includes; Proper use of utensils and kitchenware – if you use them properly nothing can ever go wrong in your dream kitchen! Proper use of the Karahi/Kadai, Sauce Pan and the Frying Pan that are regularly used in an Indian Kitchen is as mandatory as use of onions and garlic in Indian recipe!

Let’s start,

Proper use of Kadai

If your utensil is new and has not been used before, I recommend “curing procedure” before, to do so clean the utensil with dish washing powder, in case there is rust on your cast iron kadai use a steel scrubber. Remember never to use lemon or any such acidic substance to clean. Following that apply some vegetable oil and heat it until it dries. Your kadai (iron) is ready for cooking.

While cooking certain things should be kept in mind: low flame cooking is suggested while using a big size burners, kadai’s are best used in frying and making spicy food items, even though an iron kadai does not add to the flavor of the food, it definitely changes a bit of the color. So remember to transfer food immediately after cooking to avoid discoloring. (I somehow, like to leave it in, especially after cooking mutton-masala!) Post cooking, wash off the oil with water followed by dishwashing powder. To maintain your Kadai, apply vegetable oil, place a napkin over and store till next use.

Proper use of Saucepan:

A Saucepan is a two-quartered utensil used to prepare sauces, soups and even rice. The best saucepan is of cooper material, which helps you cook faster and clean easier. For all those bakers out there, a copper saucepan is the best way to melt your sugar or chocolate, as it reacts to temperature changes rapidly. It is advisable to buy set of three saucepans available in the market that includes milk pan for sauces, medium for reheating and boiling and large ones for rice or curry for whole family.  Stainless Steel sauce pans are easily available in the market at reasonable prices. Remember to cook at low flames while using a stainless steel utensil as it might result in burning the utensil which later becomes difficult to clean.

Proper use of Frying Pan:

A Frying pan is the “it” thing in the modern kitchen today. Health conscious eaters and chefs are able to cook with minimal fat or oil and less ingredient too, making food a bit healthier than it normally can be. It is a skillet with higher sides, used as all purpose pans. The best pans are metal like stainless steel, copper or aluminum. Non-stick pan are recommended. (My personal favorite would be Soyer – www.soyerappliances.com). Use moderate or low heat as high heat damages the non-stick coating that prevents food being heated equally resulting in partially cooked food. Remember never to use steel scrubber. Use only sponge with dishwashing powder to maintain coating of the Frying pan.

The main thing to remember is not to use these three different pans to substitute each other. The Kadai, Saucepan and Frying pan have different functions and cook in different manner. Take care to keep your pans exclusive. Clean immediately with water to prevent oil from settling down and wash with dish washing powder after they cool off.

Stay Smart Cook Healthy!