An Ode To The Forgotten Mud Chulha

India is a country where on the one hand we're developing, leaving old ways of doing things behind while on the other side nothing has changed much. This duality could be seen in our kitchens as well. Today when cooking in ovens is a common thing, there are many places in India where people still cook on mud chulhas.

In the past, mud chulha used to be a significant part of Indian kitchens. People used to make the mud chulha with their hands, let it dry and paint flowers around it. That economical chulha is now often used as a quintessential and exotic image of Indian villages. The use of clay stoves was a way to cook flavourful food. The aroma and flavours of food cooked on earthen pots are heavenly. The old times were all about cooking with patience to get the best results without affecting the nutrition profile of the food. The smokey flavour that can be achieved only through a clay stove is something people now pay for in restaurants. Famous dishes like ahuna mutton from Bihar and laal maans curry of Rajasthan are delicious examples of what smokey flavour can do.

Though clay stoves help you cook tasty dishes they are not at all environment friendly. That's why we have shifted to smoke-free ways of cooking. However, on some occasions like Chhath puja, people still use mud chulhas as that's a part of the ritual and also considered pure.