There is something extremely special about the food cooked by one's grandmother. One may go to various restaurants around the world but won't find the same flavours they find in their grandmother's kitchen. It's not just about the recipe or the ingredients but also the technique of cooking the food that gives it a special touch. Five to six decades ago, things in the kitchen were not as simple as they are today.
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People didn't have access to the latest kitchen equipment which is why traditional utensils and tools were used to cook food. Although modern technology has given inventions like blenders, grinders, and whatnot to simplify the process of cooking, many people still prefer to use ancient Indian tools to cook food to this date. In this article, one will get to know about some of the most popular and pervasively used Indian utensils and tools.
* Soru Vadi Thattu
Soru vadi thattu is the boiled rice strainer of India that acts as a natural filter tray for rice. This tool is specifically designed using palm leaves and is organic. The main purpose of this tool is to separate boiled rice from hot water without burning one's hand. In old times, people didn't have access to a lot of metals to make utensils, which is why they had to make the most of cooking tools with the help of clay or organic materials like wood or leaves. The special part about palm leaves is that they can tolerate very high temperatures easily. Even to this date, soru vadi is used by people in the Southern part of India to prepare very large batches of rice.
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* Khal Dasta
Khal dasta is the Indian version of a mixer and grinder that has been used in various parts of India for many years. Not only does it help in making a fine paste or mixture of spices and vegetables but also imparts a very earthy flavour to the mixture. Khal dasta is generally made by using stones which are given the shape of a vessel and a pestle-like tool is used for the crushing purpose. Khal dasta was not only used by people for cooking food but was also a very important part of the ancient Ayurvedic treatment for making medicines with the help of different herbs.
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* Matka
Matka is an ancient Indian version of a refrigerator that most people in India must have seen or used at least once in their lives. This is a form of a traditional water pot that is made by using clay. Matka has been the only source of drinking cold and refreshing water on scorching summer days for years in India. As clay has a porous nature, it helps naturally keep the water cool even minutes extremely hot outside. These days matkas are available with a tap on the front so that one doesn't have to put a glass again and again in the mouth to take water out.
* Kal Chatti
Kal chatti is another type of pot-like utensil but its purpose is very different from a Matka. Kal chatti is made by using the best quality stones to cook food on high flame. In many parts of the country, people also like to make these special pots using clay. However one will find the stone variety more easily available. This pot is prepared specifically by using hot rice water and covering the pot with it for a few days before it is finally used for cooking purposes. Using hot rice water make sure that the pot doesn't crack.
* Mathni
Mathni is the tool in India that was used to churn butter and buttermilk. The whole of India, specifically the north Indian states are heavy consumers of butter and other dairy products. As there weren't any modern tools back in the day to churn butter and buttermilk at home, mathni was the traditional way of making butter at home using milk. It is a large wooden tool that has a flower-like base and a very long stick on the top for a tight grip.
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* Sil Batta
Sil batta is one of those tools that is very much in use to this date. Sil batta is specifically used to make wet pastes and chutneys by using different types of ingredients. The batta in the sil batta is a cylindrical tool that is made for mashing purposes. The sil is like a small platform on which all the mixing and mashing takes place. The whole tool is made by using a stone. One has to push the batta in a back-and-forth motion to grind to make the paste of different ingredients properly. The tool does require a little bit of manual labour but also gives an unparalleled taste to the food.
