Whether you’re making a layered Lucknowi biryani, a classic, clay pots are a must, basically due to the fact cooking in earthenware are stated to make meals greater flavoursome and healthy.

Cooking in clay pots is an historic cooking practise. Almost all historic civilisations, Indus Valley, Egyptian, or Sumerian, used clay pots to cook, serve and eat, and it’s far all claimed to have emerged as a minimum 20,000 years ago. “”ceramics became created somewhere in jap Asia among a long time back, but definitively wherein and keeping in mind that — and uniquely why — isn’t clear. These prehistoric cooks were not a part of an early agricultural community, and that they were not cooking grain: They had been hunter-gatherers who’re claimed to have lived in Japan at some stage in the waning stages of the remaining ice age, and that they had been reputedly boiling up a seafood stew.”

A long term has surpassed given that then, and clay pots retain to discover an area in nearly each Indian kitchen today. In a 2021 look at performed via way of means of the Applied and Natural Science Foundation (ANSF) in India, meals cooked in earthenware will increase iron and zinc concentration, and additionally decreases different poisonous heavy metals whilst cooking. Moreover, consuming meals served from an earthen pot is healthier, while as compared to different utensils. In addition, the usage of earthen pots is usually recommended in lots of medication and fermentation procedures as in keeping with conventional indigenous information and Ayurveda.

Since plenty approximately clay pots reaps benefits, the Food crew at Gulf News determined to decode the technological know-how at the back of it. First matters first…

How do clay pots make my meals flavor higher?

Simply due to the fact all earthenware are alkaline in nature – because of this that it has a pH greater than 7 – making it the important thing purpose in the back of why it makes meals flavor delicious. Since meals has sure degree of acidic compounds found in it, the possibilities of a toxin increase is pretty high. Therefore, cooking in a clay pot interacts with acidic meals and affords the good enough pH balance, and additionally continues vitamins like iron, calcium, magnesium, and sulphur well-preserved.

Another purpose why meals tastes higher whilst cooked in a clay pot is specially due to the porous nature of it. So whilst you prepare dinner dinner your meats and seafood, you wouldn`t want to feature in a variety of cooking oil due to the fact they are able to gradual prepare dinner dinner of their very own juices. Since aromas and flavours get trapped, they have a tendency to get concentrated. However, ensure you don`t depend completely on the beef and seafood juices, due to the fact the very equal porous nature of pots can purpose the water content material to evaporate quickly.

Clay pots additionally have the cappotential to keep temperature – be it warm or cold. Food cooked in a clay pot with a lid, has an extreme and rice flavour. Clay pots also are exceptional used for cooling meals like mishti doi or caramel yoghurt, kulfi or milk-primarily based totally dessert, or maybe masala chai.

But earlier than you pass beforehand and use any clay pot to make a dish of your choice, we would love to manual you thru the technique from shopping for it to cooking with it.

Buying my clay pot

When shopping for a clay pot, there are some matters to preserve in mind. For one, every clay pot comes with a one-of-a-kind make, so that you should pick primarily based totally on what you need to prepare dinner dinner. If you’re cooking meat and seafood, you could want a extensive clay pot. If you’re seeking to make a biryani, you will want a clay pot with a extensive base, however a barely slender neck. Clay pots are inexpensive, and that they should be treated with care, specially due to the fact a brief pass ought to bring about a chip or crack.

Once you buy a clay pot, it’s time to easy it – which brings us to seasoning.

Seasoning my clay pot

Before you get your components geared up to make that scrumptious Hyderabadi dum handi ka gosht, here`s the thing – do now no longer begin cooking with the pot you simply offered for they could maximum probable flavor of mud.

Seasoning a clay pot enables bear the warmth in a higher way, for this reason growing its durability. So here`s the way you need to season your clay pot – it’s miles a protracted process, however it’s miles really well worth it withinside the lengthy run.

1. Firstly, wash the clay pot very well to rid it off any dirt.

2. Next, you’ll must soak the clay pot in water, for at the least 8 hours (preferably overnight).

3. The subsequent day, take it out of the water and depart it out to dry withinside the sun.

4. Once dry, rub the clay pot with a beneficiant quantity of oil. Since clay pots are porous, they’ll take in the oil completely.

5. Once absorbed, fill the clay pot with rice water and depart it at room temperature overnight.

6. The subsequent morning, vicinity the clay pot over a medium-excessive flame. Do now no longer discard the rice water. Let it come to a rolling boil, after which flip off the flame. Once cooled, discard the rice water.

7. Next, wash the clay pot with a scrubber. Make positive you do now no longer upload any dishwashing cleaning soap or liquid. You also can sprinkle a touch little bit of gram flour whilst scrubbing the clay pot, to take away the oil.

8. Once scrubbed clean, hold the clay pot returned on a medium-excessive flame and permit the water evaporate.

9. Pour a touch little bit of oil, and as soon as heated, sauté some onion slices. Your clay pot is now geared up to be cooked in.

Another tip, is to usually keep away from glazed clay pots due to the fact they were covered with dangerous chemicals, which could emit poisonous fumes whilst heated.

Cooking with my clay pot

Now which you`ve wiped clean and pro your clay pot, it`s time to begin cooking with it, in it. The first aspect is to get the recipe proper – don`t make extra than what your clay pot can handle. Follow your recipe and fill the clay pot leaving a touch room on the top, approximately ½ to 1-inch, for the substances to bubble, and now no longer spill over.

If that is the primary time you’re the usage of your clay pot to cook, continually set it on a low flame, and progressively boom the temperature. If you’ve got got cooked with it before, you may set it on a medium to excessive flame. While stirring, make certain you operate a wood spoon and now no longer a metal spoon; you may additionally twirl the pot together along with your palms to keep away from scratches on the bottom of the earthenware. Beware of the handles, due to the fact they might get warm quickly; so continually use oven mitts.

While serving, you may serve your self or your visitors proper out of the clay pot. Not handiest does it deliver it a conventional presentation, however it additionally offers extra time for the flavours to infuse well.