Top Must Have Indian Cooking Tools

Cooking is a skill everybody can learn. You may need some patience to get the right output. In this post must have Indian cooking tools and equipments for beginners are explained.

As a beginner in cooking, you would not aware of essential cooking pantry or the best cooking tools. 

These beginner Indian cooking tips and tricks may help you to start your cooking journey. 

if you love cooking or plan to get into it, then a full set up kitchen with all the essential pots, pan, utensils, ladles, spoons tools, etc is extremely essential for everyday cooking.

And you don’t want to waste your hard-earned money on useless utensils and tools. 

Get these essential cookware sets that will help you enjoy homemade Indian meals 

Basic Cookware Material for Utensils, Pots & Pan

 Basic cookware or must-have utensils are a pressure cooker, pots, pans, and spatulas for cooking. I’m sure that you have at least these things in your kitchen.

The most common cooking medium for everyday use is stainless steel and iron. These are two study mediums that are long-lasting and great for everyday cooking.

Stainless utensils like saucepans (for boiling milk, dal ) mixing bowls ( for kneading dough), lids to cover the utensils, etc are extremely useful and important they are in stainless steel.

Below are the safest and most commonly used materials for Indian Cooking.

• Stainless Steel
• Hard Anodised – read 
• Iron / Cast Iron 

Invest in good quality cookware

I started cooking when I was in high school. So I was so familiar with my mama’s cooking utensils and I know what works and what doesn’t work.

I like to invest in good quality cookware other than buying some random non-stick cookware.

It’s worth it to use a good hard anodized pressure cooker, high-quality pans, Iron cast kadhai which I have learned in my 10 years of cooking experience.

 When selecting the perfect set, it’s important to consider what you cook and in what quantities. A small frying pan may be perfect for a single person, but much less useful for a family. 

Set can be less expensive than buying individual pieces, so you’ll save money.

Second, different types of cookware can behave differently on the stove, but when all your cookware is the same, you’ll be familiar with how they heat up and respond to temperature changes. 

For South Indian dosas, idli, or Indian flatbread there may be some equipment that helps make you a pro.

The traditional chakra (round wooden board) and rolling pin for instance are wonderful

Ok! Now I get these must have Indian cooking tools and equipments for beginners so that you can make Indian food at home!

Must have Indian cooking tools or equipments for beginners

Pressure Cooker 

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This one is my favorite Pressure cooker. 

Pressure cookers are a boon in every Indian kitchen and are a must-have appliance.

I use them every day. It saves a lot of time while cooking.

The pressure cooker is perfect for lentils, beans, rice. The same can be cooked on the stovetop in a saucepan. But it takes a whole lot of time, so having a good quality pressure cooker is a must. 

I also like Hawkins Futura Hard Anodised Pressure Cooker.

Must have pressure cookers

• 5 liter – great for making large quantities of food like dal, biryani, rice when you have guests over or you have a large family
• 3 liter – perfect for making quick veg and non-veg curries  
• 2 liter – great for steaming small portions of the vegetables & cooking for 2 

 Kadai 

I use this almost every day for making sabzi, curry, or dal/beans. 

A large Kadai or a Wok is an absolute must in every kitchen.

And this one we have shown is one of my favorites, as it is hard anodized and works great for making sabzi, poriyal, potato roast, vegetable stir-fries Chinese stir-fries, Hakka Noodles, and a whole lot more.

I keep two, one for daily use and the second for deep frying. 

Deep Frying Pan / Iron kadai

• For deep frying, I usually use cast iron Kadai. Cast iron Kadai maintains even cooking temperature. Retains heat for a longer time. Thus it saves gas energy. Cast iron is tough, heavy, and durable.
• First time use: For the first time wash it washes mild soap and scrub. Apply oil generously and heat it on medium for 10 minutes. It will smoke. Switch off and rest it for an hour. Clean the oil with a paper napkin. Repeat twice. Wash the pan with plain warm water. Kadai is ready to use.
• In addition, you do not have to worry about the Kadai getting spoiled because of oil scalding, as iron inherently requires this oil to maintain it to be rust-free.
•  Ensure that, after every use – wash and dry it well. Once dried, grease the Kadai with a little oil and then keep it in store.

Biryani / pulav/ stew Pot

Hard Anodised cookwares are my favorite. They are not much pricey and long lasting material.

The body material is an essential factor to consider while buying the right biryani pot for your kitchen.

Biryani pots are available in different materials including non-stick, ceramic and hard-anodized. 

Cook-n-Serve Bowls spread heat evenly and retain warmth for a long time – making them excellent utensils for both cooking and serving.

Cooking and Serving in the same bowl makes good sense – the food stays hot longer and you have less to clean up and less for storage.

These bowls are designed for convenient cooking and elegance on the dining table. The Hard Anodised finish on these bowls will stay looking new for years.

Tawa For Roti/ Paratha Dosa

To make Indian flatbread (paratha, naan), Tawa is the right choice.

A good Tawa is worth its weight in gold, and traditional Indian kitchens often carefully maintain theirs for years.

This round, slightly concave pan can be made out of cast iron or aluminum, and modern versions usually have a nonstick coating.

Always keep two separate frying pans for dosas and chapatis. I prefer cast-iron ones for chapatis whereas non-stick ones for dosas.

The most important tip for using iron tawa for dosa is that it has to be well greased and seasoned.

Before making your dosa, you need to grease the Tawa and place it on medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes.

Steamer – Stainless Steel/ Hard Anodised

From making Idli, steaming vegetables, etc – this Multiple Cooker, which has plates for all of them is a must-have in every kitchen.

While finding the perfect shapely aluminum bowls can be quite tricky. If you’re a first-time user, you may face issues while picking idlis up.

Grease the plates with vegetable oil or ghee before adding idli batter to the plates to scoop idlis up without any hassle or place a wet cotton cloth on the idli plates before pouring the batter.

Small Sauce Pan 

 The saucepan is a must in your kitchen if you are a chai person like me. 

 I can’t imagine my mornings without using this saucepan. 

It is an absolute must-have in every Indian kitchen. From making chai to boiling milk or simply making a small quantity of sauce.

Steel saucepan does the job, but if you want an easy cooking and washing process.

Again I will recommend Hard Anodised which is a great material for this pan, as it is easy to clean and maintain as well, especially when you make chai/tea every day at home. 

*don’t scrub the pan with stainless steel scrubber

Steel Mixing Bowls

A mixing bowl is a kitchen must-have for all manner of tasks, from making roti atta, mixing flour, mixing cake batter, and a lot more.

It’s a useful holding vessel, too, for when you’re soaking beans or shelling peas, for example.

Even keeping chopped vegetables while you are cooking.

When buying a mixing bowl, think about the kinds of tasks for which you might need to use.

You will need these almost every time you prepare food like kneading the dough, preparing vegetables, whisking eggs, and many more.

Wooden Ladle

Wooden ladles are extremely useful in the kitchen, especially for cooking.

It makes cooking smooth, creates less noise while cooking food. In addition, if you are using non-stick as well, using wooden ladles will help minimize wear and tear.

Chapati Chakla and Belan

wooden round surface and rolling pin is another kitchen staple in every Indian household.

These are so important, as roti, parathas or even making bread is common in almost every Indian kitchen.

They come in different materials like marble, wooden and stainless steel. I prefer the marble, as it’s sturdy and long-lasting.

It’s the surface on which flatbreads are rolled out to ensure that the dough is smooth and not clumpy.

Mini Fry Pan- Hard-Anodized 

Tadka Pan usually comes in small size to make your tempering for your Dals, Rasam, Stir Fired Rice.

Some of the most popular Indian dishes need a sprinkle aka tadka of fried spices and curry leaves as a finishing touch.

In that case using a regular-sized pan is not practical. This tadka pan comes in very handy.

It is widely used in Indian cooking and is considered as one of the essential cooking pans in Indian cooking.

 Many recipes call for tadka (tempering). Many chutney recipes call for tadka e.g. coconut chutney.

The long handles protect you from oil splatters, while the little curve neatly rests on the ledge of your coil or burners.

Masala Dabba

The masala Dabba is one of the most fundamental tools in any Indian kitchen.

It’s usually around stainless steel tin with 6 smaller katoris, or cups, that hold our most commonly used spices.

It typically sits on the counter next to the stove or in a drawer nearby for easy access.

With Indian dishes containing so many different spices, it’s easiest to have them all together.

Masala Dabba translates as spice container. It is a large steel container.

Black Natural Stone Mortar & Pestle Set

A mortar and pestle are pretty typical to every kitchen for grinding whole spices or mashing up gingers or pepper.

It makes cooking fun and is a quick way to powder small quantities of spice and add to your food while cooking.

Ensure you choose a little wide one or even one which has a high wall.

Indian kitchens usually use a stainless steel mortar and pestle as opposed to the traditional natural stone

Cooking Ladle Set

The slotted spoon and the flat spoon are of at most importance. You can use them to mix and serve rice, biryani, pulao, halwa, and other meals.

Wooden and stainless steel karchhis can be customized as per your cooking convenience.

You can use a wooden Karachi on non-stick pans and cookers to avoid damaging the non-stick cookware. You can also use a steel Karachi to toss and turn delicacies smoothly.

Ladles come in different sizes, handles, and designs and can be used for multiple cooking purposes. You can smoothly transfer liquids from one utensil to another with these spoons.

You can use them to serve food in big bowls.

Slotted spoons are important for deep frying and the flat spoon is great when you are making parathas, dosa, appam, etc

Other Miscellaneous tools you may need

These cooking utilities are must haves Indian cooking tools and equipments for beginners. Ensure you have them in your kitchen and they are forever useful. 

• Knife Set – Basic equipment to cut and chop all your vegetables and ingredients for your cooking. You can have two basic sets for normal functioning or you can even have a set of different knives for different purposes. 
• Colander or Strainer/Sieve – Both have multiple uses but are mainly used for straining stocks or to wash vegetables. 
• Pakad (idiki/ pot holder) 
• Potato Masher
• Lemon Squeezer
• Tongs
• Whisk

Conclusion

I hope that I have shared must-haves and basic Indian cooking tools and equipment for beginners.

Whether you are a new cook looking for an upgrade or just setting up a new kitchen, these are the best list of essential Indian cooking tools and equipment that are necessary to get started.

Invest in good ones so you can use them for so many years! I hope you like these must have Indian cooking tools and equipments for beginners.

Which is your favorite tool? Let me know in the comment section below.

With

❤️

Nasreen