Traditional Indian Kitchen Rasoi, Bawarchi

In a Hindu home kitchen is considered sacred governed by deeply held belief system. Women accepted the system and handed it down to next generation.
Hindu Kitchen is called 'Rasoi Ghar', Moslem kitchen is called 'Bawarchi Khana'

Internal Hyperlinks of interest
Traditional indoor cooking stoves
Materials for Kitchenware
Traditional Cookware
Kitchen Utensils and Accessories

Traditional Storage Vessels

Kitchen Location

During Vedic period, Vastu Shastra was developed for optimum placement of structures for a peaceful pleasant harmonious existence. As a minimum, It resulted in building homes and temples full of natural light. The south-east corner of the house represents the seat of Agni (God of fire), making it a optimum location for the kitchen. North-east corner has the maximum amount of sun-light over the year, hence the maximum spiritual enlightenment. Therefore, the Pooja room should be located in the north-east corner. If one was to have Pooja room in the kitchen, the kitchen should be located in the north-east corner. The fire in the Chulha represents sun; therefore, cooking fire (Chulha) should be in the east. The Chulha itself should be oriented such that the cook is facing east when cooking meals on the Chulha.
The garbage should not be dumped in the north-east corner of the house. The south-west corner of the house should be used to dump the garbage.
If an infants is left to sleep in the kitchen while mother is cooking, the head of the infant should be in the south. Body of an infant is like a little magnet, where the head is the north pole. North poles repel each other, so the child will have restless sleep if the head was placed towards. The south attracts the north, so the child will have restful sleep with the head towards south.
Kitchen should not be located near the bathrooms/toilet.

Floor oriented kitchen

India is a floor-oriented society. They can squat or sit on the floor for indefinite period at a time for almost all the routine functions: eat, cook, meditate, pass feces, bathe, smoke hookah and socialize, sing folk songs. Sitting posture is different for different functions. One sits with legs crossed to eat meals, sit in a lotus position to meditate, squat to bathe or pass feces, Women squat on their haunches or sit on the floor of the kitchen. Therefore many of the items in the traditional Indian kitchen are flour oriented. Major examples are: Chulha (cooking stove), Bonti (all-purpose kitchen knife), Manthani (Butter churner). Patra and Pirhi are two pieces of furniture used to relieve pressure on the back of heels while squatting.

No Shoes (leather articles) allowed in the Kitchen

One must remove shoes, and leave them behind before entering kitchen. In the olden days, there were no man-made materials. The leather from cows who died naturally was sewn to make Chappals (Sandals), and Jooti (Shoes). It is strictly prohibited to kill 'holy' cows to harvest leather. Hindu do not allow leather articles to be brought inside the house. Items include: shoes, belts, handbags etc. The leather items were left at the house entrance, or the entrance of a temple. As the time passed, wearing shoes inside became acceptable, except for the kitchen, Pooja room, or temples. The secondary reason is dragging bacteria laden stuff from the footpath and roads by shoes that may spread diseases.

Bathing Washing, Eating posture

No one is allowed to enter kitchen without taking a bath with the exception of infants being nursed by their mother. Washing hands is required of all before eating meals. One must sit with legs crossed on the floor to eat meals. One must not lie down, squat or stand to eat meals. It should be noted that Knife (Chhuri), Fork (Kanta), and Spoon (Chamcha) are available, but hardly used to eat meals. Indians prefer to eat their food with fingers.

Not everyone is allowed to enter Hindu kitchen

- The women during menstruation, or after giving birth to a baby are not allowed to enter kitchen while they are 'un-clean'.
- Non-Hindu are not allowed to enter a Hindu Kitchen including: Muslims, Christians, Jews, Parsi.
- Within Hindu religion, persons belonging to another cast are not allowed to enter Hindu kitchen belonging to a given cast. The exception is Brahmins. Brahmins are allowed to enter any Hindu Kitchen.
- Non vegetarians of any caste or religion are not allowed to enter a Hindu vegetarian Kitchen.

Taboo against Menstruation

A woman during menstruation is considered 'polluted' and 'not clean'. Menstruation is discussed in Bhagvata Purana, and Manu Samhita. During this time, woman is not allowed to enter kitchen, Pooja room, or temples. She is not allowed to bathe at public water works such as ponds or rivers, even community wells are off limit. She is given water and food to survive, but her eating and drinking utensils are kept separate. After the first four days, the earthenware used by the woman is broken and discarded, she may take a bath and then enter the kitchen

Taboo against Postpartum

After giving birth to a baby, a woman is considered 'polluted' and 'not clean'. For the first 40days, she is not allowed to enter kitchen, Pooja room, temples and public water-works, or participate in religious ceremonies. She is not allowed to receive male visitors. The food is prepared by mother-in-law, or other members of family. It is not uncommon for the neighbors to help out with food. After 40days, the earthenware are broken and discarded, a ritual bath is given for purification before entering the kitchen.

Non-Vegetarians (Meat Taboos)

Hindu don't eat beef. Moslems do not eat pork. Eating meat is optional among Sikhs. All Jain are strictly vegetarians. Vegetarian Hindu living in Bengal eat fish, and do not consider it a meat. For Hindu and Sikh, the animal must be slaughtered as Jhatka; while the animal must be slaughtered as Halal for Moslems. In the olden days, many people did not chicken as they were scavengers. Then chicken got domesticated. Most of non-vegetarians had a chicken coupe in the back of the house. They raised their own chicken for eggs and slaughter for meat. In the olden days Hindu were allowed to eat only sacrificed meat, that was usually a goat. Moslems always sacrificed goat on Eid. Meat of choice has always been goat and sheep. In India, both goat and sheep meat are called Mutton.

Cow dung

Cooking stoves (Chulha, Angithi, Bhatti), and even the wedding altar (Mandap) are coated with cow-dung and then plastered over with local clay. When heated, cow-dung supposedly purifies the area. Some Hindu exert that it acts as an insecticide. The smoke from smoldering Upla (dried cow dung patties) repels flying insects such as mosquitoes. Use of cow dung has become a ritual woven in Hindu culture. Cow dung is allowed even in the modern Chulha designed for better fuel efficiency and reducing indoor pollution.

Water Storage

In the olden days, there was no running water. The drinking water was collected from rains. The collected water was stored in underground tanks called Kund. The philanthropists dug up community wells. Community members will go to these wells to bathe and fetch water for use at home. The water was stored in vessels made from local clay, copper, or brass. The clay vessels (Ghara) were considered purified by the fire in the kiln. Copper is considered to purify water. Copperware such as Lota were used to store water. The temples would store Ganga-Jal (holy water from Ganges river) in copperware. Brassware is basically copperware with small amount of zinc. Un-coated brassware such as Tokni was used to store water. Nowadays, there is running water. Copperware is still used in temples and Pooja rooms.

Spices

In the olden days, no spice blends such as Curry powder, or Garam Masala were available. Whole spices were bought. Spices were ground using Mortar Pestle to last about a week. Different spices were ground to a different level of coarseness for different applications.
There were no teaspoons or Tablespoons used to measure. Women cooked by intuition. They used 'Andaaza'. Andaaza means a learned approximation based on experience.
The commonly used spices are: Cumin, Coriander, Fenugreek, Dried Ginger, Turmeric, Red Chili peppers, Black peppercorn, Black Cardamom, Cloves, and Cinnamon. You have to follow a special process to grind Turmeric. Therefore, Turmeric powder was the first ground spice bought from the market. Chili peppers did not arrive in India till about five centuries ago. Still, chili peppers have become a routine spice in Indian cuisine.
Nowadays, Andaaza and knowledge of mixing individual spices are no longer needed. You can buy premixed spice blends such as Curry powder, Garam Masala, Cholay spice mix, Rajmah spice mix etcetera. Get the raw ingredients, measurement spoons, and the appropriate spice mix and you are on your way to cook the foods of your choice

Cooking stoves Traditional indoor cooking stoves

The most common indoor cooking stove is called Chulha. It is made of local clay. Wood and Upla are used for fuel. In Punjab, Angithi is used as a secondary indoor cooking stove, it uses charcoal as the primary fuel. Angithi is also used as a space heater during winter. Bhatti is a popular stove used by professional cooks known as Halwai to prepare foods in bulk for parties such as wedding receptions. Bhatti is made of bricks and local clay. Charcoal is used for fuel. Tandoor is a clay oven used as a common community cooking oven. Most of the Restaurants use a combination of Bhatti and Tandoor. Wood and Upla are used for fuel.
Food cooked over Chulha has an earthy smoky flavor to it from the burning wood and dung.
In 1970s, LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) became available. LPG consists of about 80% butane and 20% propane. LPG stoves have become most popular in urban India today, and may replace Chulha in rural India tomorrow. LPG stoves to provide a real opportunity for cooking while standing up. No more squatting or sitting on the floor to cook meals. Tomorrow's Indian kitchen may start to look like today's American kitchen

Kitchenware (Bartan) Materials for Kitchenware

In Hindi, Kitchenware is called 'Bartan'. The retail kitchenware merchants were called 'Bhandari', and the retail stores were called 'Bartan Bhandar'. In bygone days, Bartan were made of wood, stones, iron, copper, brass, bell metal (Kansa), and terracotta (local clay). Silver and Gold was used to make Tableware and hollowware for the royal courts and the rich. Hindu are not allowed to cook in copperware. Hindu cook in Brassware lined with Tin. Moslems cook in copperware lined with Tin. The conceptual design and form factor were optimized for Chulha. Chulha produces lower heat than the heat produced by LPG stoves. Design of Degchi is most representative of the optimal design. Nowadays, most of the Bartan are made of stainless-steel. The stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat, so the cookware is clad with copper. Most of the stainless steel Bartan follow the conceptual design and form factor used in the American or European Kitchenware. The major exception is Karahi. Karahi is Indian wok, and remains popular in Rasoi.
Hindu are not allowed to use copper cookware, they use brassware lined with Tin; while, the Moslems use copperware lined with Tin.

Cookware Traditional Cookware

Cookware includes Degchi, Fry pan, Handi, Karahi, Pali, Pateela, Chai Katley, Seekh, and Tawa. Over time materials have changed, but the conceptual designs remain same. In the olden days clay, brass, copper, iron, Kansa were used to fabricate cookware. Most of the cookware is now made from stainless steel.

Kitchen Accessories Kitchen Utensils and Accessories

These include: Chhalni, Belan, Chakla, Chakku, Chhalni, Chimta, Gandasa, Kaddu kas, Kalchi, Phirni, Masala Daani, Palta, Paraat, Pakkad, and Pauni.
Bonti, Chakki, Hamam Dasta, Sil Batta, and Tarazoo are almost obsolete
Patra and Pirhi are the only pieces of furniture used in traditional kitchen

Tableware Traditional Tableware

Common items include: Metal-ware (Thali, Katori, Gilas, Lota, Donga, Chamcha), and Crockery (teapot, creamer, sugar pot, plates, teacups, saucers). In the olden days, brass or copper were used for metal-ware. Nowadays, stainless steel is used.

Indian food service centers around Thali. Entire meal is served at once in bowls arranged on the periphery of a Thali. These bowls are called Katori. Katori are filled with curries, Dal, yogurt, pudding etcetera. During British Raj, formal flatware was introduced Spoon (Chamcha), Fork (Kanta), Butter knife (Chhuri). General masses just never took to using flatware.

Storage Vessels Traditional Storage Vessels

Traditional storage vessels include: Balti, Bori, Ghara, Handi, Imrit Baan, Peepa, Tiffin carrier, Tokni, and Tokri

Changing face of Indian kitchenware

Materials

- Just like Kansa had disappeared during 1950s; the brass, bronze, and copper have been replaced with stainless steel. This eliminated the need to coat the inside with tin. Copper is still used to to clad the exterior of stainless steel cookware for heat conduction as well as aesthetics. Stainless steel is not a good conductor of heat. Some of the cookware uses a sandwiched layer of aluminum at the bottom for uniform heating, such cookware is called to be 'heavy bottom'.
- Most of the earthenware has disappeared.
- Gold tableware has disappeared. Silver is still used for Tableware by the rich class of India. The items include Thali, Katori, Donga, Gilas (tumbler), Chamcha, Chamchi, and spouted Surahi.

Disappearing items

- Tiffin (Anglo-Indian English word for light meal or lunch) to pack lunch for the working spouse or meal for the children in school has almost been replaced by plastic containers. Tiffin carrier consisted of three round brass boxes (Dabba) held with a metal strap/handle.
- Most of the Terracotta items have disappeared: Kulhar, bowls, Ghara, Matka, Handi.
- Most prominent wooden tools have disappeared: Makhan Phirni (Churner), Ghotni, Bowls, Spoons, Spatula, and Dabla (wooden slat), Hamam Dasta. Nowadays India manufactures wooden spoons and spatula for export only.
- Stoneware such as Hamam Dasta, Sil Batta, Chakki have disappeared.
- Urban kitchens are being designed for stand-up operation eliminating use of Bonti, Chulha, Makhan Churner, Chakki.

New kitchenware

- Pressure cooker has become a standard item in Indian kitchen. It saves time in making Dal and many meat curries
- Coffee grinder, wet and dry grinder, food processor, and electric blender are becoming popular. These appliance have eliminated the need for Hamam-Dasta, and Sil-Batta.
- Roti makers are making Chakla and Belan as tools of the past. Electric Roti makers not only roll-out dough, but even cooks the Roti.

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