Design Resource
Kitchen Products
The Sanctum Sanctorum of the Indian household
by
Tadkawati
The Tadkawati is very useful in the Indian style of cooking. It is specifically designed for seasoning dals, chutneys, etc. with specific ingredients. The seasoning lends a very aromatic and tasty flavour. This is done after the dish has been prepared or cooked.
The Tadkawati is a small utensil, usually made of iron, aluminium or hard anodised aluminium. It basically has a small cup shaped vessel attached to a handle. It is small in size as the specific ingredients that are put in are small in quantity, and when they fry together in oil in such a small area all the flavours get infused well.
The handle is an essential element in the Tadkawati, as it helps to transfer the hot Tadka immediately or ‘throw in’ the hot Tadka into the main dish, the minute all the ingredients are fried or roasted to perfection with ease and without burning hands. Also the handle is long for the same purpose and it also helps in hanging it from the kitchen rack while not in use.
Hard anodised aluminium Tadkawati with steel and bakelite or plastic handle.
About Tadka
Seasoning is known as in Popu in Telugu, Vagrene in Kannada and Tadka in the North Indian states. It rescues the dals and the curries from ‘blandness’. The technique is simple, but it saves and uplifts them to spicy state. Almost all types of curries, chutneys, lentil preparations like dals, sambhars and Rasams are enhanced by the addition of seasoning at the start or just before serving.
The most common ingredients of Tadka are
1. Dried red chilli pieces
2. Asafetida
3. Curry leaves
4. Chana dal
5. Urad dal
6. Mixture of Mustard seeds and Cumin.