Kitchen Accessories

Along with the various cooking traditions, a wide variety of cooking utensils and implements were introduced into India over the centuries. In most rural areas, cooking pots and pans of terracotta were used before the introduction of metal ware and therefore the former acted as the prototype for the latter.
With the exception of the coastal areas of the south and the east, where rice is the staple food, in the rest of the country, a variety of flat breads are cooked on direct fire. For rolling these breads, a low round tepoy of wood metal or stone was used. The rolling pins of metal often had devices for producing a rhythmic sound while in use.
In South India, highly ornate ladle-holders of metal or wood were made. Some ladles had rattling devices.
In every Indian house it was customary to churn buttermilk to extract ghi. An exceptionally beautiful, carved wooden ‘rope’ for fastening the churning rod from Gujarat, is a part of this collection.
For separating chaff from grain, winnowing fans of metal, bamboo or wood were popular. Mortars and pestles of brass, iron or stone which were used for grinding fresh spices everyday had charming shapes.
For grating coconut and chopping vegetables, beautifully carved wooden implements were specially used in Maharashtra and Southern India.
In some parts of Rajasthan, leather pots were used for storing ghi and cooking oil.