Indian Cooking Equipment Guide
Indian cooking is defined by three things: layered spice technique, the pressure cooker, and the tawa. The pressure cooker is not optional — Indian dal and legume cooking is built around it. Chana (chickpeas) that take three hours to soften on a stovetop cook tender in twelve minutes in a pressure cooker. The tawa is the other essential: the flat iron griddle that produces chapati, roti, and paratha correctly. Everything else is secondary. This guide covers the essential equipment for North and South Indian home cooking — dal, curry, biryani, and flatbreads.
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Essential Kit
- Pressure cooker (5–7 litre, stainless or aluminium) —
the most important Indian kitchen tool. Dal makhani, rajma, chana
masala, and biryani rice all require legumes or parboiled rice cooked
under pressure. The traditional Indian stovetop pressure cooker
(Prestige or Hawkins are the canonical brands) has a whistle valve
that signals pressure — you count whistles, not minutes. A 5-litre
model serves 4–6; 7-litre for larger batches or biryani.
Find pressure cookers on Amazon.de → - Flat tawa griddle (26–30 cm, cast iron or carbon steel) —
for all Indian flatbreads. Chapati, roti, and paratha are cooked on a
flat iron griddle over medium-high heat; naan requires a very high
heat (a cast iron tawa on maximum flame approximates a tandoor). The
tawa is also used for dosa in South Indian cooking — a smooth flat
surface allows the thin batter to spread evenly.
Find tawa griddles on Amazon.de → - Kadai / karahi (26–30 cm) — the Indian cooking pan.
Deeper and heavier than a Chinese wok, the kadai is used for dry
vegetable curries (aloo gobi, bhindi masala), pakora deep-frying, and
paneer dishes. A cast iron or thick carbon steel kadai holds heat
evenly for slow-cooked curries. It doubles as a deep-frying vessel
for samosas and pakora.
Find kadai pans on Amazon.de → - Spice grinder (blade type, 50–80 ml) — for fresh
masala blends. Pre-ground spice blends lose volatile compounds within
weeks. Grinding whole coriander, cumin, cardamom, and cloves to order
produces garam masala with a completely different aromatic profile.
A small blade grinder (dedicated to spices, not coffee) handles
ginger-garlic paste when combined with a small amount of water.
Find spice grinders on Amazon.de → - Tadka pan (14–16 cm, cast iron or heavy steel) — for
tempering (tarka/tadka). Whole spices — mustard seeds, cumin, dried
chili, curry leaves — are bloomed in ghee or oil over high heat for
30–60 seconds until they crackle and pop, then poured over dal, raita,
or vegetables. A small dedicated pan heats fast and allows controlled
pouring without burning the spices.
Find tadka pans on Amazon.de → - Heavy-bottomed pot (3–4 litre, stainless) — for
biryani dum cooking. After par-cooking the rice and layering with
meat or vegetables, the biryani is sealed (dum) and cooked on low
heat to let steam finish the dish. A heavy-bottomed stainless pot
with a tight lid — sealed with dough if you want authenticity —
creates the steam trap correctly.
Find heavy-bottomed pots on Amazon.de →
Nice-to-Have Upgrades
- Stone or brass mortar and pestle — for hand-ground chutneys and coconut chutney (South Indian cooking). A stone sil-batta or heavy brass mortar produces wet chutneys with a texture that blenders cannot replicate.
- Idli steamer and moulds — for South Indian idli (steamed rice cakes) and dhokla. A dedicated idli steamer with stacked trays handles the fermented batter correctly.
- Belan (rolling pin, thin, tapered) — for chapati and paratha. The Indian rolling pin (belan) is thinner and more tapered than a European model, giving better control over thin flatbread without excessive pressure.
Where to Buy
Amazon.de carries most items. The pressure cooker is the priority purchase — budget 30–60 EUR for a good stainless model. The tawa is inexpensive (10–25 EUR for cast iron). Kadai in cast iron runs 25–50 EUR. The spice grinder is the one item where budget matters — a blade grinder for 20–35 EUR is fine for home use. Total kit investment: 100–200 EUR for the full setup.