Zishta Pure Iron Coookware

May 18, 2022

By satish krishnaswami

Congrats on your journey to bring traditional wisdom to your home. Zishta is glad to be a part of this journey and support you with authentic traditional knowledge gathered through our journeys, discussions with artisans, local communities and scientific information.

Zishta in collaboration with artisans of Tamilnadu bring to you most authentic and traditional Iron vessels that are everlasting. These are made using the most traditional technique honed over centuries by our artisans.

Iron tawa is made of High grade, first quality, railway grade Iron sheets which are cut into shapes of the Tawa. In Tenkasi taluk, the artisans who have been traditionally making Iron tawas for generations adopt further processing like heating, beating and seasoning.

What are the benefits of cooking food in Iron tawa?

It adds higher natural Iron content to the food cooked in it and thereby helps in hemoglobin count.
Handmade Iron is thicker & heavier & helps to heat food evenly.
It retains heat longer and cooks faster.

What can be made in Iron tawa?

In the light weight tawa, one can make rotis, chapatis, phulkas etc. Making dosa in light weight one is not advised as the chances of dosa getting stuck is higher.

The heavier ones are ideal for making all types of dosa, uthappam, parathas, rotis, puran poli, pav bhaji etc.

How to season an Iron Tawa?

Wash the Tawa well, wipe it dry and apply a coating of Gingely or any cooking oil. Leave it aside for a day. Tawa is ready to be used.

How to clean and maintain Iron tawa?

Store it as is after every use or just wash with plain water.
Whenever needed, clean with regular dishwashing liquid or soap and regular scrubber. After cleaning, wipe it dry. Apply a layer of cooking oil if needed.
If non usage for a few weeks, apply a coating of cooking oil to avoid rusting.
Do NOT soak the vessel in water as it may rust. Always wipe it dry immediately after washing.
It is not recommended to use dishwasher as it may remove the seasoning and rust the vessel.

Some frequently asked questions:

Can we make dosa and roti in the same tawa?

It is always recommended to keep 2 separate tawas, one for dosas and one for other purposes. The reason is that after making rotis, the next dosa may get stuck.

What do we do if we have used the tawa to make roti and now want to make dosa? What do we do if dosa gets stuck?

Wash the tawa well. Apply a coating of cooking oil and store if for a few hours. If dosa still gets stuck, use a shallot dipped in oil and rub it all around the warm tawa. Or pour a spoon of oil and use rock salt to run all around.

Sometimes, this process may need to be repeated.

Why is the vessel oily?

Iron needs to be seasoned with gingely oil. Also, oil is necessary to avoid rusting while not in use. Organic Gingely oil is used in the seasoning process and is sent as-is to avoid rusting. It would come away by washing.

Does Iron rust?

Yes, rusting is a natural property of this metal. To avoid rusting, apply a layer of cooking oil and store. It stops rusting over a period of continuous usage.

How to remove rust?

Apply oil on the inside of the vessel. Keep it on stove till it becomes hot. Switch off and wash it. Surface rusting would be removed in this process.

Do we need to do the seasoning process every time?

No, it is done only before the first use. Or whenever dosa gets stuck.

It is heavy. Why?

Yes it is supposed to be made heavy to ensure even heating & cooking.

Which tawa is better, cast iron or iron?

It depends on one’s comfort level. From a functionality of their output of giving crispy dosa etc, both work similarly.

Cast iron tawa tends to give a little higher Iron addition in the food. It needs seasoning and gets better with usage. And yes, Cast iron is breakable.

Iron tawa does not need seasoning and can be used immediately. They are not breakable and have a long life.

Quick Fact: The earliest form of tawa was made of Iron. Cast iron came into usage later on.

If dosa continues to stick to the tawa, what should be done?

Heat the tawa in medium flame. Once hot, pour a spoon of cooking oil and take a few small onions and fry them all around. You can also use oil and rock salt and rub it all around the tawa. You may repeat the process if the dosa continues to stick.

Can we make parathas in the Iron tawa?

Yes parathas can be made in the Iron tawa.

Will the handle of the tadka ladle heat up?

No, the handle is long and heat will not get transferred to the place of holding it, which is more towards the end.