Best Cookware for Curry?

[taxlady]

Originally Posted by NoraC

and will continue now, since I could not get the HTML controls to behave ... I have never attempted Indian Breads, because the recipes seem to require either a tandoori or a gas range, neither of which I have. What can I do to make naan, if I have and electric range in the US?

I made chapati on an electric stove. The first time they were great, the second time, not so much.

[Steve Kroll]

I have a Le Creuset Karahi that I bought on Amazon a few years back. It looks like this one:

Le Creuset Cast Iron Round Karahi, Blue, 15 cm: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

It works fantastic. Heats evenly and holds the temperature well. Unfortunately, it looks like it's no longer available - at least not on the US site.

If you can find one, the Le Creuset is an excellent choice. Having said that, I think any flat-bottom non-stick wok, such as those made by Calphalon or Joyce Chen would work almost as well. Most Indian stovetop cooking doesn't require super high heat, so no worries about using something coated with Teflon.

[Steve Kroll]

Originally Posted by NoraC

I have never attempted Indian Breads, because the recipes seem to require either a tandoori or a gas range, neither of which I have. What can I do to make naan, if I have and electric range in the US?

Any outdoor grill works well for Indian flat breads. If you don't have a grill, a pizza stone in a very hot oven also does the trick, though not as well as a grill in my opinion.

[quidscribis]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

I've been in several Indian and Asian homes and seen cheap, thin, crappy cookware some use to make the most fantastic dishes. I appreciate and use good quality cookware but I realize it's not the cookware that makes me a good cook.

Yup yup yup.

My mother in law (Sri Lankan) and all over Sri Lankan cooks I know use whatever they can get, which can be nonstick cookware (lousy rejected by inspector stuff), stainless steel (the crappiest quality stuff you've ever seen), aluminum pots, clay pots, whatever. Years ago, cast iron used to be used by at least some, but in Sri Lanka, that's now very difficult to find. And these women, using this absolutely cheap crap cookware, make the most amazing food ever. :)

I'm now making curries in an electronic pressure cooker - hardly traditional - but it works well.

Really, the cookware doesn't matter so much except in how well an individual person can and does use it. Use whatever you have, and if you don't have anything, then buy something that'll serve many purposes.

[quidscribis]

Originally Posted by NoraC

I have never attempted Indian Breads, because the recipes seem to require either a tandoori or a gas range, neither of which I have. What can I do to make naan, if I have and electric range in the US?

I use a cast iron griddle (flat side) to cook my naan on the stove. Works perfectly. :)

[Bolas De Fraile]

I use a pizza stone to cook my naan, it works well for stuffed naans like Keema or peshwari.
Ps can you buy frozen Roti in the US.

[CWS4322]

I use my electric "lefse" griddle to cook chapati.