Utensils: A Peep Into Street Food Kitchens

Traditional cookware that preserves authentic Awadhi tastes

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Lucknow Bioscope Utensils Banner (2024)Lucknow Bioscope

This exhibition of utensils will guide you through the essential tools that bring the city's much loved street food to life. Each utensil has a unique role, from the imam dasta's rhythmic pounding of spices to the tandoor's glowing flames that impart a signature smoky flavour to tandoori dishes. You’ll discover antique weights used for measuring spices, The sil batta’s role in creating fine pastes, and the sustainable charm of patte wale done. This exhibition is an ode to the time-tested tools and the city's heritage they represent.

Degh for making biryani and stews.Lucknow Bioscope

Degh


 A large, deep, and heavy-based pot made from metal or clay used for cooking large quantities of food, such as curries, stews, and rice dishes. 

Imaamdasta for pounding spices and and other ingredients (2024)Lucknow Bioscope

Imam Dasta


 A traditional Indian mortar and pestle, crafted from metal or stone, is a staple in every kitchen. It is essential for pounding spices and other ingredients, creating the pastes and spice mixtures.

Imaamdasta or mortar and pestle (2024)Lucknow Bioscope

A mortar and pestle in stone

Jodi for Long metal rods used to safely handle and remove breads from a tandoor (2024)Lucknow Bioscope

Jodi


A pair of  long metal rods used to safely handle and remove breads from a tandoor.

Poori is being preapared (2022)Lucknow Bioscope

Kadhai


A deep, circular pan with high sides used for deep frying and sautéing. 

Kabab being prepared. (2022)Lucknow Bioscope

Mahi Tawa


A large, flat griddle traditionally made of cast iron or metal, used for shallow frying.

Khatar with matar (Chickpeas) (2022)Lucknow Bioscope

Pattē wālē Dōnē/ Pattal


Eco-friendly leaf plates stapled with fine bamboo needles, used for serving food. They are a testament to sustainable and traditional food practices.

Thali used for multi-purpose (2024)Lucknow Bioscope

Siniṁ

Large, flat, multi-purpose tray.

Sil Batta (2024)Lucknow Bioscope

Sil Batta


Sil Batta is a flat grinding slab with a cylindrical or triangular grinding stone. They are used to crush spices, herbs, and meats into fine pastes or powders, essential for many traditional dishes.

Takiya to stick the roti on the hot wall of the tandoor. (2024/2024)Lucknow Bioscope

Takiya


A small, cushioned pad used by the nanbai (baker) to stick the roti on the hot wall of the tandoor.

Tandoor for baking different types of BreadLucknow Bioscope

Tandoor


 A cylindrical clay or metal oven, essential in Indian cooking for baking bread and roasting meats. It cooks food at high temperatures, giving a distinct, smoky flavor, characteristic of tandoori dishes.

Tarazu traditional balance scale used for measuring spices and other ingredients. (2024)Lucknow Bioscope

Tarazu


A traditional balance scale used for measuring spices and other ingredients. It has two pans suspended from a horizontal bar, balanced on a central pivot, ensuring precise measurements.

Vintage weights from India (2024)Lucknow Bioscope

Weights from early 20th century.

Seer weights from India (2024)Lucknow Bioscope

Seer weights from India, early 1900s, used before the introduction of the Indian metric system in 1958  

Ulta Tawa for making thin breads like Rumali Roti. (2024/2024)Lucknow Bioscope

Ulta Tawa

An inverted griddle specifically for making large, thin breads like roomali roti. The convex surface cooks the bread, giving it its unique, signature shape.

Credits: Story

Curation: Ansaf, Noor Khan, Saman Habib
Graphic: Stuti Mishra 
Photography: Anshubhi Singh, Ayan Bose, Isha, Karan Kashyap, Tasveer Hasan 
Text and Translation: Amit Misra, Divya Joshi, Wasim Ahmed 
Special Thanks to: Amir Jamal, Madhavi Kuckreja 

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.