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When You Should Choose Non Stick or Stainless Steel in Cooking



  
Among all the elements of cooking, utensils are rarely discussed and somehow never make it to a recipe. How you cook of course is important but equally important is what you use for cooking.


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Non stick or Stainless Steel

The advent of non stick cookware revolutionized cooking. Preceding this were regular utensils of untempered iron or aluminum in which was required a great deal of oil or butter to prevent food from sticking. But non stick changed all that and voila, healthy cooking soon became the norm which converted to reduced fat consumption.  That is a definite plus point when you realize that just 1 cup of oil contains a whopping 1909 calories and butter contains 1628.

In most cases of continental and Chinese cooking, a non stick pan will require the least amount of oil. For example a Chinese stir fry just requires a dash of oil for that initial sautéing of chicken and then the subsequent veggies where you can continue with a little stock or water. In the same manner a good pasta can be rustled up with as less oil as possible unless you’re using olive oil which is recommended even by doctors as good for health.

The Benefits of Non Stick Cooking

Non stick pans are coated with a material called PTFE or (polytetrafluoroethylene) where Teflon a major brand has now become synonymous with non stick coating. But all said and done, when and how should you use your non stick pan? In Indian cooking this requires non veg meats to be browned well before adding stock or water for the gravy, the old cast iron vessel or kadhai is ideal.  Such utensils tend to create a crusty surface on the food and that’s your objective when you’re making a good chicken curry or an Anglo Indian Country Captain.

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Anglo Indian Country Captain


Non Stick pans are brilliant in cooking delicate fish dishes as you wouldn’t want your fish to stick to the pan in which case it would crumble.  Fish like salmon or Indian illish are best cooked in a non stick pan. You can make a delightful mustard and coconut fish curry in a non stick pan.

You can check out this range of non stick cookware at kraftly where prices are unbelievable. Given the right time you could get some great discounts here.

The traditional way of cooking Chinese haka noodles was in a steel or cast iron wok, but this required coating the wok with enough oil to ensure the ingredients move around smoothly. However modern cooking can achieve the same effect through non stick woks where less oil is required. Chinese stir fries and noodles are meant to be healthy wholesome meals and not floating in oil as is the practice in some restaurants.

Crepes and egg dishes are also best cooked in non stick pans. This version of crepes filled with a stuffing of coconut and banana was cooked in an Akshara non stickpan which is also available at a discounted rate on the Kraftly website.


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Coconut and Banana filled Crepes


Where  Stainless Steel Cooking really Matters

 The days of lightweight aluminum kadhais are the thing of the past. Stainless steel is more the norm. The most suitable way to cook in stainless steel is to ensure the heat is just right before you add your ingredients. But here’s a trick that most people don’t follow. Heat your pan abit before you add oil because that creates an expansion which transforms to a slicker smoother surface. Using stainless steel for searing lamb chops or pork chops requires a good quality utensil, always use a broader kadhai so that your chops have room to breathe and brown all over. Crowding your pan is what causes you to lose that rich brown crust. The art of getting a crust is to leave the meat in the pan after the initial toss is done. Removing the lid and working it too often prevents crusting.

https://kraftly.com/product/steel-copper-kadai-no4-1467186902ret
Art & Craftvilla Copper Steel Kadhai at Kraftly
Good stainless steel cooking utensils are hard to come by. In most cases I found the brim of the utensil and the cooking surface blackening whenever I cooked stir fry Chinese or a chili chicken. The heavier the utensil the higher the quality.  For an assorted range of steel cookware kraftly provides
some relatively good items noteworthy of which is the Art & Craftvilla copper steel kadhai  sold at an extremely affordable price of Rs 645. That is a real bargain.

I do hope you acquired as much interesting information by way of recipes and some real steals. I came across Kraftly and found to my surprise several items on sale and in terms of pricing, I doubt if you get better than that. I found copper and brass coated cookware very useful because it cooks items like dal pretty fast due to copper being a good conductor of heat.