Karahi
type of thick, circular, and deep pan
A karahi is a type of thick, circular, and deep cooking pot, similar in shape to a wok, from the Indian subcontinent. It is used in Indian, Nepalese, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Afghan, and Caribbean cuisines. Traditionally press-formed from mild steel sheets or made of wrought iron, a karahi resembles a wok with steeper sides. Today, they can be made of stainless steel, copper, and nonstick surfaces, both round and flat-bottomed, or of traditional materials. The word karahi emanates from karah, a bigger version of karahi traditionally used in the subcontinent for boiling milk and producing thick cream.
History
Karahi or kadahi comes from the Prakrit word kataha, which is mentioned in texts like the Ramayana and Sushruta Samhita, and derives from Sanskrit kataha (meaning a frying pan, boiler, cauldron or saucepan). A karahi-like vessel is first mentioned in the Vedas as bharjanapatra.
Use
A karahi serves for the shallow or deep-frying of meat, potatoes, sweets, and snacks such as samosa and fish and also for Indian papadams, but is most noted for the simmering of stews, which are often named karahi dishes after the utensil.
Karahi dishes
Stews prepared in a karahi include chicken, beef, mutton, goat and lamb. Stews prepared with paneer or tofu are becoming increasingly popular amongst vegetarians.
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This entry incorporates text from “Karahi” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.