The Cast Iron Skillet: The One Pan Every Indian Kitchen Needs (And How to Use It Right)

Dear reader,

Walk into most Indian kitchens and you will find a tawa, maybe a kadai, and perhaps a pressure cooker doing most of the heavy lifting. The humble skillet rarely gets a mention, which is a bit of a shame, because it does a few things that a flat tawa or a deep kadai simply are not built for.

What Makes a Skillet Different From a Tawa

A skillet is shallower and more compact than a kadai, but it has a slight rise around the edge that a tawa does not. That little rise is what lets you shallow fry, toss, and move food around without it sliding off the edge the way it would on a flat tawa. It is the pan you reach for between "flat and wide" and "deep and round."

It Comes Pre-Seasoned With TilCrust™

Our Triple-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, like the rest of our ferrous cookware, is pre-seasoned at the factory with TilCrust™ — our proprietary blend of natural cold-pressed vegetable oils, with no synthetic coating involved. This factory seasoning is done in a way that is roughly equivalent to 10-15 rounds of seasoning at home, so the pan is genuinely ready to cook on straight out of the box. That said, seasoning is an ongoing job, not a one-time event — regular cooking and a little oil after each wash is what keeps building that smooth, black, non-stick patina over time.

Where You Can Use It

This skillet is made to work on LPG stovetops, induction cooktops, open fires, charcoal, electric grills, ceramic tops, and electric ovens (OTGs) — the one place to avoid is the microwave.

What You Can Cook In It

This is where the skillet earns its place: patties, cutlets, samosas, vegetables, chicken, fish, mutton, and eggs all do well in it, whether you are stir-frying, shallow frying, or searing. The two cast handles — moulded as part of the pan itself, with no welds or joints — mean you can go from stovetop to oven to table without switching pans.

Looking After Your Skillet

Keep it simple. Never use soap on it — scrub with a stiff brush and hot water, then dry it completely before putting it away; it is not dishwasher-safe. After cleaning, a light coat of cooking oil keeps the seasoning in good shape for the next time you cook.

A good skillet is one of those things you do not realise you are missing until you have one. If you would like to see ours, here is the Triple-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet I have described above.

With warm regards,

Avinash Kalro