30+ Best Malayalam Cooking Utensils Vocab

Are you visiting Marayur, Vagamon, and Thekkady for the first time? Aside from the tourist spots in Kerala, you mustn’t miss out on the delicious South-Indian cuisine that can be found here. From luxurious restaurants to street-food stalls, it’s impossible not to find fantastic food in this place. Now, if you want to interact with the locals and surprise them with your skills, you can start a conversation with them and use some Malayalam cooking utensils vocab like കരണ്ടി (karaṇṭi), വറചട്ടി (vaṟacaṭṭi), and പാത്രം (pātraṁ) to make yourself understood by them better. Not only will this make them so happy to hear a foreigner speaking their language, but it will also show your genuine interest in learning about them and their cuisine. Ready to learn more? Let’s get started!

South Indian Food Culture

Whether you are a seasoned traveler or simply going on a trip as a newbie, one of the best hacks we can give you is to try out the food in the country you are visiting. Do not just settle for those restaurants that offer international cuisine. Instead, we urge you to eat where the locals eat since these places are more likely to provide you with authentic-tasting Indian food. Before we walk you through the words and expressions you can use related to Malayalam cooking utensils, let’s first cover our bases regarding the facts about their cuisine. 

Though Kerala covers only a minimal part of the large sub-continent of India, its delicious and distinct cuisine package is known worldwide. If you want to ensure you get the taste of suitable dishes, here are some facts you need to know.

Epic Facts About The Food In Kerala

  1. Are you a seafood lover? Along the coast and backwaters of Kerala, you will find restaurants that serve fresh food with fish everywhere. The spicy pollichathu style is one of the most commonly served dishes filled with lime juice and curry leaves. Even serving food related to Goan-Seafood classics is quite popular here. 
  2. The South-Indian cuisine is unlike western burgers and pizzas. The most exciting part of their entire menu is the breakfast specials like appam and dosa. These dishes are made with fermented rice flour batter, similar to pancakes but thinner and crispier. If you love crunches in your food, you will love these.
  3. As we are talking about utensils in this blog, one amusing fact about Keralian utensils is their uniqueness, like the Varppu made of bronze and Appa Chatti cookware. These are similar to a large round cauldron with side handles. The specialty of this utensil is that it is used in preparing almost all traditional south Indian food like making appam, sambar, payasam, etc., not usually seen in western households.
  4. Another fun fact about South Indian utensils is that they use a lot of clay pots and other clay-made products. The food cooked in clay pots is believed to be more delicious while keeping the environment and human condition healthy.

Best Dishes In Kerala

Since we are already talking about food and utensils, as guests in a new place, you ought to have some details about the best dishes you can try out once you land. So, here is a list of the most popular items in Kerala.

  • Idiyappam with curry
  • Appam with Ishtu
  • Idli sambar
  • Malabar parotta with beef curry
  • Masala dosa
  • Kerala prawn curries
  • Banana fritters
  • Thattu dosa with chutney
  • Kerala style fish molee
  • Puttu and kadala curry

Malayalam Cooking Utensils: Traditional Cookware 

Malayalam taste

Now that you know some interesting facts about the Keralan Kitchen, this section will give you an insight into the traditional kitchen utensils that locals use to prepare their original food.

  1. Appa Chatti (അപ്പ ചട്ടി)

The first traditional utensil that a cook cannot live without in Kerala is the Appa Chatti. It is concave pan-like utensils that are used for making appam specifically. It usually comes with a cast-iron lid that covers it from above while cooking. You can also call it a hopper-making pan in English.

  1. Dosa Kallu (ദോശ കല്ലു)

Dosa Kallu, or iron tawa, is another popular utensil in Kerala that is used for preparing the infamous dish dosa. It is a cast iron or non-stick griddle that is flat and round. It is also used for making other side dishes, but as the name suggests, Dosa or rice pancakes are the primary items.

  1. Mun Chatti (മുൻ ചട്ടി)

The next utensil is the Mun Chatti. Mun Chattis are clay pots used for making south Indian curries whose origin dates back to the old civilization era. Nowadays, non-sticky pans have taken over most kitchens, but many houses still carry the healthy legacy of clay pots in their kitchen.

  1. Varppu (വാർപ്പു)

The Varppu is one of the majestic high-end utensils in Kerala, usually made of bronze carvings and aluminum. In simple words, it looks like a flat cauldron that is best for cooking volume items. In fact, locals maintain particular regard for Varppu and use it as an interior decoration placed in visiting halls of corporate offices and hotels, mainly as a present signifying a grand welcome when people visit their place.

  1. Unniappam Pan (ഉണ്ണിയപ്പം പാൻ)

Like a frying pan, the Unniappam pan is a ten or more concave slot pan with a batter holding capacity that fries snacks in hot oil. Regular Frying Pans are known as vaṟacaṭṭi. Unniappam Panis is somewhat different.

  1. Cheena Chatti (ചീന ചട്ടി)

As we are talking about frying pans, Cheena Chatti is the South Indian version of deep frying pans. It is a pan made of cast iron and was introduced to Kerala first by China. Nowadays, many factories are manufacturing this utensil and adding a lot of features perfect for various cooking techniques.

  1. Puttu Kudam (പുട്ടു കുടം)

Puttu Kudam is a particular puttu maker in the Kerala kitchen utensils collection. It is made of aluminum and is also known as Puttu Vessel. Puttu is a steamed riced dish that is shaped in a cylindrical manner, layered usually with coconut shavings. It is beautiful, and you must have a taste of it. 

  1. Kal Chatti (കാൽ ചട്ടി)

Kall Chatti is similar to clay pots but is made by carving soapstone. So basically, these are stone pots used to make curries, sambar, paruppu, etc., in Kerala. It is heavier as a vessel than other utensils and is used for serving food that needs to remain hot for an extended period. It prevents the trouble of reheating food again and again.

30+ Other Utensils Vocab In Malayalam

 Malayalam  cooking utensils

We have learned all the traditional utensils of Kerala, but here is a list of everyday utensils that we get to see in every kitchen. 

English Malayalam Pronunciation
Blender ബ്ലെൻഡർ blenḍar
Bowl പാത്രം pātraṁ
Butter knife വെണ്ണ കത്തി veṇṇa katti
Bottle കുപ്പി kuppi
Cutlery കട്ട്ലറി kaṭṭlaṟi
Chopsticks ചോപ്സ്റ്റിക്കുകൾ cēāpsṟṟikkukaḷ
Cleaver ക്ലീവർ klīvar
Corkscrew കോർക്ക്സ്ക്രൂ kēārkkskrū
Fork ഫോർക്ക് phēārkk
Garlic crusher വെളുത്തുള്ളി ക്രഷർ veḷuttuḷḷi kraṣar
Grinder ഗ്രൈൻഡർ grainḍar
Grater ഗ്രേറ്റർ grēṟṟar
Jar ഭരണി bharaṇi
Juicer ജ്യൂസർ jyūsar
Kettle കെറ്റിൽ keṟṟil
Kitchen scissors അടുക്കള കത്രിക aṭukkaḷa katrika
Knife കത്തി katti
Ladle ലാഡിൽ lāḍil
Measuring cup അളവ് പാത്രം aḷav pātraṁ
Mixer മിക്സർ miksar
Mug മഗ്ഗ് magg
Oven ഓവൻ ōvan
Peeler പീലർ pīlar
Pressure cooker പ്രഷർ കുക്കർ praṣar kukkar
Poacher വേട്ടക്കാരൻ vēṭṭakkāran
Pot പാത്രം pātraṁ
Rolling pin മാവുപരത്തുന്ന വടി māvuparattunna vaṭi
Spatula സ്പാറ്റുല spāṟṟula
Skillet സ്കില്ലറ്റ് skillaṟṟ
Toaster ടോസ്റ്റർ ṭēāsṟṟar
Teapot ചായകോപ്പ cāyakēāppa
Whisk പതപ്പിച്ചു patappiccu
Wok വോക്ക് vēākk
Wooden spoon തടി സ്പൂൺ taṭi spūṇ
Zester സെസ്റ്റർ sesṟṟar

Kitchen-Related Phrases In The Malayalam Language

Only the words would not suffice. So, in the table below, we have listed some common Malayalam phrases you will constantly hear in south Indian households. It will help you interact and connect with the locals better.

English Malayalam Pronunciation
Can you pass me the pan? എനിക്ക് പാൻ തരുമോ? enikk pān tarumēā?
Cut the beef with a knife ബീഫ് കത്തി ഉപയോഗിച്ച് മുറിക്കുക bīph katti upayēāgicc muṟikkuka
Do you have a frying pan? വറചട്ടി ഉണ്ടോ? vaṟacaṭṭi uṇṭēā?
Keep the teapot hot ടീപ്പോ ചൂടായി സൂക്ഷിക്കുക ṭīppēā cūṭāyi sūkṣikkuka
We need a grinder to mix it ഇത് ഇളക്കാൻ നമുക്ക് ഒരു ഗ്രൈൻഡർ ആവശ്യമാണ് it iḷakkān namukk oru grainḍar āvaśyamāṇ
Don’t over-boil the rice അരി അധികം തിളപ്പിക്കരുത് ari adhikaṁ tiḷappikkarut
The food is ready ഭക്ഷണം തയ്യാറാണ് bhakṣaṇaṁ tayyāṟāṇ
I need a juicer to make lemonade നാരങ്ങാവെള്ളം ഉണ്ടാക്കാൻ എനിക്ക് ഒരു ജ്യൂസർ വേണം nāraṅṅāveḷḷaṁ uṇṭākkān enikk oru jyūsar vēṇaṁ
We use a flat pan to cook dosa ദോശ പാകം ചെയ്യാൻ ഞങ്ങൾ ഒരു പരന്ന പാൻ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നു dēāśa pākaṁ ceyyān ñaṅṅaḷ oru paranna pān upayēāgikkunnu
Can I use the spatula? എനിക്ക് സ്പാറ്റുല ഉപയോഗിക്കാമോ? enikk spāṟṟula upayēāgikkāmēā?
Use the deep frying pans for the snacks ലഘുഭക്ഷണത്തിനായി ആഴത്തിലുള്ള ഉരുളികൾ ഉപയോഗിക്കുക laghubhakṣaṇattināyi āḻattiluḷḷa uruḷikaḷ upayēāgikkuka
I know how to use a chopstick ചോപ്സ്റ്റിക്ക് എങ്ങനെ ഉപയോഗിക്കണമെന്ന് എനിക്കറിയാം cēāpsṟṟikk eṅṅane upayēāgikkaṇamenn enikkaṟiyāṁ
Please use a concave pan to make sambar സാമ്പാർ ഉണ്ടാക്കാൻ ഒരു കോൺകേവ് പാൻ ഉപയോഗിക്കുക sāmpār uṇṭākkān oru kēāṇkēv pān upayēāgikkuka
Stone pots help keep the food warm ഭക്ഷണം ഊഷ്മളമായി നിലനിർത്താൻ കാൽചട്ടി സഹായിക്കുന്നു bhakṣaṇaṁ ūṣmaḷamāyi nilanirttān kālcaṭṭi sahāyikkunnu
Be careful with the clay pot മൺപാത്രം സൂക്ഷിക്കുക maṇpātraṁ sūkṣikkuka

Wrapping Up!

Are these terms giving you a boost of confidence in speaking with the locals about their cuisine? Well then, it is clear that you are improving and eager to learn more. Knowing these words will help you go around with impressive skills and might help you earn some of the best South Indian friends. After all, food is the universal love language. So, if you wish to keep exploring more of such content regarding the Malayalam language and culture, go to the AppStore or PlayStore and click the download button of Ling App right away!

Learn Malayalam With Ling App

Malayalam Kitchen utensils

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