Hi all,
Not sure if this is best place for thread but it is cooking-related.
Many of you will have heard of/seen/own a Muurikka pan (I have a nice Leisku - http://www.muurikka.co.uk/Camping.html) but they are eye-wateringly expensive for what they are. I think I may have found a more cost-effective alternative.
I was wandering down Great Western Rd in Glasgow last week when I looked in the window of one of the ethnic shops ('Halal Butchers', a Pakistani-owned place) at the 'city' end and saw some nice aluminium saute pans and stock pots at a bargain price. These are made by the Pakistani company, Kitchen King, and have proved to be basic but actually pretty damn good. The aluminium is a good thickness and they are robust and cheap (£8.99 for saute pan and £11.99 for 3.4L stock pot). These shops are a treasure trove of cheap spices, dry goods (lentils, chick-peas, etc), flat breads, etc, and kitchen equipment. Anyway, it's not this stuff I wanted to talk about.
Tucked away behind the other kitchenware were some decent sized roti pans, made of steel with pretty basic wooden handles. They are bigger than a dinner plate and slightly concave - perfect for flatbreads, etc, and just like a Muurikka Leisku but bigger and without the folding handle. They were £4.99 each so I bought a couple and brought them home. The wooden handle means I couldn't 'oven season' them as I'd normally do so I had a look on the internet to see what could be done. Frankly, I might remove the wooden handles and replace them at some point and I suppose you could do that and season them before replacing them. I found some instructions and had a go at seasoning the pans this morning - it seems to have worked ok. If anyone knows a better technique, I'd be interested to hear.
I wiped vegetable oil onto the cooking surface, turned up the gas and spent about 10 mins per pan slowly moving them to distribute the heat across the bottom surface. I suggest you open a window, shut the kitchen door and cover the smoke alarm as a fair bit of smoke comes off the cooking surface. I kept wiping the layer of oil on thinly with a wodge of kitchen towel until the surface went deep brown all over. I'll wipe them down again with oil when they're cool before putting them away (one is for a friend).
As it's not really a proper oven seasoning, they will improve significantly with use and should be perfect for use outdoors too. Cleaning should be under very hot water but don't scrub as you'll remove the patina on the surface.
Anyway, check out your local ethnic shops - they are a great source of unusual foods and cheap kitchen equipment!
Hope this is helpful.
Not sure if this is best place for thread but it is cooking-related.
Many of you will have heard of/seen/own a Muurikka pan (I have a nice Leisku - http://www.muurikka.co.uk/Camping.html) but they are eye-wateringly expensive for what they are. I think I may have found a more cost-effective alternative.
I was wandering down Great Western Rd in Glasgow last week when I looked in the window of one of the ethnic shops ('Halal Butchers', a Pakistani-owned place) at the 'city' end and saw some nice aluminium saute pans and stock pots at a bargain price. These are made by the Pakistani company, Kitchen King, and have proved to be basic but actually pretty damn good. The aluminium is a good thickness and they are robust and cheap (£8.99 for saute pan and £11.99 for 3.4L stock pot). These shops are a treasure trove of cheap spices, dry goods (lentils, chick-peas, etc), flat breads, etc, and kitchen equipment. Anyway, it's not this stuff I wanted to talk about.
Tucked away behind the other kitchenware were some decent sized roti pans, made of steel with pretty basic wooden handles. They are bigger than a dinner plate and slightly concave - perfect for flatbreads, etc, and just like a Muurikka Leisku but bigger and without the folding handle. They were £4.99 each so I bought a couple and brought them home. The wooden handle means I couldn't 'oven season' them as I'd normally do so I had a look on the internet to see what could be done. Frankly, I might remove the wooden handles and replace them at some point and I suppose you could do that and season them before replacing them. I found some instructions and had a go at seasoning the pans this morning - it seems to have worked ok. If anyone knows a better technique, I'd be interested to hear.
I wiped vegetable oil onto the cooking surface, turned up the gas and spent about 10 mins per pan slowly moving them to distribute the heat across the bottom surface. I suggest you open a window, shut the kitchen door and cover the smoke alarm as a fair bit of smoke comes off the cooking surface. I kept wiping the layer of oil on thinly with a wodge of kitchen towel until the surface went deep brown all over. I'll wipe them down again with oil when they're cool before putting them away (one is for a friend).
As it's not really a proper oven seasoning, they will improve significantly with use and should be perfect for use outdoors too. Cleaning should be under very hot water but don't scrub as you'll remove the patina on the surface.
Anyway, check out your local ethnic shops - they are a great source of unusual foods and cheap kitchen equipment!
Hope this is helpful.
. Great bit of kit which I've seasoned, and am awaiting BBQ weather to use more often.
