What is Rail Adukku Pathiram ? All You Need To Know!

Do you love to have a unique collection of vintage cooking vessels, utensils, and crockery sets? To be precise, are you fascinated with collecting pre-owned, brass cookware?

If yes, this blog is for you. Today, we are going to talk about Rail Adukku Pathiram – a traditional South Indian bucket that could carry a whole kitchen in it. Basically, it was an ancient version of the modern portable kitchen concept.

The Rail Adukku Pathiram

Though your cooking kits and kitchen decors don’t define you as a chef, it’s never harmful to add up to your kitchen collections based on your aesthetic choice. There are many reasons why people love to collect antiques. You might fall for vintage cookware that holds sentimental value. You might love to learn about the stories attached to the pre-owned item. Whatever the reason is, bringing back the traditional rail adukku in your kitchen would be a one-of-a-kind décor renovation. Before getting your hands on a set, let’s learn about its origin at first.

 A Little Backstory on Rail Adukku Pathiram

The customary, multi-layered set of brass vessels is something that people used for long journeys in the 1950s. This set included all of the necessary cooking brass pots for an indoor or outdoor event.

The Rail Adukku Pathiram is made up of 14 vessels of various sizes that are carefully packed inside the largest container. Previously, families used the vessels to transport supplies and cook food when traveling by rail. The food for a mini-wedding was cooked in these pots. The compact size and ease of transport are appealing features. It includes two cooking vessels, a sippal plate for boiling rice, a frying pan, a sombu, a bronze pot for carrying water, and many cooking containers of various sizes. Until a video leaked online lately, many in Tamil Nadu had forgotten about the existence of these multi-layered vessels.

Recreation of the Ancient Cooking Kit in the Modern Era with Rail Adukku Pathiram

• Rail Adukku Pathiram was a one-of-a-kind invention by Tamil Nadu’s traditional clusters for huge families traveling for months on pilgrimage to different regions of the country.
• People used to travel by this Rail Adukku – a compact set that can support the cooking and serving demands of the traveling group – before hotels and dining places were invented.
• Depending on the number of persons traveling, the same is created in various sizes. The biggest of these historic rail adukkus could hold a group of 10-15 people.
• With the availability of food in restaurants and even on your doorstep, the craft has been lost over the last 20-25 years.
• The artists of Tamil Nadu have resurrected this forgotten technique and produced it in little sizes, enabling modern households to experience this innovation, thanks to a resurgence of relevance to traditional ways of life.

Artistic Value Of The One-Stop Way To Cook Everything

Since the beginning of rail travel in India, local artisans in Tamil Nadu have been manufacturing this multi-layered cooking and carrying set for more than 100 years (that we could document).

These brass kitchen storage kits are exclusively manufactured so that they can be packed compactly for travel yet still have enough components to serve a big party for days or perhaps months. The entire set must be handcrafted, with brass sheets being beaten to the desired shape and size.

In most cases, it is a collection of 14 brass utensils with various functions that can be used to support your cooking during long train rides. But, in some cases, an adukku set can go up to even 21 vessels packed together for long trips.

How to Use A Rail Adukku Pathiram Set?

You might be wondering about how to use this traditional cooking utensil in a modern home like yours? Well, guess what? You can still utilize many parts of the Rail Adukku Pathiram individually during your cooking process at home.  For instance,

• The “Vatta Adukku”, as in the wide mouth handi is suitable for producing many types of vegetables, meat, and other foods.
• The narrower tall pots, known as “Uyara Adukku” are ideal for rice and gravy meals like sambhar and rasam.
• Two smaller adukkus provide support in serving functions such as keeping ghee, dal, pickles, or just serving water.
• The set includes brass tumblers that can be used to serve beverages such as tea or coffee.
• To drain surplus starch water from the rice cooked in them, a strainer plate is essential.
• This set also includes a huge water jug, which is as important.

So, if you are a vintage soul trapped in a contemporary lifestyle and want to take a page from the history and preserve it as a part of your daily chores, a Rail Adukku Pathiram can be the best addition to your kitchen, even in 2022.

How to Wash Your Adukkus and Preserve Them with Care?

Please wash them carefully with liquid soap and water (mild detergents) and avoid using steel wire scrapes, which could damage the interior tin coating. To get the shine, clean the exterior surface using a mixture of lime, tamarind, and salt. Always wipe the surface of the water after washing to avoid oxidation of the surface owing to the presence of water particles.

We hope you found this guide on Rail Adukku Pathiram interesting! To know more about traditional brass and bronze gems, follow our blog page.

Want to see every piece of the Rail Adukku Set up-close? Click on the link below!

RAIL ADUKKU PATHIRAM

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