The journal
Notes from the bench.
Care guides and craft notes from the Vedic Hearth workshop — how kalai is poured and how to keep it, how to cook on peetal without scorching it, and what a hand-hammered mark does and does not tell you about a piece.
Latest notes
Care, cooking and craftBrass kadhai buying guide: size, weight, lining, price
Buy 2.5 litres for families up to five, expect around 1.9 kg of metal, insist on a kalai lining, and treat flat pricing as a trust signal.
Read the note →Is it safe to cook in brass?
Yes, when the vessel is tin-lined (kalai); the lining stands between food and reactive metal, which is exactly why honest makers line their cookware.
Read the note →How to clean brass utensils
Peetal care in one guide - wash warm with mild soap, remove tarnish outside with tamarind and ash or lemon, never polish or scour the kalai tin lining inside.
Read the note →The tamarind-and-ash method, step by step
The traditional outside-cleaning routine, when to use it, and why it beats scouring powder.
Read the note →Why the dishwasher stays off limits
Dishwasher detergent is harsher than anything hand washing uses, and soft surfaces pay for it.
Read the note →Why peetal needs a lining
Unlined brass and daily cooking do not mix; the kalai lining is what makes peetal practical.
Read the note →What is kalai?
Kalai is the tin lining inside a peetal vessel, and the reason it can cook food every day.
Read the note →