Rail Adukku
We all love the stories our grandparents tell us, don’t we? There’s something about how they used to live that brings nostalgic warmth to our hearts in the middle of a busy day. And when it comes to stories, we’ve all heard how our grandmothers cooked and served the tastiest food ever! If you’re familiar with the vessels our grandparents used to cook with, then there’s a chance that you have come across the ‘Rail Adukku’. If not, don’t worry. I’ll tell you all there is to know about a versatile “mini-kitchen”, that is, the Rail Adukku.
What is Rail Adukku?
I shall take you on a small journey back in time. One story that always stuck with me is how my grandmother would describe her travel experiences. In her time, when restaurants and roadside eateries weren’t popular, families used to cook by themselves wherever they traveled, especially by train. This was not easy because carrying multiple vessels along with luggage and other items was a chore. To make life and traveling easier, our family used a dependable item called the rail adukku.
The rail adukku, as my grandmother used to tell me, was a resourceful travel companion because it was all that they needed. A rail adukku set included all the necessary vessels to cater to the needs of a large family. From small tumblers and dabaras, to medium cooking pots for sambar, rasam, and paysam, and large vessels for boiling rice; it was a comprehensive item that solved the problem. You might wonder how it was convenient to carry so many vessels while traveling. The rail adukku solved this too. All the individual containers and vessels could compactly fit into one another and in turn be packed into the largest container.
What is the rail adukku made of?
Hearing my grandmother praise the rail aduuku induced curiosity. I wanted to know what this amazing rail adukku was made of. Grandma, of course, had the answer. And I am going to let you in on it. The rail adukku with all its containers is made of brass. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc where copper takes the majority. Being part of our ancient tradition, brass has been used for centuries, and is still being used to make cookware. I’ll share some characteristics of brass that make it a versatile material for use in cooking.
Characteristics of Brass
What does the rail adukku bring to the table?
What difference does having a rail adukku make, when you no longer have to cook wherever you go? While it’s not practical to carry around today, the rail adukku is a beautiful piece of cookware you can flaunt in your kitchen. Not being able to carry it everywhere does not make it obsolete. You can still use it the same way my grandmother did to prepare food, and serve to a large gathering. The rail adukku also serves a higher purpose. Its aesthetic value provides a tribute to bygone traditions, and is evidence of our artisans’ hard work and craftsmanship brilliance. It declutters your kitchen as it’s a one-stop-shop for almost every cooking and serving need. It reduces the number of utensils, and storage required to keep all the standalone cookware that you’d have to buy. The rail adukku is indeed an asset to help you reach your kitchen goals!
How you can maintain longevity of your rail adukku
Being made of brass, the rail adukku requires additional steps to clean apart from the regular water and dish soap routine.
- To get the best out of your brass utensils, scrub them with a mix of tamarind pulp and salt.
- You can then proceed to wash the entire vessel with mild dish soap and water.
- After washing the utensils, use a clean dry cloth to dry them.
- Please be careful while scrubbing, and do not use steel wool or metal wire scrubs on them to avoid the chances of scratches.
Get your rail adukku set today!
So now that you are familiar with the rail adukku and its story, it’s time to add this beauty to your kitchen. It’s something that’s artistic, traditional, antique, and so beautifully useful. As long as humans continue to cook, the rail adukku will always be relevant unlike antiques like gramophones. If you’re someone who finds warmth in possessing something that was part of our grandparents’ kitchens, the rail adukku set is just the thing for you. Having it in your kitchen also gives you a chance to contribute to the satisfaction of the many traditional artisans who continue to make wonderful brass cookware today, and connect with our roots. Who knows, maybe one day your grandkids would be proudly telling their friends about a certain “rail adukku” set that their grandparents had in their kitchen.