Non-Stick, Aluminium or Iron Kadhai: What to Cook In

By the KABO Nutrition Team · fact-checked against cited public-health sources.

For everyday Indian cooking, iron and stainless steel are the safest defaults, and an iron kadhai has a genuine bonus — it adds absorbable iron to the food. Non-stick is fine within its limits: no overheating past around 260°C, and replaced once the coating is scratched.

Iron: the one with a bonus

Cooking in iron transfers a small but genuine amount of iron into food, and studies have found it measurably improves iron status in populations where deficiency is common. The transfer is greater with acidic foods and longer cooking.

In India, where iron deficiency is widespread and vegetarian diets supply the less absorbable non-haem form, a well-seasoned iron kadhai is one of the few pieces of kitchen equipment with a defensible nutritional claim. It needs seasoning and drying after washing, which is the entire cost of that benefit.

Stainless steel: the safe default

Steel is essentially inert. It does not react with acidic food, does not leach at meaningful levels, and lasts decades. It is the correct default for dals, curries, boiling and general use.

Its only real drawback is sticking, which good technique — proper preheating and enough fat — mostly solves. Look for heavier bases, which distribute heat far better than thin ones.

Non-stick, and its actual limits

Modern non-stick coatings are stable at normal cooking temperatures. Problems arise above roughly 260°C, where the coating begins to degrade and release fumes — a temperature an empty pan on high heat reaches within a few minutes.

• Never preheat an empty non-stick pan.
• Keep it to low and medium heat; use steel or iron for searing and high-heat tadka.
• Use wooden or silicone utensils, not metal.
• Replace the pan once the coating is scratched or flaking.
• PFOA has been phased out of manufacture; check that any pan you buy states this.

Aluminium

Aluminium is light, cheap, conducts heat well and is ubiquitous in Indian kitchens. It also leaches more into food than steel does, particularly with acidic ingredients like tomato, tamarind and lemon, and with salty preparations.

Everyday dietary aluminium exposure is not established as harmful at normal levels, but if you would rather minimise it, avoid cooking acidic dishes in bare aluminium and prefer hard-anodised versions, which have a far more stable surface.

Clay, brass and copper

Clay pots cook gently and are inert, but require care and can be porous. Brass and copper are traditional and attractive, and both react with acidic food, which is exactly why they are traditionally tin-lined (kalai).

If you use unlined brass or copper for cooking rather than serving, get the lining redone when it wears — the lining is the safety feature, not a decoration.

Frequently asked questions

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