In home chef Rhea Dalal’s kitchen, the age of her cookware ranges from one to 60 years. At one end are heavy-duty cast-iron pots and a 5-kg urli used for slow-cooked mutton curries and payesh. On the other hand, lightweight modern pieces, such as a carbon steel wok from Japan or a Meyer stainless steel kadhai, are her go-to for everyday cooking.

Subodh Gupta’s Sadhu Fakir at Nature Morte, Mumbai (2024)

“I can’t do without either,” says Dalal. “Some of my most-used cookware is inherited — like a small cast iron kadhai with one handle missing, but an interior smooth as silk. My grandmother used it, then my mother. Every time I fry a Bengali luchi, those memories come back.”