How to Maintain a Cast Iron Pan

 

Why Cast Iron cookware though?

1. Its healthier to cook in a cast iron than a non-stick pan because there are no toxins released into food.
2. After the initial coating or seasoning, you don’t need to add much oil for cooking. It basically becomes a non-stick pan. It cleans up easy too, food doesn’t stick to it.
3. Can be used for high-heat cooking and on any surface. Gas, electric, induction, any stovetop and it can be directly moved to oven to finish cooking. You can use it during camping too.
4. It cooks any food beautifully and Boosts your iron levels by naturally adding iron to your meals.
5. Very inexpensive compared to any other cookware.
6. Lasts for years and can be passed on to the next generations.
7. But as I said, from dosa perspective, a dosa made on a cast iron griddle is the best kinda dosa ever.

Seasoning a new cast iron griddle:

Let's see how to maintain or season a new the cast iron griddle/Pan. I have a lot of cast-iron cookware and here, as we are learning about dosa pans

• Wash and rinse the pan. Immediately, dry it off with a clean kitchen towel.
• Apply oil generously on all sides of the pan, on the bottom and handle too, and put it in the oven upside down.
• Line the bottom shelf of the oven with aluminum foil. Bake the pan for 1 hour at 350F. Let it cool down completely.
• Now heat the pan until it's smoking and add oil and salt to the pan. Rub the salt all over the pan and dust it off when the pan is cold enough to handle it.
• And that’s it, your pan is ready to make dosas. The dosas will not turn good for the first 20 times but after that, OMG, crispy dosas galore.
• After you are done making the dosas, wipe the pan clean while it's still hot and let it cool down. Store it away and do not wash it every time.
  
  
  

Seasoning a new/scraped out cast iron pan with no-oven method:

Don’t worry if you don’t have an oven to season your new/scraped cast iron pan. Seasoning can be done on a stove top on high heat. Let's see how to maintain a cast iron pan with no oven.

• Scraping on old pan should be done as I mentioned above, Soak for 10 min and scrape using a this stainless steel chainmail scrubber and a spatula 
  
  
  

• Wash and rinse the pan. You need to wash a new pan as well. Then dry it with a kitchen towel.
• Heat on the stovetop until its smoking. Add oil and salt and rub it all over, very carefully as the pan will be super hot.
• Dust off the salt when its cold enough to handle. Wipe it with oil again and store it away.
• You don’t need to do this seasoning step every time. Just wipe the dosa pan clean after making dosas, that’s it!

A few do’s and don’ts:

• Never ever touch the handle of the cast iron pan while its hot. Always use a silicone handle cover or a kitchen towel to hold the handles.
• Do not use the dosa pan for anything else. Dosa pan and roti pan should be separate.
• It takes longer to heat up and is definitely very heavy. So be very careful handling it.
• Cooking acidic foods in a bare cast iron pan is not recommended.
• Needs a little maintenance as compared to an enameled cast iron pan. So use your elbow grease. And do not put it in the dishwasher.
• And lastly, don’t ever drop it. It's so heavy, it's gonna dent your floors.

A few important things to note while making dosas.

1. Do not wash your dosa pan very often. I wash it once in 3-4 months. I just wipe it clean with a clean and dry towel while its still hot and store it away when it cools down.
2. Do not use the pan you use for dosas for anything else. Its strips off the coating/seasoning and will not work out for the next batch of dosas. I keep a separate pan for dosas and rotis, both cast iron.
3. Once your pan is hot, add a tsp of oil, wipe/spread it all over the pan with a clean towel. Then you can start making dosas. Wipe your dosa pan with the same towel after you make each dosa.
4. Another good trick followed by so many people while making dosas is to rub an onion half on the pan after each dosa.
5. My mom does the scraping of the dosa pan a bit differently. She heats the pan on super high heat and scrapes it on the stove top while its still hot. I am little bit of wimp to do it when its hot. If you are daring enough, please do try it on stovetop.