Sunday, April 26, 2009

My kitchen knives

- By Deepa Krishnan
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When I first set up my kitchen, I bought a set of five steel knives from an upscale lifestyle store. There was a lovely chunky wooden holder (you know, the light coloured wood that you see in Scandinavian furniture?). The knives sat snugly in it. The darn thing caught my fancy.
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I brought the knives and the holder home, and set it up on the kitchen counter. When the sun streamed through the window, the knife handles gleamed satisfactorily. Ah, Deepa, I told myself - you have quite the modern kitchen!
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Five years have gone by now - and guess what - the knives are still sitting in the holder. We don't use them at all! Instead, my maids prefer these - the 10 rupee handmade knives from Zaveri Bazaar.

These knives are made by hand. A blade is inserted into a wooden holder, and bound with thin wire. The blade is then sharpened on a grinding stone. The nicer, bigger ones cost twenty rupees.
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It's not just my maids who love these knives - I do too. They are excellent for slicing vegetables; and even the trickiest tomato is no trouble at all. I think it's because the blade is really thin and flexible. T-chak! T-chick! In minutes the carrots and beans are all neatly sliced!
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My food-writer friend Rushina is a big fan of these knives too. I remember a couple of years ago, I was walking in Bhuleshwar with her and she said, "Deepa, you know, these are really great for vegetable carving." That's when I bought these for the first time, and now I'm hooked.
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The knives are incredibly sharp when you buy them. But they lose the sharpness in a couple of months, because they're really thin knives and I don't think the metal is high quality. When we've used them for a couple of months, we take them back to the knife guy, and have him sharpen them again.

In spite of the need for sharpening, they're really lovely to use, and we've switched over completely to these. Next time you're in Zaveri Bazaar, or at your local market, buy yourself one of these. Oh, and if you need to see how sharp the knife is, ask them to demonstrate that neat paper-slicing thing they do! It's fun to watch!

25 comments:

  1. interesting indeed! Will definitely try this sometime.

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  2. You know something? Knives are not to be washed but wiped. It turns out the habit of washing knives is what causes them to lose their sharpness quickly. Sounds easy enough, so I tried it. Went back to washing after a bit of tendli and raw banana cutting, though.

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  3. The best are the knives made from hacksaw blades. you see the bhelpuri walas use them. I use them when my hacksaws wear down.

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  4. Excellent post..keep rocking...try to add your experiences with mumbai hotels and tourist shopping places also so that views will get benifit out of this...

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  5. Anonymous12:14 AM

    Miss your old style of writing and you dont write that often. What's up

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  6. A knife can be your best friend during food preparation, or it can cause serious injury - depending on your skill and what you know about knife safety. There are some basic safety tips and hints about using a knife properly. thank you for shearing your post.

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  7. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward for more like this. Also don't forget to see this modern kitchens in mumbai

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  8. hi deepa I'm from chennai.
    can I get the name of the shop?

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  9. Nisha - these knives are available in all markets in Mumbai. In Zaveri Bazaar there are street stalls, it is just one short stretch of road, so you can't miss it.

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    Replies
    1. I am from Bangalore can u help me to send this knife

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  10. Hi i m simmi from hoshiarpur punjab, can i get these knives online on internet..pls inform me if possible

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  11. Hi i m simmi from hoshiarpur punjab..i need to buy these knives online..pls inform me if its possible to buy on internet or on COD basis..

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  12. Anonymous6:58 PM

    I don't think the metal is high quality. When we've used them for a couple of months, we take them back to the knife guy, and have him sharpen them again.kitchen knives

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  13. I want these knifes for my store for selling them in Delhi. Can you help ??

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  14. I want these knifes for selling in my store in Delhi, can someone help with the purchase or contact ?

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  15. I want dis knife...i m frm hyd..plz koi aare tho hyderabaf mere liye le k aao na i will pay double da cost .. i want in bulk lyk 20 or more ..

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  16. I want to buy online how to get?

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  17. i want these knife woodengrip now it comes with some silver or golden grip.. had been using for last 25 yrs... this iron don't get rust too. plz help me in buying.

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  18. How to get ,online

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  19. I want to order these knìfe

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  20. I am staying in Gurgaon, how can I order these knifes. I have used them and they are very nice. You can't do without them once you start using them. Can someone please tell me how to get them.

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  21. Plz I want to buyy

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  22. Anonymous8:08 PM

    Chaku hona si

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  23. Anonymous4:38 AM

    How do I get these knives online??

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