Tava

A tava(h) / tawa(h) (mainly on the Indian subcontinent), saj (in Arabic), sac (in Turkish) and other variations and combinations thereof, is a metal-made cooking utensil. The tawa is round and can be flat, but more commonly has a curved profile, and while the concave side can be used as a wok or frying pan, the convex side is used for cooking flatbreads and pancakes.

The Indian tawa might have a handle or not, and it can be made of cast iron or aluminium, or of carbon steel. The utensil may be enameled or given a non-stick surface. The tawa and saj are used in the cuisines of South, Central, and West Asia, as well as of the Caucasus and the Balkans. The tawa is also used in Indo-Caribbean cuisine.

Names by region

Taaba, Tava, tawa

In Iran the Persian word ''tāve'' () is used which is derived from Persian word taaba which means something that is curved or tempered. The root word taab in Persian is a verb which means to bend or temper or curve (but see here-below for the use of ''saj'' in Iran). It is cognate with ''tawaa'', a word which in nearly all Indo-Aryan languages such as Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu it is more popularly known as ''tabakhey'' (). The Georgian cognate is ''tapa'' ().

Saj, saç

''Saj'' (, ''lit.'' sheet-metal) is the equivalent of ''tava'' in Arabic, with the equivalent ''saç'' or ''sac'' in Turkish, and is used in Southwest Asia. In Iran ''saj'' is used for the curved iron plate employed in cooking bread (but see here-above for the use of ''tāve'' in Iran).

Variants, change of meaning

The word ''tava'' is also used in Turkish and all across the Balkans, and refers to any kind of frying pan. In Serbia and Bulgaria however, a ''тава'' (''tava'') is a metal baking tray with raised margins (for the meaning of ''sach'' in those same countries, see here-below). In Romanian too, ''tava'' can mean baking tray, such as are employed for baking in an oven, but it can also mean tray, such as used for serving food and drink."tavă"
at DEX online. Accessed 22 Dec 2021.

The sač is a saj-shaped lid used as a cooking utensil in the Balkans. In Serbia and Bulgaria, the flat ceramic ''сач'' (''sach'') or ''сачѐ'' (''sachè'') is used for table-top cooking of thin slices of vegetables and meat (for the meaning of ''tava'' in those same countries, see here-above).

Pita.jpg, Pita being baked on a convex saj
Food_Gechresh_Azerbaijan_01.jpg, Reversible Azerbaijani sac with handles
Markouk - Bread on Saje.jpg, Markouk being baked on a convex saj

Uses

A ''tava'' or ''saj'' is used to bake a variety of leavened and unleavened flatbreads and pancakes across the broad region: pita, naan, saj bread, roti, chapati, paratha, dosa, and pesarattu. In Pakistan, especially in rural areas, large convex ''saj'' are used to cook several breads at the same time or to make rumali roti.

File:Woman Baking Bread on Saj Oven in Artas, West Bank, Palestine.JPG, A Palestinian woman baking ''markook'' on a saj in a West Bank village
File:Fulka Roti.jpg, A roti being baked on a tava
File:Gözleme Break (6335105588).jpg, Gözleme, a filled bread, being baked on a sac
File:Preparation of qurasah.jpg, Manasir woman preparing ''qurasah'' (قراصة), the daily bread on Sherari Island in Dar al-Manasir in Northern Sudan

File:Tawa sabji.jpg, Vegetables fried in a tawa
File:Aloo chaat vendor, Connaught Place, New Delhi.jpg, Aloo chaat being cooked in a large tava
File:Fishes_fried_in_Dosai_pan.JPG, Fish frying in a tawa

See also

* Comal (cookware), a similar utensil in Mexican cuisine
* Karahi, a similar utensil in Indian cuisine
* Wok, a similar utensil in East Asian cuisine
* Mittad
* Mongolian barbecue, a Taiwanese grill dish sometimes using a saj-like frying pan
* List of cooking vessels

References

Sources

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{{Cooking Techniques
Cooking vessels
Pancakes
Middle Eastern cuisine
South Asian cuisine
Central Asian cuisine
Pakistani food preparation utensils
Indian food preparation utensils