Cooking Pot :

Handi or dekchi in hindi. This pot may come in many sizes, and materials, like copper, alloys, steel, or even brass. These pots have a wide rounded base, but get widest at the centre, then become narrower, having a mouth, smaller by almost half the size of the middle. These are mainly used to either boil items like kidney beans, etc. over a low heat for a long period of time, eg. 2 hours. One may also put flour into water boiling in the dekchi, allow it to cook undisturbed as a lump, and then beat vigorously to make a hot dough, for various indian, esp. south indian preparations, like ragimuddhe, gheria, etc.

Saucepan :

This is a medium shallow pan, usually having a long wooden handle, and may again, be available in many types of materials. This pan is used mainly for stir frying, boiling sauces which required a wide mouth, but have to be boiled on high, for cooking vegetables over slow flame, allowing the dish to cook slowly and moisture to evaporate.

By Saroj Kering