From Workshop to Table: The Definitive Guide to Seasoning and Using Clay Cookware
One durable material. Countless traditional dishes. Here is everything you need to know to season and cook with Sri Lankan clay pots at the highest possible standard.
Of all the ways to cook with traditional clay pottery, seasoning a new pot before first use may be the most overlooked step — and the most revealing of its long-term durability. In an unseasoned pot, there is nowhere to hide a crack. The quality of the clay is the entirety of the experience.
Seasoning is the purist's first step. Soak the new pot fully in water for several hours, then simmer a starchy liquid such as rice water inside it for twenty to thirty minutes. This allows the porous clay to expand gradually and seals fine surface pores before the pot ever meets direct heat.
Daily cooking is richer, more forgiving than most assume. The clay is placed directly on a low flame and brought up to temperature gradually — never dropped straight onto high heat — allowing the pot to retain and radiate warmth evenly throughout a slow-cooked curry or rice dish.
For both stages, the clay matters. Seasoning calls for the thinner-walled everyday cookware; slow braises perform better in a slightly thicker-walled pot, where the additional mass contributes steady, even heat to the dish.
