Today I am going to discuss in detail about How to Season a Cast Iron Pan , in a traditional way. My mom has loads of Kitchen equipment and utensils in Iron, few of them were given by my grandma. I too have few Cast Iron collections and love to cook in Iron pan and clay pots whenever time permits. But every day I frequently use my Iron dosa pan obviously typical dosa lovers do that, that is different story will come up in another post. Recently got a mini Iron wok and thought of sharing my way of seasoning with Video tutorial. For 5 days or 7 days my mom and ancestors soak the iron pan in rice washed water or the millet washed water. Of course I too follow their methods for my pans as well. Hope this detailed post helps you in all ways. The following process is applicable for non seasoned / Unseasoned and pre-seasoned Iron skillets. The same rice washed water works to start with clay pot as well but it doesn’t need oil and here is the detailed procedure for the Clay Pot .

Method

Add rice or millet washed water for minimum 3 days and maximum 7 days as shown below.
Either add water to the iron pan or soak the pan completely, both method works.

Once done, discard the water (pic below) and wash with diluted dish soap and regular water.

This step is necessary where most of the black debris goes off.
Later dry them completely by heating over stove or in dry them in an oven.
Apply generous oil on both sides, slightly warm it and leave as it is for 8 hours minimum.
Later wash with mild soap diluted in water and wash well under warm water.
Use sponge dish scrubs to clean and don’t scrape hardly over the iron skillets anytime.
Now dry the pan and it is good to use for cooking.

How to start with Indian based Iron Dosa Pans and Skillets

Initially they food particles stuck in your pan, so begin with scrubbing sliced onions over the warm pan.
On and off apply sliced onion over it to get smooth non sticky dosas whenever required.

How to clean the iron pan after cooking

Once done cooking soak it in regular water for a while, later with mild soap clean the pan.
If there are any food particles set hardly over the pan, add water make them boil and let it soak for a while.
Later clean with sponge scrub.
Wash them thoroughly with water and make sure no food smells over the pan.
If you shallow fry any, to remove the foul smell of the food do add lemon juice few drops add enough water, boil it and clean as suggested.

How to store the cast iron pans

Once done with washing the iron pan, dry over stove or oven and brush with mild cooking oil over the inner surface of the pan.
Store them as it is and when you take it again for cooking wash it with soap water before using the pan.
Never ever store the cast iron pans with moisture they form rust immediately.

Tips to clean the rusted pan

If you store the pan with moisture like other stainless steel vessels if forms rust quickly.
Or forgot to add oil before storing and have not used the pan for a long time it forms rust.
So for this apply generous oil (coconut oil works well if not use cooking oil), warm slightly and leave it as it for more than a day.
Later with soft sponge give pressure to clean the rusted spots.
As usual clean with soap water and good to use.

Video Tutorial

Recipe Card

How to season a cast iron pan

Author: Sangeetha Priya

Instructions

Add rice or millet washed water for minimum 3 days and maximum 7 days as shown below.
Either add water to the iron pan or soak the pan completely, both method works.
Once done, discard the water (pic below) and wash with diluted dish soap and regular water.
This step is necessary where most of the black debris goes off.
Later dry them completely by heating over stove or in dry them in an oven.
Apply generous oil on both sides, slightly warm it and leave as it is for 8 hours minimum.
Later wash with mild soap diluted in water and wash well under warm water.
Use sponge dish scrubs to clean and don't scrape hardly over the iron skillets anytime.
Now dry the pan and it is good to use for cooking.

How to start with Indian based Iron Dosa Pans and Skillets

Initially they food particles stuck in your pan, so begin with scrubbing sliced onions over the warm pan.
On and off apply sliced onion over it to get smooth non sticky dosas whenever required.

How to clean the iron pan after cooking

Once done cooking soak it in regular water for a while, later with mild soap clean the pan.
If there are any food particles set hardly over the pan, add water make them boil and let it soak for a while.
Later clean with sponge scrub.
Wash them thoroughly with water and make sure no food smells over the pan.
If you shallow fry any, to remove the foul smell of the food do add lemon juice few drops add enough water, boil it and clean as suggested.

How to store the cast iron pans

Once done with washing the iron pan, dry over stove or oven and brush with mild cooking oil over the inner surface of the pan.
Store them as it is and when you take it again for cooking wash it with soap water before using the pan.
Never ever store the cast iron pans with moisture they form rust immediately.

Tips to clean the rusted pan

If you store the pan with moisture like other stainless steel vessels if forms rust quickly.
Or forgot to add oil before storing and have not used the pan for a long time it forms rust.
So for this apply generous oil (coconut oil works well if not use cooking oil), warm slightly and leave it as it for more than a day.
Later with soft sponge give pressure to clean the rusted spots.
As usual clean with soap water and good to use.