Adding water to a saucepan lid - what is this crazy practice and does it work?
Plus what caused my Instagram video on this technique to go viral
There is a traditional technique in India where the cook adds water to the lid covering a vessel cooking on the stove. Why do this? And more importantly, does this make any difference?
The hypothesis here is that you can cook dry vegetables dishes without adding extra water, and scorching the bottom. Several states in India use this technique to cook vegetables in their own juices for a long time.
Experiment
I ran a small experiment where I measured equal amounts of vegetables and water and cooked them side by side in pans - one covered with a regular lid (control), and another (experimental) with a lid topped with water.
In 8 minutes, all the water had evaporated from the control group, while the experimental pan had some water leftover. The bottom of the lid of the experimental pan had much more condensed water droplets as well. This keeps the moisture locked in the pan for a longer time.
Conclusion: This technique is very effective in dishes where a maintaining a moist environment is essential, but without adding excess water.
Science behind this:
When you cover a pan with a lid carrying water, it acts as a stabilizer that limits the pan from getting too hot. Steam carries a lot of energy due to its latent heat. Now, if there was only a lid covering the vegetables, then most of the steam energy would go towards cooking the veggies. But, instead, the heat from the steam is being partly diverted to heat the water in the lid and not fully used to cook the veggies.
Furthermore, once the steam from the pan hits the lid kept cool due to water, it instantly condenses keeping the inner environment moist. Thus, you can go about doing your work in the kitchen, without constantly having to open the lid, splash water and stir the pan as you wait for the veggies to cook to its desired consistency. This is why this technique is so effective in dry subzies and dishes like arisi upma where a moist environment is necessary without adding excess water.
This concept of containing moist-ness (is there such a word?) reminds me of the Moroccan tagine. While there is no water added to top, its clever design keeps the moisture locked in. The top of a tagine looks like an evaporating tower you see in a nuclear plant. The hyperboloid shape is intentional to recycle the evaporating liquid that cools on the ‘tower’ sides thereby cooking foods with minimal water. Popular in North Africa where water was once very scarce, it was useful to cook meat, vegetables and fish in their own broth.
Instagram Viral Video
So, on to a completely non-scientific part of the column….The video I posted on this topic became viral on Instagram with 3.6 million views and 91K likes and counting. Now, was this my best video? Not really. I have given much more technical details in many other videos, but for some reason this took off.
But, I did casually mention in the voice-over that Maharasthrians (a.k.a Marathis) are well-known to use this technique. This was due to the fact that I have seen this technique used by Marathi vloggers more predominantly compared to others. I have also lived in all Indian Southern states, but have personally not seen this technique being used.
Anyway, that 1 innocent statement opened a pandora box. People from various Indian states made it their mission to declare the fact that even their state does it. How dare I show partiality to Marathis? Some even accused me of being a Marathi who just wants to show off. First of all, I am a Tamilian. Secondly, how dare you (Channeling Kelly Kapoor here…).
I tried explaining that I harbored no special affections just for Marathis. Yes, I do have some wonderful, sweet, Marathi friends, but that did not affect my judgement. Beside, it had nothing to do with the topic on hand….However, the swift accusations in the comments section (678 and counting) did not stop. At some point (oh, maybe 3 replies in…), I just threw in the towel.
The algorithm gods picked this video, the one I quickly made during a busy afternoon, as their viral pick. Who am I to question that? Instead, I am focusing my energies on welcoming a lot of new followers who chose to follow me despite my apparent, vicious love for Marathis only! :)
Hope you are all having a great week!
You know you’ve made it when you’ve generated a big ole controversy! This is so fascinating, I was completely unfamiliar with the technique til I saw this.
Madam,
Article on Adding water to the saucepan lid is very interesting and a useful cooking tip with scientific explanation by making a reference to the term Latent Heat. I am from Punjab and my mother used to cook Sarason Ka Saag or whole urad dal in a very heavy, round bottomed vessel having a narrow neck by placing a bowl full of water on its opening. Although these recipes did not require less water for cooking, but it might have been adding to taste and flavor in some way. I am sure she must have learnt it from her mother or grandmother.
Regards
Dr S K Takyar