# Tava

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{{short description|Disc-shaped frying pan originating from the Indian subcontinent}}
{{other|Tava (disambiguation)}}
{{refimprove|date=May 2020}}
thumb|A concave tawa designed for use in a home kitchen
A '''''tava(h)''''' / '''''tawa(h)''''' (mainly on the [Indian subcontinent](/source/Indian_subcontinent)), '''''saj''''' (in Arabic), '''''sac''''' (in Turkish), and other variations, {{clarify|reason=NOT helpful to drop all local variants into the first sentence of the grid. Local patriotism has to be left out. Only main variants here, the rest further down, or the user is overwhelmed and misses the entire point.|date=December 2021}} is a metal cooking utensil.<ref name=Sarkar>{{Cite web |author= Petrina Verma Sarkar |title=What Is an Indian Tawa? |website=The Spruce Eats |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/definition-of-tava-tawa-1957547 |access-date=2019-10-02}}</ref> The tawa is round and is usually curved: the concave side is used as a [wok](/source/wok) or [frying pan](/source/frying_pan), the convex side for cooking [flatbread](/source/flatbread)s and [pancake](/source/pancake)s.<ref name=Sarkar/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FEVEAgAAQBAJ&dq=sac+tava+wok&pg=PT751|isbn=9780804141925|title=Fodor's Turkey|date=27 May 2014|publisher=Fodor's Travel}}</ref> There are also flat tawas.

The Indian tava might have a handle or not, and it can be made of [cast iron](/source/cast_iron), [aluminium](/source/aluminium),<ref name="Sarkar" /> or [carbon steel](/source/carbon_steel).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tawa |url=https://madeincookware.com/products/tawa/10-inch |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=Made In Cookware |language=en}}</ref> It may be [enameled](/source/vitreous_enamel) or given a [non-stick surface](/source/non-stick_surface).<ref>Marie Simmons, ''Things Cooks Love: Implements, Ingredients, Recipes'', 2008, {{isbn|0740769766}}, p. 251</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title= South Indian Cooking |publisher= Sanjay & Co |isbn= 9788189491796 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3m6DBAAAQBAJ&dq=tava+non+stick&pg=PT32 }}</ref> The tawa and saj are used in the cuisines of [South](/source/cuisine_of_the_Indian_subcontinent),<ref name=Sarkar/> [Central](/source/Central_Asian_cuisine), and [West](/source/Middle_Eastern_cuisine) Asia, as well as of the [Balkans](/source/Balkans). The tawa is also used in [Indo-Caribbean](/source/Indo-Caribbean) cuisine.<ref name=Island>{{Cite book |last=Mason |first=Taymer |title= Caribbean Vegan: Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Authentic Island Cuisine for Every Occasion |publisher=The Experiment |year=2016 |isbn=9781615193615 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wuKACwAAQBAJ&q=tawa+caribbean&pg=PA14 |access-date= 2021-12-21}}</ref>

==Names by region==
===Taaba, tava, tawa===
In Iran, the [Persian](/source/Persian_language) word '''''tāve''''' ({{lang|fa|تاوه}}{{rtl}}) is used<ref>F. Steingass, ''A Comprehensive Persian–English Dictionary'', 1930, p. 277</ref> which is derived from the 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](/source/Indo-Aryan_languages) such as [Punjabi](/source/Punjabi_language), [Hindi](/source/Modern_Hindi) and [Urdu](/source/Urdu) means cooking pan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:4537.platts |title=A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English |publisher=Dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu |access-date=2017-10-11 |archive-date=2021-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108112738/http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:4537.platts |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Afghanistan, the curved cast-iron utensil used for cooking bread is known as '''''tawah''''',<ref name=EWIC/> but in [Pashto](/source/Pashto) it is more popularly known as '''''tabakhey''''' ({{Lang|ps|تبخے/طبخی}}).{{cn|date=December 2021}} The [Georgian](/source/Georgian_language) cognate is '''''tapa''''' ({{Lang|ka|ტაფა}}).{{cn|date=December 2021}}

===Saj, sac===
{{Wiktionary|صاج}}

'''''Saj''''' ({{langx|ar|صاج|translation=sheet-metal}}) is the equivalent of ''tava'' in Arabic,<ref>Maxime Rodinson, ''et al.'', ''Medieval Arab cookery'', 2001, p. 154</ref><ref>Hans Wehr, ''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'', 1966, p. 499</ref> with the equivalent '''''sac''''' in Turkish, and is used in Southwest Asia.<ref name=EWIC>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last= Joseph |editor-first= Suad |editor-link= Suad Joseph |editor-last2= Najmabadi |editor-first2= Afsaneh |editor-link2= Afsaneh Najmabadi |title= Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures |volume= 3: Family, Body, Sexuality And Health |page= 109 |publisher= BRILL |year= 2003 |isbn= 9004128190 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bzXzWgVajnQC&pg=PA109 |access-date= 21 December 2021}}</ref> The name "sac" comes from Old Turkish "sāç".<ref>[https://www.nisanyansozluk.com/kelime/sac] Nişanyan Dictionary "Sac"</ref> In Iran, ''saj'' is used for the curved iron plate employed in cooking bread<ref name=EWIC/> (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.{{cn|date=December 2021}}{{dubious |reason= Introduced on 23 January 2011 by Lambiam, who proved less than rigorous on this page back then.|date= December 2021}} 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).{{cn|date=December 2021}} In Romanian and Albanian too, ''tava'' and "tavë" can mean [baking tray](/source/baking_tray), such as employed for baking in an oven, but it can also mean [tray](/source/tray), such as used for serving food and drink.<ref>{{Cite web |title=tavă |url=https://dexonline.ro/definitie/tavă |access-date=22 Dec 2021 |website=dexonline.ro}}</ref>

The ''[sač](/source/sa%C4%8D)'' 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 tabletop cooking of thin slices of vegetables and meat{{cn|reason=The Bulgarian meaning comes from a native speaker, see talk-page, so fully trustworthy, but a source would help. Also, Serbian is quite a different language, I hope he got it right-especially since we also have sač for , which isn't used for "table-top" cooking.|date=December 2021}} (for the meaning of ''tava'' in those same countries, see here-above).

<gallery mode="packed">
Pita.jpg|[Pita](/source/Pita) being baked on a convex saj
Food_Gechresh_Azerbaijan_01.jpg|Reversible [Azerbaijani](/source/Azerbaijani_cuisine) sac with handles
Markouk - Bread on Saje.jpg|[Markouk](/source/Markook_(bread)) being baked on a convex saj
</gallery>

==Uses==
A ''tava'' or ''saj'' is used to bake a variety of leavened and unleavened [flatbread](/source/flatbread)s and [pancake](/source/pancake)s across the broad region: [pita](/source/pita), [naan](/source/naan), [saj bread](/source/Markook_shrek), [roti](/source/roti), [chapati](/source/chapati), [paratha](/source/paratha), [dosa](/source/Dosa_(food)), and [pesarattu](/source/Mung_bean_dosa). In Pakistan, especially in rural areas, large convex ''saj'' are used to cook several breads at the same time or to make [rumali roti](/source/rumali_roti).

In Turkey and the Levant, a saj is used to make the starch wafers used in [güllaç](/source/g%C3%BClla%C3%A7).<ref name="helou2013">{{cite book |last1=Helou |first1=Anissa |author1-link=Anissa Helou |title=Levant: Recipes and memories from the Middle East |date=20 June 2013 |publisher=HarperCollins UK |isbn=978-0-00-744862-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ApHF_ogf898C |access-date=2 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

Besides making bread, a tava or ''saj'' can be used as a pan to cook meat and vegetables, or other foods. For example, ''sajiyeh'' ({{langx|ar|صاجية}}) is a dish made by frying meat and vegetables (typically [bell pepper](/source/bell_pepper)s) in olive oil on a saj, popular in [Jordan](/source/Jordan) and [Palestine](/source/Palestine).<ref name="nytcooking">{{cite web |last1=Kassis |first1=Reem |author1-link=Reem Kassis |title=Sajiyeh Recipe |url=https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022330-sajiyeh |website=NYT Cooking |access-date=4 July 2025 |date=14 Jul 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=صحيفة عمون : أمين عام الزراعة: الصاجية من الخروف البلدي |url=https://www.ammonnews.net/article/651696 |access-date=3 November 2025 |work=[Ammon News](/source/Ammon_News) |date=1 Dec 2021 |language=ar |trans-title=Secretary General of Agriculture: Sajieh made from local lamb}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Woman Baking Bread on Saj Oven in Artas, West Bank, Palestine.JPG|A [Palestinian](/source/Palestinian_people) woman baking ''markook'' on a saj in a West Bank village
File:Fulka Roti.jpg|A [roti](/source/roti) being baked on a tava
File:Gözleme Break (6335105588).jpg|[Gözleme](/source/G%C3%B6zleme), a filled bread, being baked on a sac
File:Preparation of qurasah.jpg|[Manasir](/source/Manasir) woman preparing ''qurasah'' (قراصة), the daily bread on Sherari Island in [Dar al-Manasir](/source/w%3ADar_al-Manasir) in Northern [Sudan](/source/w%3ASudan)
File:صاجية الدجاج.jpg|''Sajiyeh'' in Jordan, made from chicken and vegetables
</gallery>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Tawa sabji.jpg|Vegetables fried in a tawa
File:Aloo chaat vendor, Connaught Place, New Delhi.jpg|[Aloo chaat](/source/Aloo_chaat) being cooked in a large tava
File:Fishes_fried_in_Dosai_pan.JPG|Fish frying in a tawa
</gallery>

==See also==
* [Comal (cookware)](/source/Comal_(cookware)), a similar utensil in Mexican cuisine
* [Karahi](/source/Karahi), a similar utensil in Indian cuisine
* [Mittad](/source/Injera)
* [Griddle](/source/Griddle), a flat cast iron used in frying
* [Skillet](/source/Skillet), a frying pan with a long handle
* [Mongolian barbecue](/source/Mongolian_barbecue), a Taiwanese grill dish sometimes using a saj-like frying pan
* [List of cooking vessels](/source/List_of_cooking_vessels)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite web
 |url         = http://www.cookinginindia.com/kitchenguide.html
 |title       = Your Desi (Indian) Kitchen on the Net
 |access-date  = 2008-04-01
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080408052008/http://www.cookinginindia.com/kitchenguide.html
 |archive-date = 2008-04-08
}}
* {{cite web
 |url         = http://www.gourmet.netneeds.co.nz/equipment/pots.htm
 |title       = Pots, Pans, and Griddles
 |access-date  = 2008-05-01
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081014024905/http://gourmet.netneeds.co.nz/equipment/pots.htm
 |archive-date = 2008-10-14
}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/286/story/399096.html |title=A Fork on the Road |website=- Miami Herald online |access-date=February 21, 2008 }}{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}  <!--Also contains information about Syrian name, "manaqish" -->
* {{cite web | url=https://landandpeople.blogspot.com/2007/09/saj-femmes.html |title=Saj Femmes |work= Blog: Land and People | access-date=February 21, 2008 |date=2007-09-23 }}<!--Also contains information about Lebanese govt subsidizing flour prices -->
{{Refend}}

{{Cooking Techniques}}
Category:Cooking vessels
Category:Pancakes
Category:West Asian cuisine
Category:South Asian cuisine
Category:Central Asian cuisine
Category:Indo-Caribbean cuisine
Category:Pakistani food preparation utensils
Category:Indian food preparation utensils
Category:Bangladeshi food preparation utensils

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tava](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tava) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tava?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.