I discovered Payal at 5615 Savoy (just off of Harwin near Hillcroft) a few years ago when I went in search of some Indian stainless steel cookware. The Indians do spectacular things with stainless steel: dishes, cups, teapots, pressure cookers...you name it. And when I walked into Payal for the first time, my thoughts went back to the warehouse scene in the 1st Indiana Jones movie.
In large Indian cities, specifically Mumbai, there is a union of dabbawallahs who are responsible for picking up home cooked meals in the morning from the homes out in the suburbs of and delivering them to city office workers in time for lunch. It's an amazing system that seems to work flawlessly and tiffins are the transport containers.
So I decided: "no more Styrofoam carryout containers for me, I'm going to bring my own doggie bag when I eat out" and I went to Payal to pick up a tiffin.
That's how I discovered the Vinod brand of double walled "keep your hot things hot and your cold things cold" stainless steel tiffins My first purchase was a smallish one, just perfect for doggie bagging. But over the years I've added three more sizes to my collection.
I use them for making yogurt and for bringing back barbecue and sausages from Elgin and Katy. I ferment my no knead bread in them and I use them to transport goodies to potlucks.
A challenge to my readers: Come up with a most unusual use for a double walled tiffin and post your idea in the comments section of this article.
In addition to stainless steel ware, Payal has bangles, cookbooks, woks and some very cool cooking utensils. This is a place that you need to check out soon!
