Season your handi
so it never cracks.

Every new clay pot needs one gentle ceremony before it meets the flame — a soak, a rest, a first rice. Follow these five steps once and your handi will hold your food for many years.

◦ 5 steps◦ ~2 days total◦ No special tools

A new clay handi soaking in water — the first step of seasoning

— why season?

Terracotta is alive. It expands, breathes, and remembers heat.

A new handi is dry and porous — sudden fire will make it split. Soaking fills its pores with water, and cooking rice inside coats it with a natural starch seal. After this one ritual, you can cook dal, biryani, curries, milk — anything.

— the five steps

One evening of care, then years of cooking.

01
Soak in water
12–24 hours
Place the new handi in a large tub or bucket and submerge it completely — lid too. Fresh terracotta is thirsty; it will drink water into every pore. This is what stops it from cracking later on the flame.
Small bubbles rising from the clay are a good sign — it's breathing in.
02
Dry in the shade
6–8 hours
Lift it out, pour off the water, and set it upside-down on a cloth in a shaded spot with good airflow. Never in direct sun — that dries it unevenly and invites hairline cracks. Wait until the surface looks a single, uniform earth colour with no darker damp patches.
In humid weather, give it a full day.
03
Oil the inside
10 minutes
Rub a thin layer of mustard oil (or coconut oil) all over the inside and lightly on the outside base. Use your fingers — feel the clay. This oil will soak in and form the first non-stick, water-resistant seasoning.
Any cold-pressed cooking oil works. Skip refined oils.
04
Cook your first rice
45 minutes on low flame
Add ½ cup of rice, 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Place the handi on the smallest burner at the lowest flame. Let it come to a slow boil, cover, and cook until the rice is done. The starch will seal the inner pores — this is the traditional sanskaar the pot needs before it can hold your daily food.
Never place a cold handi on a hot flame. Always start cold-to-cold and warm slowly.
05
Daily care, forever
a lifetime
Wash with warm water and a soft cloth — no dish soap, no scrubber. Sun-dry after washing. Always heat from cold on a low flame; a heat diffuser helps on gas or induction. Once a month, re-oil the inside. Treated this way, a Mudkraft handi will feed your family for many years.
If you ever see a tiny hairline, soak overnight in rice water — it re-seals itself.