The Best Way To Clean Your Mandyara

A mandyara (in Sindhi) or a mathani (in Hindi) is a kitchen tool you might not have heard of before. Essentially, it is a long-handled wooden tool with a rounded asterisk at one end. A mandyara lets you churn thick cream into butter and gives you complete control when preparing other foods such as curries, lentils, and stews. It allows you to mash and mix ingredients without removing their texture. Retaining a satisfying chewiness, they do not turn into a puree.

However, one challenge of using any wooden kitchen utensil is keeping it clean. Believe it or not, this is not as hard as you may think. When cleaning a mandyara, the trick is to use hot, soapy water and the right cleaning brush. This brush should have bristles that are long and rugged enough to remove any food particles that get stuck in the deep crevices of the tool. Once you get all of the food out, give your mandyara a thorough rinsing under warm water, and dry it off with a soft dish towel. Finally, leave your mandyara out to air dry completely before storing.

Wooden utensils can be tougher to clean than nonporous kitchen items. It takes a little more diligence to ensure bacteria do not cling and that the surface is unsuitable for growth. Knowing this, there are a few practices that you can observe when cleaning your mandyara or any wooden kitchen tool.

Your cleaning tool must be abrasive enough to clean the porous surface but not so abrasive that it damages the utensil. A brush with long nylon bristles is a solid choice because it has the reach and the ability to remove food particles.

While you might be tempted to place your mandyara in the dishwasher, this is not advisable. The high heat and moisture inside can warp and split wooden utensils. Also, it is important to refrain from soaking your mandyara — even by accidentally leaving it in the sink. The more water the wood absorbs, the more prone it will be to swelling, warping, and cracking.