There were kitchens in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro that had the kind of utensils as cookbook author Smita Deo's kitchen in Andheri. Forged in clay, stone, bronze, cast iron, copper and brass, they come from the deep bowels of the earth, and do look out of place in her "swanky, modern kitchen." Twelve years ago, when she shifted from a joint family into a nuclear setup, "I went and invested like a fool in all the modern non-stick wear," she says. But one day, she was making dosa and "in a non-stick, the dosa comes up on its own, it's crinkled like paper on the side and it's white in colour. So, it's not appealing to the eye. I told my mom that my dosas are not coming out well. She said, '[It's because of] these fancy gadgets. Just invest in a cast-iron pan.' The golden brown that comes on a cast-iron is amazing. So, it was time to slowly change my utensils." Within six months, she changed her kitchen to look as good as old.

Watch video of traditional utensils making a comeback here: