# Indian restaurants, metal cups **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492 "2012-03-11T21:32:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/21 "2012-03-13T12:13:17Z")
> [@indian](#): > > You may not find this in posh restaurants, but in peoples homes. I personally know **some north Indian** s who still keep water in copper pots to drink later. > > That said, some dhabas do have copper pots, I remember eating in one such place near Delhi in mid-90s. Copper being costly, could lead to more thefts. > > India is huge, and impossible to generalize. And not everyone likes the taste of water stored for long in copper pots in India. I have to say, I am surprised. In Pakistan metal crockery is seen as old fashioned and quite rustic. I don’t think I have ever seen any recently outside of theme restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/22 "2012-03-13T12:44:38Z")
I don’t think I have ever eaten a [Thali](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thali) that wasn’t served on a metal tray with the curries and dhals in metal pots. I have several [Karahi or Kadhai](http://www.amazon.com/Copper-Karahi-Serving-Indian-Recipe/dp/B003A336NC) stainless steel and beaten copper serving bowls that are great for keeping food warm due to the two layer construction. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/23 "2012-03-13T12:50:57Z")
My wife is of South Indian extraction (though she’s never been there), and her infant bowl – you know, the kind many of us have a sentimental attachment to, like a pair of infant shoes or maybe a particular teddy bear – is one of those little metal bowls. (Our 1-year-old uses it now.) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/24 "2012-03-13T12:55:14Z")
My impression of at least some Indian restaurants is that they use _aluminum_ cups and serving dishes. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/25 "2012-03-13T13:19:32Z")
Houston’s Fine Arts Museum has a few contemporary pieces in its Asian collection. Including an assemblage of stainless steel made by [Subodh Gupta](http://glasstire.com/2011/12/07/see-art-get-inspired-write-poems-oh-but-no-plagiarism-use-14-point-times-new-roman-and-please-be-appropriate/). [Here’s another example.](http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/feb/20/art.india) ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/26 "2012-03-13T13:59:20Z")
I answered in respect of water being served in copper glasses. In many hotels, which serves teeming millions, steel plates and steel glasses are the norm. This helps in handling, cleaning, and prevents breakage. Imagine having to clean hundreds of plates during peak lunch hours. Many hotels have a fixed quantity norm, where steel plates( specially made for these hotels, with depressions to hold fixed portion of rice and curries) come in handy. If you want extra rice or chappati you pay extra. Factory canteens use only stainless steel plates. I will try to post some links to these plates later( on my iPhone now). ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/27 "2012-03-13T14:18:18Z")
[Another](http://www.ifood.tv/blog/north-indian-thali) plate. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/28 "2012-03-13T14:30:30Z")
> [@indian](#): > > [Stainless steel plate](http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2008/07/food_porn_kati_rolls_and_thali.php) used in restaurants. I was attacked by a Java exploit when I clicked on that link. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/29 "2012-03-13T14:37:11Z")
Sorry about that . :smack: I have norton 360 in my laptop and nothing showed up. I clicked on it 6 times at least before posting. Mods: request to remove the link. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/30 "2012-03-13T14:39:26Z")
Microsoft Security Essentails flagged it as Exploit:JS/Blacole.AR ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/31 "2012-03-13T15:02:35Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I spend a couple of weeks in India last month, and covered quite a bit of ground. Mostly we ate in hotel restaurants or high-end-for-India places or at suppliers’ private restaurants, but I never drank out of a metal cup. Not once. Metal cups are still very commonly used in homes. In fact, metal cups are more commonly used in the homes I’ve visited than metal plates. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/32 "2012-03-13T16:43:01Z")
My well-to-do Bombayite family on my dad’s side use porcelain. My rural-living grandmother uses metal. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/33 "2012-03-13T17:15:47Z")
I’ll grant that metal is easy to sterilize, but isn’t the same true of ceramic or glass? You can boil any of those. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/34 "2012-03-13T17:22:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ll grant that metal is easy to sterilize, but isn’t the same true of ceramic or glass? You can boil any of those. But metal doesn’t break easily despite the rough handling in a restaurant, or in a house with 3 small kids. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/35 "2012-03-13T17:26:44Z")
It’s also easy to transport if you are, for example, running a street stall or washing your dishes in the river. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/36 "2012-03-13T17:28:19Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > It’s also easy to transport if you are, for example, running a street stall or washing your dishes in the river. Yup. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/37 "2012-03-13T17:34:07Z")
The last remaining big question of this thread, I think, is “who are the circles?” ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/38 "2012-03-13T18:31:08Z")
I just realized I didn’t answer the question that was asked, really. My in-laws use metal and/or disposable plates for reasons they describe as being related to cleanliness but are probably better described as being a matter of purity – they’re Brahmins and very much into observing the proper forms (to the point where not doing so is quite uncomfortable for them) despite personalities that don’t really mesh with a strict viewpoint. The OP was asking about something else. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/39 "2012-03-13T18:46:57Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > The last remaining big question of this thread, I think, is “who are the circles?” Inquiring dots want to know. ---
**Author:** ![eldowan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@eldowan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eldowan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492/40 "2012-03-14T00:25:27Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Inquiring dots want to know. > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > The last remaining big question of this thread, I think, is “who are the circles?” So… The first time I have a good turnout to any of my posts, its because of a typo… If you really knead to know, I’m really not all that bright when I’m up way past my bedtime, and i had meant to type in feather instead of circle. I must have had the old chant “circle, circle, dot, dot…” running through my head or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-restaurants-metal-cups/615492.md?page=3)