Uruli

Big uruli made of bronze

Uruli is a traditional cookware extensively used South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and more broadly in South India.[1][2] It is also pronounced as Uruli and commonly made of clay, copper, brass or bronze.[3] Urulis were used in home for cooking and in ayurvedha to make traditional medicine. A more modern use of urulis is as a decorative bowl to float flowers which is a part of South Indian tradition.[4] It has a high capacity to retain heat, and an ability to preserve the flavour of food cooked in it.[5]

The uruli can be found in many traditional Malayali homes, which show them in several sizes, like the small ones that have a more decorative function or also the very large “varpu” which are used for cooking in big occasions that require a big amount of food. With its shallow circular shape this vessel is also used to display flower decor in traditional households and for the kani for the Malayalam New Year Vishu, also being used in resorts and hotels as decoration.

  1. ^ Chikarmane, Poornima; Narayan, Lakshmi. "1800 Histories - Life on the Uruli Landfills". Joint Center for History and Economics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University.
  2. ^ "Urli - What is it and how to use it?". Smris. 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  3. ^ "The Uruli and my Patti: A story that never was - Museum of Material Memory". museumofmaterialmemory.com. 2021-08-22. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  4. ^ "Uruli: The Timeless Elegance of Indian Handicrafts". ArtiZen Aura. 2023-09-20. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  5. ^ "The Caste Stories Behind Kerala's Traditional Cookware". GOYA. 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2024-11-19.