Some pans are made to disappear into a cupboard. This handmade copper paella pan is made to sit in the middle of the table — full, steaming, everyone reaching in.

It's beaten by hand from a single sheet of copper, its wide, shallow base carrying heat right to the edges. That's the reason copper has cooked rice over open flame for generations, long before anyone called it paella. Two looped handles take it straight from the fire to the table. It's hammered and finished in a small workshop in Peshawar — the city where Pakistan's copper has been worked by the same families for longer than anyone can remember — and every dimple on its surface marks where the hammer landed.

Cook in it. Serve from it. This is a pan made to be used — not kept for best.

The details
Solid copper, hand-hammered in Peshawar · 11.5" diameter, 2" depth · 1 kg capacity · even heat for rice, kunafa, fish — anything that wants a steady base · cooking in copper aids the absorption of essential minerals.

Care
Hand wash with mild soap and a soft sponge · avoid abrasives · dry well and polish now and then.