Kitchen Tongs (Chimta): Which Shape for Roti, Serving, Frying and Lifting Hot Vessels
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- What is a kitchen tong, and what do Indians call it?
- The three tong shapes an Indian kitchen uses
- Roti chimta: the flat-jaw tool for an open flame
- Serving tongs: the hinged grip for food in a pan
- The utensil pakkad: for the vessel, not the food
- How long should your kitchen tongs be?
- Which tongs for deep frying and grilling?
- The raw-and-cooked rule most kitchens break
- How do you clean and store tongs?
- Which tongs should an Indian kitchen own?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Kitchen Tong, and What Do Indians Call It?
A tong is a gripping tool. Two arms meet at a jaw, and the jaw holds what your hand cannot.
Indian kitchens call several different tools by the same word. The flat one for roti is a chimta.
The stubby clamp that lifts a hot bowl is a pakkad. In parts of the south it is a sandasi.
Q: Is a chimta the same as tongs?
Same family, different shape. A chimta is a flat-jawed tong built for flatbread.
Q: What is a chimta called in English?
Most sellers list it as roti tongs or flat tongs.
Q: How many do I need?
Two covers most homes. One for food in the pan, one for the pan itself.
Buying advice online treats tongs as one product. That is why most Indian kitchens own the wrong one.
This page sorts them by job instead. Material is a separate question, and our spatula guide already answers it.
The Three Tong Shapes an Indian Kitchen Uses
Three shapes cover almost everything an Indian kitchen does. Each one is built around a different joint.
The joint is the giveaway. Look at where the two arms meet before you look at anything else.
| Shape | Joint | Jaw | Built for | Where it fails |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roti chimta | Fixed bend at one end, no pivot | Two flat paddles that meet face to face | Flatbread on a tawa or an open flame | Cannot grip a round or heavy item |
| Serving tongs | Pivot or spring near the middle | Scalloped, spoon-shaped or silicone tips | Food inside a pan, or on a serving plate | Tips can crush soft food |
| Utensil pakkad | Short pivot, heavy build | Thick curved jaws that bite a rim | Lifting the hot vessel itself | Useless on food; needs a rim to grab |
Notice that only one of the three touches food directly for long. That matters later, in the hygiene section.
The simple test: ask what you are moving. Bread, loose food, or the vessel itself.
Roti Chimta: The Flat-Jaw Tool for an Open Flame
The chimta exists because roti finishes on fire. You lift the half-cooked bread off the tawa and onto the flame.
Flat paddles are the reason it works. They pinch a thin disc without tearing it or leaving dents.
A hinged serving tong cannot do this well. Its curved tips grab at two points and crumple the roti.
Why the flame step needs reach
Your hand ends up directly above a live burner. That is the moment a tong is really earning its place.
The kitchen is where Indian burns happen: WHO states that children and women "are usually burned in domestic kitchens, from upset receptacles containing hot liquids or flames, or from cookstove explosions" - World Health Organization, Burns fact sheet.
Loose clothing is the named risk: WHO ties the higher burn risk for women to "open fire cooking, or inherently unsafe cookstoves, which can ignite loose clothing" - World Health Organization, Burns fact sheet.
A dupatta or a saree pallu hangs low when you reach. A longer chimta keeps your body further back.
The research says the same thing: a review of 27 South Asian studies found flame burns and scalds were over 80 per cent of burns in most of them, mostly in the home, with "wearing loose, flammable clothing" listed as a risk factor - Golshan, Patel and Hyder, Journal of Public Health (Oxford), 2013.
Scale of the problem: India carries over one million moderate to severe burns every year - World Health Organization, Burns fact sheet.
The electric tawa exception
An electric tawa has no open flame. So the puffing step simply does not happen on it.
You get a cooked roti, not a ballooned phulka. Press it with a folded cloth instead and accept the difference.
That is an honest trade, not a fault. We sell one, and we would rather you knew before buying.
InstaCuppa Portable Electric Tawa 14 inch
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Shop NowIf you cook roti on gas, the tawa choice still matters. Our cast iron versus non-stick tawa comparison covers that.
Serving Tongs: The Hinged Grip for Food in a Pan
These are the tongs most people picture. Two arms on a pivot, usually with a spring that holds them open.
The job is grip, not lift. You are turning a paneer cube or serving noodles onto a plate.
Reading the tips
Scalloped steel tips bite hardest. They suit raw vegetables, corn and anything that resists being picked up.
Spoon-shaped tips scoop as well as grip. They are the better choice for salad and pasta.
Silicone-covered tips are the gentle option. They are also what you want on any coated pan.
Which tip material is safe on which surface is a longer argument. We settled it in the spatula guide, and the same rules apply here.
Locks and springs
A lock closes the tong for storage. It is a drawer feature, not a cooking feature.
Test the spring before you buy. A weak spring makes you squeeze harder and drop things more.
- Stainless steel serving tongs on Amazon - scalloped tips, the general-purpose pair
- Silicone-tipped kitchen tongs on Amazon - for coated pans
- Salad serving tongs on Amazon - wider, shallower, for the table
- Locking kitchen tongs on Amazon - if drawer space is tight
The Utensil Pakkad: For the Vessel, Not the Food
This one is often missed from buying guides. The pakkad never touches your food at all.
It grips the vessel. A hot katori, a steel bowl in a cooker, a lid, a small kadai.
Why it deserves a place
Read the WHO sentence about Indian kitchens again. The phrase is "upset receptacles containing hot liquids".
That is a bowl tipping, not a flame. A cloth slips, the rim rolls, and the contents go onto skin.
A pakkad grips the rim from both sides. It cannot slide off the way a folded cloth does.
Steam is the other hazard: a forensic medicine review notes that "steam under pressure generated while cooking has high boiling point and great penetrating power", and that cooker use is linked to unintentional burns - Atreya, Kanchan and Nepal, Kathmandu University Medical Journal, 2016.
That is the case for lifting a steamer tray with a tool. Not with your fingers and a towel.
InstaCuppa Multipurpose Electric Kettle Cum Cooker
Rs 1,799 - 1.2 L, 600 W, with a steamer tray for momos, idli and eggs. Lift the tray with a gripper, not fingers.
Shop NowSteamer baskets come with several small appliances now. Our guide to what you can cook in a kettle steamer basket has the range.
Utensil grippers and bowl lifters on Amazon are sold cheaply and rarely recommended.
How Long Should Your Kitchen Tongs Be?
Length is the one specification that actually changes the outcome. It is also the one nobody checks.
There is no Indian standard that sets a tong length. So the market sells whatever sells.
Measure against your own pan
Do this before you order anything. Hold your arm over the pan you use most often.
The jaw should reach the far side. Your fingers should still sit outside the rim.
If your knuckles cross the rim, the tong is too short. That is the whole rule.
Where longer wins
- Open flame: the flame is wider than the burner ring, so leave extra room
- Deep frying: hot oil spits upward and outward, not just up
- A deep kadai: the jaw has to reach the bottom while your hand stays above the rim
- Serving at the table: shorter is fine, and easier to control
Longer is not always better. A very long tong loses grip precision at the tip.
Buy for the deepest pan you own. Then buy a short pair for the table.
Which Tongs for Deep Frying and Grilling?
Frying is where a bad tong shows up fastest. Oil is heavy, hot and slippery.
Batter grips the tips. Pakoras and samosas slide out of anything too smooth.
What frying actually asks for
Length first, as above. Then a tip that can hold a wet, slippery, uneven lump.
Scalloped steel does that best. Silicone tips get slick when they are coated in oil.
Skip plastic tips entirely for frying. There is also an Indian rule about this.
The utensil-material rule: FSSAI Schedule 4 states that "cooking, storage and serving shall not be done in utensils of cadmium, lead, non food grade plastic and other toxic materials" - FSSAI, Schedule 4, general hygienic and sanitary practices.
Cheap unmarked plastic tips fail that test. You cannot verify what they are made of.
Grilling and tandoor
Here the tong doubles as a thermometer handler. You are moving meat around a very hot surface.
Cook to the number, not the colour: Schedule 4 requires non-vegetarian products to reach a core temperature of 75 degrees Celsius for at least 15 seconds, or an equivalent time and temperature - FSSAI, Schedule 4.
Tongs let you reposition without piercing. Piercing drains juice and slows the centre down.
- Long deep-frying tongs on Amazon - for a deep kadai
- Barbecue and grill tongs on Amazon - longest of the lot
Frying in a coated pan raises a separate question. We answered it in is it safe to deep fry in a non-stick kadai.
The Raw-and-Cooked Rule Most Kitchens Break
Here is the rule almost every Indian kitchen breaks. One pair of tongs does raw and cooked.
You lift raw chicken onto the grill. Twenty minutes later the same tips lift it off.
What the Indian rule actually says
Separation is required: FSSAI Schedule 4 states that "raw food/ meat/poultry and ready-to-eat foods should be kept separate at all times" - FSSAI, Schedule 4.
But the named tools are not tongs: the same clause requires "separate chopping boards and knives for raw fruit/ vegetables/ meat/poultry and ready-to-eat food" - FSSAI, Schedule 4.
Read that list again. It names boards and knives, and stops there.
The tong is missing from the text. Yet it is the one tool that travels between raw and cooked all evening.
What to do about it
The principle behind the clause is separation, not the specific tool. Apply it to whatever touches both.
- Keep a second pair for raw meat and fish, and mark the handle
- Never return cooked food to the pair that handled it raw
- Wash between uses if you only own one pair
- Do the same for the plate, which Schedule 4 also covers
This costs a few hundred rupees. It is the cheapest fix on this page.
How Do You Clean and Store Tongs?
The hinge is the part that fails. Grease collects in the pivot and then sets hard.
Open the tong fully before washing. Most people wash it half closed and miss the joint.
A short routine
- Open the arms all the way and scrub the pivot with a brush
- Rinse under running water, which Schedule 4 specifies for utensils
- Dry the joint before storing, because trapped water rusts a spring
- Check the spring every few months and retire it when it sags
A chimta is easier. It has no pivot, so there is nothing to trap grease.
Burnt residue on the tips comes off the same way as a pan. Our guide to cleaning burnt vessels lists the methods.
Storage
Loose tongs in a drawer bend and blunt each other. Hanging them keeps the tips aligned.
It also keeps them off the counter. Anything that lives on the counter collects cooking grease.
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Shop NowWhich Tongs Should an Indian Kitchen Own?
Start from the shapes, not from a listicle. Buy the job you actually do most days.
The short list
- If you make roti on gas: a long flat chimta is not optional
- If you fry or grill: a long scalloped steel pair, and a second pair for raw meat
- If you use a cooker or steamer: a pakkad, which costs very little
- If you mostly serve: one short pair, spoon-shaped, for the table
- If you use coated pans: silicone tips, for the reasons in the spatula guide
One note on the steel
Steel utensils sold in India fall under a quality control order. It requires the BIS standard mark and specifies the steel.
The BIS circular does not publish a list naming every item. So we will not claim a chimta is named in it.
The full argument, including which materials the order is silent about, is in the spatula guide.
Where to buy
- Roti chimta and flat steel tongs on Amazon
- Kitchen tong sets on Amazon - if you are starting from nothing
- Small ice tongs on Amazon - for the bar cart, not the stove
We do not sell tongs, so the links above go to Amazon. The tawa, the steamer and the holder above are ours.
If you are moving away from gas altogether, read our electric tawa guide and the air fryer roti honest answer first.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is a chimta the same as kitchen tongs?
They are the same family but a different shape. A chimta has two straight flat arms with paddle tips and no pivot, and it is built to pinch flatbread. General kitchen tongs have a pivot or a spring in the middle and curved gripping heads, which suits loose food in a pan rather than a thin roti.
What is a chimta called in English?
Most Indian sellers list it as roti tongs or flat tongs. Some call it a roti turner, which is confusing because a turner usually means a spatula. If you are searching online, roti tongs returns the right shape most reliably.
Why will my roti not puff on an electric tawa?
Because there is no open flame. A phulka puffs when the part-cooked roti meets direct fire and the steam inside expands faster than it can escape. An electric tawa gives you a flat heated surface only, so you get a cooked roti rather than a ballooned one.
Can I use the same tongs for raw chicken and cooked food?
You should not. FSSAI Schedule 4 says raw meat, poultry and ready-to-eat foods should be kept separate at all times, and it asks for separate chopping boards and knives. It does not name tongs specifically, but the tong is the tool that moves between raw and cooked most often, so keep a marked second pair or wash it in between.
What length of kitchen tongs should I buy?
There is no Indian standard that sets a length, so measure against your own pan. Hold your arm over the pan you use most and check that the jaw reaches the far side while your fingers stay outside the rim. Buy for your deepest kadai, then add a short pair for serving at the table.
Are plastic-tipped tongs safe for cooking?
Be careful with unmarked ones. FSSAI Schedule 4 says cooking, storage and serving must not be done in utensils of non food grade plastic, and a cheap unbranded tip gives you no way to verify what it is. Silicone tips from a known brand are the safer soft option, especially on coated pans.
How do I clean the hinge of a pair of tongs?
Open the arms all the way first. Most people wash tongs half closed, which leaves grease sitting in the pivot where it sets hard. Scrub the joint with a brush, rinse under running water, and dry the hinge before storing so the spring does not rust.
Do I really need more than one pair of tongs?
Most Indian homes are fine with two. One pair handles food in the pan, and a chimta or a pakkad handles the flame and the hot vessel. Add a third only if you cook meat often, because that pair should stay separate from everything else.
Sources & References
- Burns - fact sheet: domestic kitchen burn pattern, open fire cooking and loose clothing, over 1 million moderate to severe burns a year in India — World Health Organization
- Schedule 4: General hygienic and sanitary practices to be followed by food business operators - cross-contamination, utensil materials and core cooking temperature — Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
- A systematic review of the epidemiology of unintentional burn injuries in South Asia — Golshan A, Patel C, Hyder AA, Journal of Public Health (Oxford), volume 35, 2013, pages 384-396
- Pressure Cooker - A Potential Hazard in Domestic Setting — Atreya A, Kanchan T, Nepal S, Kathmandu University Medical Journal, volume 14, 2016, pages 181-183
- Requirements for various firms manufacturing stainless steel utensils under the Cookware, Utensils and Cans for Foods and Beverages (Quality Control) Order - IS 14756, IS 5522, IS 15997 — Bureau of Indian Standards, CMD-III/16: IS 14756
Founder, InstaCuppa. I test home and kitchen tools in my own home in Tirupati and write about what actually works for busy Indian families.
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