Tava

A tava(h), tawa(h), teghna(h), tabbakhe(y), tapa, saj, or sac is a large, flat or concave or convex disc-shaped frying pan (dripping pan) made from metal, usually sheet iron, cast iron, sheet steel or aluminium. It is used in South, Central, and West Asia, as well as in Caucasus, for cooking a variety of flatbreads and as a frying pan for meat. It also sometimes refers to ceramic frying pan.

In West Asia, tava/saj are invariably convex, while in South Asia, both flat and concave versions are found.

Etymology

In nearly all Indo-Aryan languages such as Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu tawaa means cooking pan and is used in South Asia, including India and Pakistan. It is cognate with the Persian word tāve (تاوه), which is used in Iran, and with the Georgian tapa (ტაფა); while the Turkic name saj (lit. sheet-metal and written saç or sac in Turkish and ṣāj (صاج) in Arabic) is used in Southwest Asia, with overlap in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The word tava is also used in Turkish and Croatian, and refers to any kind of frying pan. In Bulgaria, flat ceramic сач or сачѐ (sach/sache) are used for table-top cooking of thin slices of vegetables and meat; тава (tava), on the other hand, are metal baking dishes with sides.In Pashto it is more popularly known as Tabakhey (تبخے/طبخی).