Dum Pot (Degchi)

A heavy, lidded pot used specifically for dum cooking, a slow-steaming technique in which the pot's lid is traditionally sealed with a ring of dough to trap all steam and aroma inside during cooking, most famously for biryani.

Material & Construction

Heavy cast iron, brass, or copper, with a tight-fitting lid designed to hold the dough seal (or, in modern versions, a very tight mechanical seal) during the dum process.

Traditional Uses

Dum-style slow steaming, most notably for biryani, where the sealed pot allows rice and meat to finish cooking together in trapped steam and aroma without moisture escaping.

Modern Availability / Equivalents

Widely available through South Asian kitchenware suppliers in various sizes; any sufficiently heavy, tight-lidded pot can be adapted for a dough-sealed dum technique at home, even without a purpose-made dum pot.

Care & Maintenance

Care depends on material (cast iron, brass, or copper each follow their own standard maintenance); check the lid's seal integrity periodically given how central it is to the dum technique's function.

Dum (slow, sealed cooking) is one of South Asia's most significant slow-cooking methods — used for dishes such as nihari — and this pot is built specifically around it.