The Indian kitchen is traditionally a bare room with a low wood-burning fire. There is always a flat grinding stone with its triangular mortar for spices, a deep pot with a lid, and wok-like pans for deep-frying and sautéeing. Tandoors -- brick, clay-lined ovens heated to very high temperatures -- are too expensive for most people to fuel and are generally restaurant-owned. Because of the heat, and the absence of refrigeration, foods are bought fresh daily. The standard cooking fats vary from region to region, though ghee, clarified butter, is by far the most common. Vegetable ghees, made from vegetable shortening, are also available. In the south, cooks are more likely to use oils than in the north. Milk, a gift from the sacred cow to man, has many uses. It is curdled into the white cheese known as paneer, reduced to a thick sauce called rabadi, and made into yogurt called dahi. Southerners also use a great deal of coconut milk, which functions both as milk and as a fat. South Indian coconut milk curries have broadly influenced cuisines throughout Southeast Asia .