Technology and
state-of-the-art machinery have helped ease our lives inside and outside the
kitchen. However, the methods of past centuries in preparing key ingredients
for our food did also have benefits in their own right.
The ancient art of grinding daily 'masala' is one
of these. Most homes on the subcontinent had, and many still have, their
indigenous stone grinders in some shape, size or form. The Thaani Butto and
the Masala no Pathar, as we refer to it in Gujarati, were generally made from
limestone which contained calcium. This gave the family an added health benefit
of calcium, dissolving into the food and therefore entering their daily diet.
Wow! I personally think it was genuinely genius.
Besides India, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, it is well known that the Indonesians,
Malaysians and Singaporeans continue using the traditional personalised masala no pathar. Each language has its own phrase of
reference.
The South Indians and Sri Lankans in Tamil
lovingly call it Ammi kal /aami kalu meaning grindstone. Folklore has it
that the stone dresser would walk the streets with his bag of assorted chisels
with loud cries of "Ammi Kalu" to let the house wives know of
his arrival! Rubbu kal is referred to as a mortar and pestle.
Although it is generally known as Masala ka-pathar or Sil-batta in Urdu and
Hindi, the people of Mangalore in India call it Ragda; this also means a mortar
and pestle rather than the flat stone but is referred to as either by them.
Some Indians also call it Dandi Pan and Stone Patta which literally translated
means a stone and a leaf!!
Having grown up
watching this as a little girl, I remember the process. To start off, the stone
would be washed in warm water. Any excess then just removed with one's bare
hands. Salt would be sprinkled and then all the ingredients for that
day's masala laid out on the stone or in the mortar. Chutneys and masalas were
made up of hard coconut flesh, ginger, garlic, a variety of dry and fresh chillies and all the hard spices necessary - these
were ground together and turned into a beautiful thick paste.
Generally, all the
larger pieces were smashed together with the side of the pestle and brought
together and then rolled over with the heavy pin again and again. It would need
some liquid to form a paste, the same principle as using the grinder, and so
warm water kept in a bowl on the side was added. Vinegar and tamarind juice
being an integral part of the recipe in any Parsi cooking, those were also
often used. Great care was taken to wash the stone well as the acidic
ingredients tend to affect the limestone. I attended traditional all-girls
school in Karachi Pakistan, where cooking classes were part of our curriculum
and we got the chance to actually use this wonderful art form.
Far from being a martyr or ever wishing there was any need for hard labour revisiting, I am eternally grateful for all the modern day gadgetry ever invented.
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| Masala ka Patthar/Ammi Kal
These slabs of limestone are cut into a rectangular shape large and small in preparation to be sold. It is a two piece set with the second piece being a small rectangle pestle much like a rolling pin but flatter. Generally those were hand picked by the person using it so it was comfortable to use and not too heavy nor too light. Much like a chefs personalised knife.
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| The thickness of this stone is unusually thick. The cylindrical mortar and pestle is also rather thick but shallow |
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| The wooden contraption in front is where one rests the knee or foot and the blade i used to peel and scrape the coconuts, not a stone grinder but an ancient tool still in use to date. |
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| Mortar and Pestle/Rubbu Kal |
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