Two important household ‘devices’, the aattukkal and the ammikkal , both grinding stones, used to play important roles. The aattukkal , a round wedge-shaped stone with a pit in the middle, and a kuzhavi, a cylindrical rounded stone, were used to grind rice and dal for idli-dosa. The ammikkal was a flat rectangular piece of stone used to grind or crush chutneys and masalas. I doubt if there would have been a south Indian kitchen from any social stratum that did not possess these two tools of the trade.
In my childhood days in Delhi, I have seen my grandma or mom grinding batter in the aattukkal . First, the soaked dal is ladled into the pit, bit by bit. Then the kozhavi is placed in the pit, and with circular motions of their left hand, they would start the grinding, adding water little by little and pushing the batter which rises to the side deftly with their right hand, avoiding the pestle crushing their fingers. The dal has to be ground to a smooth consistency till the batter becomes fluffy and bouncy. Dal-grinding is followed by rice-grinding. Then both are mixed and salt is added.
The process would take long. It was truly backbreaking work, but they did it with so much patience and passion, uncomplainingly. After all, they were doing it for their family. I cannot comprehend from where so much strength came to those hands!
An alternativeWhenever these two ladies of the house wanted to take a break from grinding I would take the soaked rice and dal to a Madrasi provision store equipped with a maavu machine and have the stuff ground there, for a small fee, of course. This practically became a routine as my grandma grew old and my mom had better things to do than squatting and grinding. So the aattukkal was pushed to a corner in the kitchen and finally given away. But the ammikkal was still used to grind chutney and the masala for sambaar.
The ammikkal served another purpose. It was used in wedding ceremonies for the solemn ammimidithal ritual, in which the groom places the bride’s right foot on the ammi (flat grinding stone) to stress that theirs is a marriage for keeps — the solid foundation of their happy married life.
The reign of the aattukkal in the kitchen ended when the mixer-grinder came into the market in the latter part of the 20th century. Since the advent of the mixie, as it was affectionately called, the ammikkal also found a place in the attic. Of course it continues to be used in marriage rituals. And the kozhavi also has a purpose now outside of the kitchen. During valaikappu ceremony (formal bangle-wearing ritual a few weeks before the delivery of a child), a childless couple is made to sit in front of the pestle kept on a mat, symbolising a baby, and the girl is asked to place drops of milk from a cup on it, as if feeding the baby. This ritual is supposed to be a sort of blessing for the couple to beget a child soon.
Coming back to the mixer, till the time other brands caught up, there was one that reigned supreme in Indian kitchens. And the ladies started using the wet grinding jar to make idli dough. But it was soon found that the idlis made with mixer dough left much to be desired in terms of taste and texture, though it was good enough for the dosa.
As they say, necessity is the mother of invention — soon the wet grinder came into existence. One had only to put the rice and dal by turns, and switch it on, adding water at frequent intervals, and the grinder started working for you. The stones provided in the grinder would turn the dal and rice into a fine paste of the desired consistency. Then came the tough part of collecting the dough from the machine; it had to be done scoop by scoop. Washing the drum was another job.
Tilting wonderThis led to the invention of the tilting wet grinder. After the grinding process, the drum needed only a tilt to collect the batter in a vessel. It was soon found that these wet grinding machines, straight or tilting, occupied way too much space in the kitchen.
Manufacturers soon came up with a new product, the table-top wet grinder. It was smaller, compact, and would sit comfortably on the kitchen ledge. It came with two, or three, stones. And a plastic lid to boot. Who can forget the TV spot in which a woman describes her newly purchased table-top wet grinder as one with three stones, to her husband. And the envious, eavesdropping neighbour, who had only heard one part of the conversation, promptly goes and buys a three-stone-studded diamond nose-stud, thinking that’s what her neighbour had just acquired.
New conceptThe advantage of the table-top grinder was also that the stones and the drum could be physically lifted out of the base and washed in running water. A concept never before heard of. The entire grinding process had been made magically simple, and the 110 volt table-top grinder very soon became part of the luggage of all south Indian U.S. residents when they returned after an India visit.
But today there is readymade idli-dosa batter available. It not only caters to today’s fast-paced life but also alleviates the sufferings of working mothers who are hard-pressed for time and are too busy to undertake such arduous tasks as grinding dough. It also comes in handy for the bachelors and the bachelorettes, while they are away from their homes on account of their work or studies.
rajashreearun@gmail.com
