Grind your chutneys, masalas on mortar and pestle, silbatta or stone grinder; NOT in high-tech electric blenders

FACT: When you pound your spices and herbs on a traditional mortar and pestle or stone grinder, your food becomes tastier and more flavourful!

The last time anybody used a mortar and pestle, silbatta or stone grinder in my house to make chutneys or masalas was probably about ten years ago when my grandmother was still active in the kitchen. But after she passed away and as years went by, the stone grinder and mortal and pestle was pretty much forgotten and relegated to the most inaccessible shelves in our kitchen.

But even now, with the advent of electric blenders, mixers, grinders and food processors, all of which are multi-functional, fast and easy to use and clean, I hear about how pounding masalas and chutneys in traditional stone grinders and mortar and pestles imparts a different, more delicious taste to the food. Is there any truth to this? How can food made in mortar and pestle and stone grinder taste better than food made in mixers? I asked Chef Amninder Sandhu, the executive chef at Aallia Hospitality Pvt. Ltd that restaurants like Mumbai Bicycle, Arth and A Bar Called Life, in Mumbai about this. Chef Amninder is known to make all her preparations using traditional kitchen tools like mortar and pestle, stone grinder or silbatta. These are the reasons she thinks why she you should too:

1) Food is much, much tastier

When you pound and grind ingredients in a mortal and pestle or stone grinders, the action causes the individual cells to burst and produce a much stronger fragrance and aroma than food whisked in a blender. This also releases the oils in the herbs and spices which ultimately imparts more flavour.

2) No heat is generated

In an electric blender, the whisking action heats up the food you are blending. This alters the taste drastically. For eg, when making ginger garlic paste in a blender, the heat produced actually makes the garlic taste a little bitter. On a silbatta, the food is just pounded without any heat. This keeps the natural taste and flavour intact.

3) There's thorough blending; not just grinding

In a blender, the food is just cut into very fine pieces. But when you use a silbatta, you're actually blending all the oils and fibre in the herbs and spices together. This a major reason why, say, a coriander chutney made on a stone grinder tastes much better than the one made in a mixer grinder.

4) Consistency is in your hands

Yes, you can change the setting on an electric food processor to get the consistency and thickness you want, but when you are using your hands to pound and grind, you have better control over what the food should feel and look like.

5) Bonus: you get toned arms and biceps!

Grinding on a stone or silbatta or using mortar and pestle requires more effort, technique and time, no doubt. But there's a reason why our grandmas had such toned and fit arms! The continuous movement of your arms and hands while grinding can actually tone up your hands. No need for dumbbells!

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