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Traditional Indian Stone Grinder - Ragado

Details: Category: Traditional Indian Cooking Techniques; Published: Wednesday, 08 June 2011 00:00; Written by Dinesh; Hits: 13505

We are a fairly lucky generation as we have access to modern tools, technology and round the clock electricity (or at least most of us do). Our modern kitchens are therefore equipped with gadgets such as grinders, microwaves, ovens, griddles, toasters....you get the drift. My grandparents and the generation before them were not so fortunate and had to rely on hand operated tools and gadgets in the kitchen.

One of the kitchen "appliances" my family used was the "Ragado" (that's what we call it in our native Konkani language). The Ragado or a stone grinder consisted of two heavy stones just like a mortar and pestle but really big (as you can see in the video above). The Ragado has been passed down through the generations and one of the them is still in our home. My mother does not use it as often as she used to and relies more on the electric mixers for her day-to-day needs but she says that the batter made in the Ragado is much better than any machine can make.

Electric version of this are available in India now, so one does not have to learn the skill. The old-school Ragado will die with this generation so we thought it would be good to capture it on film.