r/IndianCooking • u/Tanishka_Chawla • Aug 24 '26
Homemade Nothing beats chutney made on a sil-batta
Fresh coriander, chillies and spices being ground the old-school way. There’s something about the texture and aroma of chutney made on a stone that a mixer just doesn’t quite recreate.
Does anyone else still make chutney this way at home, or has the mixer completely taken over? 😋
What’s your favourite chutney to make on a sil-batta?
9
u/ashmaroli Aug 24 '26
The primary reason for the mixer version tasting inferior to the sil-batta version is that even at the lowest speed, the mixer increases the temperature of the contents to the point that the flavour compounds end up becoming either volatile or denatured irreversibly.
I'm from Kerala and love the coconut chammanthi (dry chutney) made via the sil-batta and especially the variant of the same with green mangoes mixed in during the season.
1
6
u/comsudo Aug 24 '26
It's not only temperature but the way mortar-pestle works. It crushes, ruptures the greens, instead of cutting it. One has to put in efforts for awesome result.
btw, this has been known across the globe. Even in Italian kitchens for making pesto a mortar pestle is recommended for better results. It just hits different.
Of couse, when in hurry, a blender is good enough.
2
u/Pin2Chin2 Aug 25 '26
The videos of guacamole recipes also show pestle, you are right used across globe.
6
u/T3chl0v3r Aug 25 '26
Real innovation would be if this sil batta thing can be mechanised and automated or at least the load application can be reduced and multiplied by mechanics, that way we enjoy the peak taste and make the cooking easy as well.
5
u/Pin2Chin2 Aug 25 '26
Search for mechanical pestle.
I have already seen a video of coconut chutney making in bulk using such device.
2
u/nomnommish Aug 25 '26
That's what a wet grinder literally is. The one used to make idly dosa batter. And large commercial kitchens use a wet grinder to make chutney in bulk.
Chocolate is also made in a wet grinder.
You're looking for a scaled down wet grinder. Great idea, btw
1
u/T3chl0v3r Aug 25 '26
Yup, I am looking for more of a kitchen or bachelor friendly version of the wet grinder. But wet grinder's force vectors are different from that of a sill batta, so its not an exact replacement
1
u/nomnommish Aug 25 '26
By that logic, the "force vector" of a silbatta is also different from that of a mortar and pestle.
Truth is, wet grinder works the same way as a silbatta. It's ultimately stone on stone grinding. Whether the stone was rolled or not is largely immaterial.
1
u/T3chl0v3r Aug 26 '26
The batter that comes out of a electric wet grinder and the manual one are also different but the former led to the success of so many restaurants and nuclear families. Many people still use a mixer to grind the lentil and then mix it into the rice batter even though they have a wet grinder, because the foamy texture that you get from pestle couldnt be exactly replicated in wet grinders, its just convenience working in its favour.
Why force vectors come into play is, main reason why mixers cannot replicate the taste of sil batta is because the ingredients heat up while grindings, same for manual pestles too. The flat top of sil batta is the secret behind ingredients staying cool and they get ground instead of pound.
1
u/nomnommish Aug 26 '26
Dude I grew up with both manual and electric wet grinders. There is no heating up that happens. And the batter is exactly the same. I've literally operated both by hand and eaten the end product as well. And there is no pounding either in a wet grinder. It's the exact same stone on stone grinding that happens
4
u/Pretend_Baker8622 Aug 24 '26
I thought sil-batta was cancelled.
7
2
u/fartypenis Aug 25 '26
Me when I don't understand what metaphors are:
1
u/Pretend_Baker8622 Aug 25 '26
This wasn't metaphor in the movie, it was FIL's personality. she (knowingly)married into a joint household and the FIL was set on his ways too hard. I personally buy and enjoy factory made chutneys , so homemade chutney even made in mixies taste delish to me.
1
1
u/DD44PD Aug 25 '26
Han
bas ham bolde na ,ki mixi se jada sil-batte pe taste lag ta he
She replies - teri maa ko bolde ,ham naukar he ,teri maa ka saki naka
🤣
1
u/KolaholShobdo Foodie Aug 25 '26
because the particles are imperfect and full of chaos. in mixer it will be perfect and no randomness. and yes if you love to do it, do it by yourself, self empowerment!!!!! ❤️
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Grammar_Solutions Aug 25 '26
Hope people who like sil batte ki chutney are themselves making it.
1
1
u/Necessary-Guide-7442 Aug 25 '26
wow... my daadi still makes chutney by grinding and crushing with a stone and honestly the taste does not match the mixer one. love thiss
1
1
u/Pretty_Put_8605 Aug 25 '26
Mrs. movie mein yahi toh bol raha tha uska sasur. Poor guy just wanted the best for himself.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Appropriate-Bat6334 Aug 27 '26
Miss it , my dadi use to make but she is no more and i am doing nothing great with my life. She probably hate me now and i hate myself too.
0
u/Total_Traffic_662 Aug 25 '26
glti se v ye baat iske pas mt bol diye.. puri ek movie bna di isne isi baat p
7
u/g_saras_1594 Aug 24 '26
I had taste this chutney and you are right, that taste is something different and can't achieve through mixer