or a sil-batta…who uses one?
I started using one a few weeks ago. cost me $2, made of wood…figured it was worth a try…well I love using it! I use it almost every single time I cook.
for those who use one, what is yours made of? marble/stone/steel?
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I used to use one to crush the elaichi I’d put in my parents’ tea. Don’t know what happened to it. It was made of marble I think. 
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i had one a little while ago n i also loved it ,i used it for crushing fresh garlic,cumin,ginger,green chutney ....ahhh i miss it n now that u ve mentioned it i want one too.....oh n mine was made of marble,it was a cute little thing .
i also used it for crushing frozen tomatoes.....
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yes elaichi too
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how do you guys use it … I got it as a gift from a friend from pakistan .. and everytime i use it , thing just pop out of the mortar :no: … I even tried to hit the pestle slower , but then it wouldnt crush the seeds nicely
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marble... i love it! i use it whenever a recipe calls for crushed zeera or coriander.. also for garlic..
cb... i just cover with my hand and leave enough room for my other hand to do the pounding.
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^and while doing zeera n seeds u start with moving the danda in a circular manner ,no pounding to begin with n when it is a little bi crushed .then u start to hit it n take out all ur frustration....hehehe
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Khawa .. I tried doing that covering the hand thing too .. I ended up hitting my finger real bad … twice 
nevertheless i will try it again … I think i will cover with the hand and do what Rosetta said
Thanks for sharing the trick guys ..
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marble. we used to get them from pakistan but more recently as they have become more en vouge you can get nice marble ones from many shops. got mine from tkmaxx. use the methods of khawa and rosetta.
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Cb: ure raising ure pestel way too high… Khoon nahi kerna hai spice ka 
The pestel shouldnt go outside the mortar… Try again …pyar se 
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khoon kerne ki baad bi they dont look crushed , khawa … just about 20% usually remains in the mortar , rest is found spread on the counter ! but now that i know the trick , i will try again soon inshallah 
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Tose r the ones that madeit out alive i guess hehehe Know what my mom does sometimes… Takes a pce of cmoth…puts her zeera or whatever in…folds it up once…and beats it with the batta… The zeera doesnt fly away and it crishes pretty well… My mil puts it in a sandwich bag and rolls the bailan over it pounds it too to make sure the seeds havebeen crushed hehe.So u can be very creative bout it hehe…
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I have a granite one from tjmaxx (10 bucks). I love it and use it to crush ginger etc for salans.
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marble. use it to crush garlic for garlic bread
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I'm nto sure if it's the material or the quality of it....but lately I've been noticing a strong garlic smell from mine. Normally when I crush garlic, I rinse it out and wash it asap...i don't leave it or let it soak. I did the same for my food processor cup and it never had a smlel...but this one does....
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Naturally wood absorbs strong or dominant smells. My mum uses a marble one. That seems fine or at least to me. Lol.
Its similar in concept to how they store wine in barrels. Different wood gives a different distinct taste.
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Naturally wood absorbs strong or dominant smells. My mum uses a marble one. That seems fine or at least to me. Lol.
Its similar in concept to how they store wine in barrels. Different wood gives a different distinct taste.
Even if its high quality coughmoreexpensive*cough?
I think ill look into getting a different material then.
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khawa , thats definitely quite a useful tip … thanks so much for sharing , I never realized i could do the cloth thing … thats much more easier to handle as well and frees up the hands as well 
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My mom has always had one and uses it everyday..........it as rubbed off on me, I can't imagine cooking a desi dish without it
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mere paas jo hawan dasta hai woh steel ka banna hua hai.