Sil Batta, also known as an Ammi Kal, is a traditional kitchen tool in India used to prepare spice mixes & pastes for Indian dishes by crushing ingredients like chillies, garlic, onion, or any other ingredients between the flat stone (Sil) and the grinding stone (Batta). It is still used to grind spices especially in Indian rural areas where people don’t have mixer and grinder.
in Hindi sil refers to flat stone (grinding slab) and batta referring to a cylindrical grinding stone (muller). The batta is held in both hands and rocked over the ingredients in the batta. The video below shows the process in practice.
These grinding stones are primarily used to prepare chutney, curry pastes and spice mixes for cooking and occasional use including grinding soaked lentils in preparation for dosas, vadas, or papadum.