Hey all, A doubt..what is so special about this kalchatti? Do u prepare any specific dishes in this? Won't it take too much of gas to get heated up initially? Is there anything special about getting food cooked in this.
Dear Cindhuja, Are you using Kalchatti regularly?? When i wanted to get one from Srirangam, the shop fellow gave some instructions like soak the kalchatti in the residual water after cleaning the rice, etc etc. So was thinking twice to buy. Did you do all these Cindhuja??? If no, then I will get one immediately Meenakshi
Just called my granny and confirmed ... As like clay-pots this is not a tedious and time consuming process it-seems..But to remove the dust and unwanted particles we have to do the following wash rice and use the first water of it for cleansing this kal-chatti Immerse the chatti in this water(we call it kazhani) for one full day. After one day boil the chatti with the kazhani it-self(boil till it bubbles very much)..rinse and scrub perfectly...Wash 3-4 times in plain water and start using Regarding usage... It takes lot of time to heat, but once it attains the temperature the job getz done in minutes One more alternative is "Indolium chatti" This is similar to kal-chatti...But of less-weight..Very easy to maintain too...we have it @ home for nearly 20 years
Thanks a lot cinduja. Could you also please post the procedure on using claypot for cooking ? Also, this kalchatti is used only for keerai kadayal is it?
Friends, additional info. They are ideal for storing batters, curds etc they won't go sour. It is ideal for storing rice in water at night - pazaya saadam. They are made in Namakkal & are sometimes sold in handicrafts exhibitions in Chennai. I bought 2 last year - but quite expensive. No need to transfer after cooking because they retain heat for long. Love, Chithra
Deepa, It is the same procedure for clay-pots too..But the thing is you'll have to repeat it for 3-4 days..Immerse the whole day in "kazhani thanni"...wash well later....again immerse ...and so on Another way is get some greens (any keerai)...Boil it in the pot with more water till it bubbles well..Repeat the same for 3-4 days and start using it..In villages greens are not purchased ...they grow in the backyard..so my granny used to do like this..but here it is better to opt for the first method :thumbsup
Dear Cindhuja, Thanks much for this useful information. Now, i can buy these kind of pots with confidence. Love, Deepa.
Hi all, I have heard the same procedure as cindhuja explained for using Kalchatti for the first time. It is just to remove all impurities in it. Normally my mom does something similar to steel and aluminium vessels as well. As for the use of kalchatti, in kerala, we use it normally to make moru kolambu (Kaalan), kappayum irachiyum etc. In old days when there was no fridge, they use this pot to keep food from decaying fast. Moru curry and certain other dishes will stay longer if kept in this kalchatti since it retains heat well. We can prepare food in other vessals (since kalchatti easly breaks when used in gas unless it is authentic thick ones) and pour into heated kalchatti to stay fresh longer. These r the informations i got from elders back home. I'm glad more and more people are interested in this. I was worried that next generation will have on idea on this wonderful product and it will vanish totally.
