Kalchatti Soap Stone Vessel

Curries to Gravies, Sambhar to fish curry, every cook we met made it a point to disclose the secret behind the distinct taste and flavour: Kalchatti. One more age old traditional vessel passed on for several generations.

Kalchatti is made of stone (soap stone) from the earth and is designed to retain heat and keeps food warm for 4-5 hours. The natural minerals are imparted to the cooked food thereby providing the right supplements and nutrition.

Apart from cooking, it can be used to keep cooked food,  store salt, pickles or even use it to make the tastiest curd.

Our journey to revive this cookware took us to the remotest villages near Salem. We interacted with the last generation of artisans toiling 16 hours a day to make the best Kalchattis. From manually excavating a block of soap stone to filing the vessel to its final finish, it takes more than 4 hours to make one vessel.