Kalchatti or Kachatti as it is fondly called down south, is a stone vessel made with soapstone rocks. These rocks are mined in specific areas around the eastern ghats. These stone vessels are hardy and last for generations. Today hand-me-downs and heirlooms are fashionable. A well seasoned stone vessel is a treasured hand-me-down too. Grandmothers passed down their favorite kalchatti to those who deserved one. This is no exaggeration as one might think. These vessels have a life of their own. Each kalchatti is seasoned in such a way to be used as a curd bowl or pickle jar or rasam pot. If you see one such vessels hanging in one of your attics, please bring it down and start using it. These are known to possess alkaline properties just the same as clay vessels and have a cooling effect too. This helps with slowing the souring or fermenting process, thereby aiding in the storage of idly/dosa batter, making curds, fermenting rice etc.

Today, kalchattis are made exactly the same way that it used to be made many many decades ago. Its an art that is passed down through generations and is definitely something that needs nurturing. 

A new kalchatti needs a few weeks of seasoning before it can be used for cooking. And we follow the traditional method of seasoning strictly. All ingredients used are organic and natural. We use castor oil, turmeric powder and rice water for the seasoning procedure. It takes 3 weeks for us to bring a seasoned cookware to the shelves for sale.

The advantages of using a Kalchatti for cooking is all the essential minerals that each one carries with it. It also has a cooling effect on the foods cooked in it thereby aiding in the digestion process. There are recipes that use stone cookware as a basic tool such as Kal Dosa, uthappam, Karupatti Paniyaram etc. But Kalchattis can be used to cook almost anything except deep frying. Due to the nature of the stone, it will crack under too much heat in the presence of a considerable amount of oil. We have Seasoned soapstone cookpots that have high edges and are deep in nature to cook tomato or tamarind based Rasams, gravies, sambars, etc. A seasoned Kalchatti Kadai can be used for dry gravies, vegetable or meat roasts. A soapstone dosa Tawa is excellent to make the best uthappams ever. Crispy outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Soapstone curd jars are perfect to set curds in. Try out our line of soapstone cookware and share your experiences with us.

You can shop our Soapstone products below: