Traditional tools to grinding spices

When I was a child, it always fascinated me to watch our ma standing at kitchen readily ground wet spices.
In the old days methods of grinding spices are different. Before electric blenders, the spices were painstakingly grounded manually.

Used batu giling to grinding chili

Batu giling - Grinding Stone

Mostly every baba nyonya house had their own pestle and mortar made of undressed granite called "batu lesung". This was used for grinding small quantities of spices such as shallot, onion, ginger and chili paste.

Batu lesung - Raw Granite Pestle and Mortar

For bigger amount, they used "batu giling" - something similar to a fat rolling pin made of raw granite and rolled over a thick flat granite slab (think how much workout you get from daily usage of that!).

Batu boh - Granite Grinder

Batu boh - a stone mill was also used during our ah ma times. However, this was mainly used for turning rice grain into rice powder. Every time have event, celebration or occasions, our ah ma will use it to make kuih. These are considered primitive tools because they have been used since the Stone Age! Needless to say, it is very rare nowadays to see such a spectacle.

However, old people still swear by traditional methods. It is said spices grounded manually taste so much better than those processed by electricity. They also say, after using the mortar, rinse once and do not throw away the water used, instead throw it in the pot for a tastier meal!