PONDA: Artisan couple Prabhakar Patru and Saraswati from Nipani in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur are regulars at various zatras and feast fairs in Goa, bringing with them an array of painstakingly chiselled stone tools that are Goan kitchen essentials. They’ve set up shop at the Kapileshwari zatra this time and have artfully laid out all their ware at the fair. On sale they have an array of ‘dattem’ (traditional flour grinders) and the quaint mortar and pestle in various shapes. Conspicuous by its absence, however, is the rogddo, Goa’s heavyweight grinder, fabled for the delicious curries produced from the masalas ground on it.
“Demand for the rogddo has plummeted, so we have stopped making them,” says Prabhakar, matter-of-factly. “In their quest to get everything instantly, at least 80% of households now prefer electrified grinders and have relegated the rogddo to the corner of their homes as a showpiece. Just about 20% probably rely on it for old times’ sake.”
Prabhakar appears to have hit the nail straight on the head. The rogddo usually sells for between Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000, but electric mixers retail at almost the same price, making them the more convenient option for today’s fast lifestyles and families in which both, the husband and wife are breadwinners and can’t spend much time in the kitchen.
While that may be the case, the flavour of masalas made on the rogddo are in a league of their own. Anita Naik, a resident of Farmagudi, Bandora, swears by this. “Curries made by grinding masalas on traditional stone grinders taste far better than those made in electric mixers and grinders. This is because the rogddo rubs and crushes the spices thoroughly and brings out their best flavours. Nothing can match this,” she says.
All hope is not lost for the rogddo, though. Prabhakar says many artisans in his village still make a livelihood from selling them and there appears to be demand for them at the annual November-December fair in Old Goa. His wife says they are now mostly used at weddings when traditional cuisine is showcased and traditional flavours, too.
