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Wet grinders are popular South Indian kitchen appliances used to make batter out of soaked grains and lentils.
Traditional wet grinders are manually operated and consist of a large stone with a hole in it, where a cylindrical stone with a wooden handle fit in. The grain and lentil mixture was poured in with water and the cylinder rotated by the handle on the top to grind the food together. The ground paste is used for various food items like idli, dosa, sevai and vada.
The mechanics of wet grinders have evolved over the years. The earlier form of wet grinder called "Attan Kallu" used mechanical energy in which the user had to rotate the top stone called "Kullavi" to grind the medium. Later models were electrically powered, featuring dual rotating stones top and base) were introduced first for commercial use and later for domestic use. Most modern models still have stone components for the grinding action . The stone is usually granite stone. The traditional manual grinding stones needed refinishing (usually chiseled by a door to door serviceman) from time to time. Modern stones usually do not need such refinishing and last much longer.
