Indian Kharal or Chutney Grinder

Six sides, a dark craggy skin, and a smooth, rosy bowl hiding inside.

This stone kharal or chutney grinder is from India, and dates to the 20th century. It is jaisalmer stone. A kharal is a stone mortar used in Indian kitchens, in which spices, herbs and chutneys are ground by hand with a heavy stone pestle. Low, six-sided basin with a dark, pitted and bumpy exterior. The interior is smooth and polished to a warm pinkish brown with a gently sloping hollow. The corners are rounded from handling. It is 11 inches wide, 6 deep and 3.5 high.

Gruff outside, rather soft in the middle.