'Dantem' - Grinding Grain into Flour

House-hold Grinding Mill - Granite Stone - Goa.

(Line artwork by Tony Fernandes)

It is used for grinding grain into flour for making flat-bread (chapathi/roti) pastries and traditional sweets and other delicacies.

Many people in villages owned a 'dantem'. Those who did not have one, borrowed one from their neighbours who gladly lent it to them. As it is very heavy, people prefer to go over to the neighbour's house to get the job done.

The pair of circular granite rock stones are carved by professional craftsmen. The lower rock is one flat piece with a notch in the centrally pivoting it to the top rock which has two holes to feed grain into them by hand Rotating of the top stone is aided by a spindle fixed on the top stone that is used as a handle to grasp in turning it over the bottom stone which remains stationary. The mill is preferably place on a thick white cotton cloth or hessian on the floor. Two people with their fists placed one over the other on the spindle/stick, makes turning easier. One person with strong arms can turn it with some difficulty at the start, but it gets easier as one gains momentum after a few rotations. The left hand is used to turn and the right hand is used to feed the grain into the twin receptacles at the top centre of the grinding mill. The ground flour comes out and falls around the perimeter of the bottom stone which is collected and placed in a container. The ground flour may sometimes need two or more passes to attain the right consistency.

Traditionally, such hand-mills were used in the preparation of various sweets and other foods for Christmas, feasts, weddings and other occasions in the villages. Traditional 'Ovio' (wedding songs) were sung as the women sat on a large mat turning the wheels of such mills while other village folks accompanied them in their chores getting the traditional sweets like neureo, bebinca, doce, dodol, bol, etc. ready for such occasions.

Now get ready, it's time to relish some fresh chapathi or roti.