How to choose a wet-grinder?

Wet grinders are not used in Western kitchen. They are an Indian invention

In the olden days manual grinder (Chakki) was used to grind pre-soaked grains( beans, rice etc) to make various dishes. Sometimes, a flat stone and a triangular shaped grinding stone was used. These were labor intensive operations and needed the resurfacing of the stones. Some of the Halwaii would employ a special contraption called Kolhu to make grinding easier.

In South India, wet grinders are used to make batter for Dosa, Idli, and Vada. In North India wet grinders are used to make Kachori, Moong Halwa. Wet grinders can also be used to make Chutney. You could also make use it as mill to make baby-foods.

Wet grinders are not efficient to mince meats (ground meats), make nut butters (Almond butter, or peanut butter. Some users have have modified wet grinders to run for hours to conch chocolates.

You can use a Meat Grinder or a Food processor to make the batter. Food processors use metal disks to shred, or S-shaped blade (Sabatier blade) to chop food into to smaller sizes till the right consistency is obtained. The problem is the taste. The dishes lack the taste of stone ground batter. The keyword is 'stone ground'. Wet grinders use stone grinders.

A wet grinder includes a stainless steel drum. Inside the drum, there is a grinding mechanism that involves two granite stone rotors. Depending on the manufacturer, these rotors may be conical or just a thick disc. In either case, the food is crushed in a gap of 1 millimeter between a flat surface and the stone rotor. This minimizes any wear and tear on the stones. Some of the units may also have a third stone as a bottom. The stones don't need to get re-surfaced like the old-fashioned manual Chakki or Kolhu.

220 V 50 Hz versus 110 V 60 Hz

Do not buy a 220 V 50 Hz unit designed for use in India, and use it in United States with a step-down transformer. The transformer only solves the the problem of voltage and not the frequency. Frequency effects about 20% speed or the proportionate amount of time to grind. A 50 Hz unit operated at 60 hertz will heat up and may even burn the motor. If you buy a wet grinder in United states and use a step up transformer, the 60 Hz unit operated at 50 hertz will be sluggish. The designs are not digital, they use motors that rotate stones through a drive mechanism. The designs are optimized around the voltage as well as the frequency.

Capacity

The capacity may be a consideration. For home use 5 to 8 cups is acceptable capacity. You should also find out the minimum capacity at which the unit will operate successfully. A minimum capacity of about ½ cup will allow to make chutney or baby foods.

The stainless steel Drum

Many of the units boast that the batter can be stored in the stainless steel drum. It is just creative marketing ploy. I would rather transfer the batter to a bowl with a lid and then store in the refrigerator.

Attachments

Most of the wet grinders come with dough hook, and coconut scraper. These may be of interest but should not influence your decision to buy a wet grinder.

Continuous Operation

The unit should run continuously to grind one complete load un-attended. One of the Ultra units when loaded with 4 cups of presoaked grains, will run continuously for 20 minutes to make the batter of desired consistency. The actual time to run the machine should be settable by the user.

User needs to read the instructions. Unfortunately, there is no standard operating manual that will applies to all the manufacturers.

Many of the popular brand names can be bought online in United States: Ultra, Santha, Premier

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