I can never forget mum meticulously grinding whole spices using a mortar and pestle and cooking Meen Kuzhambu (fish curry) in rustic looking manchatti’s (earthenware). Mum cherished cooking
fish in clay since it retained nutrition and made the dish flavoursome.

As a tribute to the good old days, one of the foremost things I did as a married woman and novice cook in-charge of an entire kitchen for the first time, was to purchase a manchatti. I resolved to carry and pass on mum’s traditional ways. This was my favourite piece of cookware until I was introduced to Longpi.

I first read about Longpi in a blog post. What drew my eyes to the article was beautiful pictures of black earthenware with cane trimming. I was intrigued! I quickly dialled in the numbers mentioned towards the end of the post and got in touch with Ms. Presley. As luck would have it, she was in Bangalore at the time and had an exhibition stall at the famed Chitrakala Parishath. The very next day, I met Presley, who readily introduced me to the history of Longpi stone pottery.

Traditionally called, “Loree Hamlei”, this pottery was historically used exclusively by the royal and noble families of Manipur. The original name is derived from the village of Longpi in Manipur where the Tangkhul Naga tribe, specialise in creating this pottery. The material used is called weather rock and serpentinite which is found in abundance along the river banks of Longpi. The two rocks crushed together and mixed in the ratio of 5:3 using very little water are kneaded and shaped by artisans with bare hands and placed in moulds. This makes it one of the rarest forms of pottery to not use the potter’s wheel. Once it is dried and hard enough, the moulds are placed in kilns and set on fire for about 5 to 7 hours till it reaches the temperature of 900 degree Celsius. It is then removed whilst still hot and rubbed with a local leaf known as Machee (Pasania Pachiphylla).

These vessels that get better with age can easily go from cookware to serve ware due to their elegant and simple design. They can also be popped into the oven and microwave provided they do not have the cane accents. Additionally, they can be easily cleaned using a mild soap solution.

Today as my cooking improves (slowly), I beam joyfully whenever guests ask me about the origin of the black beauties laid out before them.

To learn more about Longpi pottery you can contact Presley at 9902370318.