Why Bengali dishes taste richer when spices are ground on a shil nora

Mixer-grinders rule Bengali kitchens, but many cooks still swear by the traditional shil nora grinding stone for mustard paste, posto and dal bora. Cookery columnist Rukma Dakshy says blades cut ingredients, while the stone crushes and rubs them under steady pressure, releasing natural oils and giving pastes a creamier texture and deeper flavour.