Coimbatore Wet Grinder

Coimbatore Wet Grinder
Geographical indication
Coimbatore Wet Grinder
Description	wet grinders manufactured in Coimbatore
Type	Manufactured
Area	Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Registered	2005-06
Material	granite, steel, electric motor

Coimbatore Wet Grinder refers to wet grinders manufactured in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It has been recognized as a Geographical indication by the Government of India in 2005-06. As of 2015, Coimbatore has more than 700 wet grinder manufacturers with a monthly output 75,000 units.

A wet grinder is a food preparation appliance used for grinding food grains to produce batter. Batter is used extensively in South Indian cuisine for preparation of popular dishes such as dosa, idly, vada, appam and paniyaram. It consists of granite stones which rotate inside a metal drum with the help of an electric motor and the food grains get crushed between the stone and drum.

P. Sabapathy developed the wet grinder in Coimbatore in 1955. Sabapathy introduced the grinders to other cities such as Chennai and Madurai. In 1963, P. B. Krishnamurthy started Lakshmi Grinders which led to the commercial popularity of wet grinders. In 1975, R. Doraiswamy invented the tilting wet grinders. L. G. Varadaraj introduced the table top wet grinders which replaced grinders which had to be placed on the ground.

As the product was invented in the city, Coimbatore naturally emerged as a center for the manufacture of wet grinders. The availability of raw material in the form of granite stones, electric motor manufacturing units and the necessary heavy equipment such as lathes, drilling and milling machines used in manufacturing aided the development of the industry.