Olanjali Saree

On a weekend, while taking rest in my room, I went to the window hearing repeated musical calls from outside. When I opened the curtain, I was welcomed by the pair of “Olanjali birds”. The lavish orange on its body, the greyish neck region and the black head of an Olanjali are what I have spread onto this saree. But our weaver said, she feels like some ripe mango puree spread on her saree. You may see it in a different way. But, there will be one characteristic of the saree, all will agree, which is the comfort in wearing it. The soft mercerized cotton saree is a comfortable and elegant wear for an evening outing. Story of Weaving: The handloom fabric is a type of fabric that is woven using hand operated looms. Two sets of interlacing yarns, the warp (length) and weft (width), are woven on a loom hand-operated by weavers. These looms do not use electricity. Human handling lends the fabrics a unique feel and renders the fabrics more value. The resultant fabric is softer, more durable and much more comfortable than machine-made fabrics. Handloom cotton is more breathable and thus feels lighter in summers and provides more insulation in winters. The dyeing process also becomes easier for handloom cotton as the colour penetration is substantially more. Hues are absorbed better thus look resplendent on handloom cotton. The art of hand weaving is labour intensive and takes a longer time. But, the beauty it adds to the fabric is priceless. Choosing handloom cotton supports the rich weaving heritage of India and lets the weavers carry on the precious art-form to the future generations as well.

Ela Stole

Story of Weaving: The handloom fabric is a type of fabric that is woven using hand operated looms. Two sets of interlacing yarns, the warp (length) and weft (width), are woven on a loom hand-operated by weavers. These looms do not use electricity. Human handling lends the fabrics a unique feel and renders the fabrics more value. The resultant fabric is softer, more durable and much more comfortable than machine-made fabrics. Handloom cotton is more breathable and thus feels lighter in summers and provides more insulation in winters. The dyeing process also becomes easier for handloom cotton as the colour penetration is substantially more. Hues are absorbed better thus look resplendent on handloom cotton. The art of hand weaving is labour intensive and takes a longer time. But, the beauty it adds to the fabric is priceless. Choosing handloom cotton supports the rich weaving heritage of India and lets the weavers carry on the precious art-form to the future generations as well.

Kunhikkalam – Personal Curd Setter

Our Mothers teach us family recipes. But we often fail to recreate that magic in our food. For sure, one reason is the way we cook,  our affinity for short cuts. At Graamyam, we are making a small effort to help you to bring back your memories of food, as prepared by your mother. Here is a small curd setter, to make home curd with a whole new accent, with the earthy flavour of the clay pot. This is just enough to make curd for a person's consumption. Curd set in a steel container can never match the flavour and richness of curd set in a terracotta vessel. Clay being porous can absorb water; therefore, when you make yoghurt in clay pots, the clay absorbs the excess water, and the yoghurt is much thicker and creamier. No other containers can match this characteristic of terracotta. Terracotta curd setters are 100% food safe as per international standards. Clay helps keep the culture of the curd at the right temperature for it to grow successfully. These curd setters help in cutting down the sourness of curd as it is made of clay which is alkaline in nature. It can balance out the acidity of the yoghurt to a large extent.