Katuka (Kajal)

Katuka can be prepared at home in quite a simple way. Only problem is, it is kind of messy to handle the black soot.

You require a flat plate made of copper or brass or steel.

Ingredients are easily available and there is no specification about quantities etc.

Either til oil (sesame) or castor oil or pure ghee (clarified butter) is used for making katuka. Either vatti (cotton wick) used in pujas or clean cotton cloth dipped in oil is used as wick.

You have to clean the plate, pramida (diya or bowl) etc very carefully, because, any negligence is going to hurt the eyes of the person who uses the katuka.

I tried to make a small amount for illustrating the process. I used some til oil and wicks used in puja. I used a copper plate which is an antique plate used during puja. I have used a clay pramida (diya or clay bowl which is used during Diwali). I thoroughly cleaned and dried all the stuff, before using.

Some people apply chandan (sandal paste) on the external side of the plate.

After the black powder is prepared, mixing the powder with a little bit of ghee and making a ball is a messy affair.

Paccha carpooram (edible camphor) is different from camphor which is burnt during pujas. It is available in shops as edible camphor (raw camphor). In south Indian cuisine it is used in making sweets.

My niece tried the katuka made and said that she feels comfortable with the katuka!


Katuka I made about 5 years ago:     

                                                 

  Sample I made now:               

Copper plate :                                                              Bowl for wick and 2 glasses for support :

                                                       Large wick in the bowl :

Plate on the wick supported by glasses:                  Another view of the same:


                   


Flame from the wick almost touching the plate :





Soot on the surface of the plate:                                Soot scraped and collected in a plate:

 

Katuka made and the plate after all the soot is scraped:

Ingredients:

•      Flat copper/brass/steel plate (medium sized)
•      50 gms Til oil or castor oil or ghee
•      Big wick which can burn for a few hours
•      2 equal length glasses or bricks etc to support the plate above the lamp
•      A few drops of ghee
•      A few grains of paccha karpuram (edible camphor)

Directions:

 

 

1.      Follow the pictures shown above.
2.      Arrange the lamp in corner where there is no draught and lamp burns steadily.
3.      Be very careful to see nothing around is going to catch fire!!
4.      Place the glasses filled with water or bricks of equal height on either side of the lamp.
5.      Try placing the plate on the glasses and see if it is stable.
6.      Place the diya in between the glasses, arrange the wick to stay in the center of the diya.
7.      Pour oil and let the wick get soaked fully.
8.      Squeeze the top of the wick so that the extra oil is gone and the wick has a sharp tip.
9.      Light the lamp and see if the top of the flame is close to the center of the plate.
10.      Depending on the amount of oil, the lamp may burn for a few hours.
11.      After the lamp burns fully, let the plate cool to room temperature.
12.      Reverse the plate, put it an old newspaper and taking a new tongue cleaner scrape all the black soot to the corner of the plate. (My mother used to scrape the plate with new dry tataaku /palm leaf)!
13.      Add one or two drops of ghee to the collected powder.
14.      Also add the camphor.
15.      Use gloves to protect your fingers from soot. Using  your fingers, go on mixing all the powder to make a small ball.
16.      Once the katuka ball is made, using a steel or brass glass, put the plate under running water and keep rubbing down the ball.    
17.      This kind of treatment and addition of camphor make the katuka very soothing and cool to the eyes.

If you are making katuka in USA, make sure that the fire alarm does not go off!!