This is my birthday present to myself: a hulking mortar and pestle. I'm not sure why, but I need it. I love fresh-ground spices, and my little white china set seems puny. I don't like the clinking sound it makes. Yesterday I cooked Thai chicken and yellow rice, planning to use this for the coriander seed and cumin, but discovered it takes time to get it ready. You have to season it by scrubbing with wet white rice, grinding the rice to a pulp and then rinsing it away many times until the rice water finally runs clean. The inside of the mortar isn't dirty, exactly, just dusty. After the rice step is over, you do the same thing with salt. This could take a long time, so I decided to scrub it one step each day. It's worth the trouble.
Here's lots more information on this primitive kitchen tool.
Diana Kennedy, in her book Mexican Regional Cooking, says, "No self-respecting cook in this hemisphere should be without this classic piece of kitchen equipment."(p. 254). I agree.
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