This new book is not just an archive of spices from the Indian subcontinent, but is also an invitation to play with them and make them your own
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Sadaf Hussain’s new book, Masalamandi (Penguin, Rs 999), begins with a dedication to the three figures who inspired his love for spices and food—his mother Anjum, grandmother Bilqis and the family sil batta (mortar and pestle).
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It also acknowledges gender politics in food, which often confines women to the kitchen but rarely gives them credit for their work. It was not so in his home, says Hussain; the men took on many cooking duties as well. This, though, is his way of giving his grandmum and mum their due, and it’s also why he addresses them by name rather than relation. “This is a dedication to all those things we put in a corner, whether it’s women, or the heavy and infrequently used sil batta,” says the food historian and MasterChef India 2016 finalist.
What’s the difference between the Bengali puchka and the north Indian pani puri? It’s not just the fillings—puchka also has more spices than the north Indian pani puri. PICSCOURTESY/SADAF HUSSAIN
Some of his fondest memories hark back to the aroma of his mum grinding masala on the sil batta when a young Hussain—a spice connoisseur from an early age—would try to guess what they’d cook later in the day based on the spice blend. His mother also inspired in him a love for biryani, and her recipe—Ammi’s biryani—is the very first in Masalamandi. “My mother made the best biryani in the world,” he says, “It was teekha [spicy]; it’s quite close to the Hyderabadi version. She used to put potatoes in it, but it’s not a Kolkata biryani. I guess you could say that if the Hyderabadi and Kolkata biryanis have a baby, that would be my Ammi’s biryani.”
A pickle made with a dry Bihari spice rub, with less oil and fewer masalas than many other Indian variants
As much as he loves her recipe, Hussain is not afraid to experiment with it and change it up. His favourite hack is to add dried apricots to it, which gives the spicy dish a “kick of sweetness.” If his mum’s biryani is the best in the world, his is the second-best, quips Hussain.
He hopes Masalamandi will inspire others to do the same—it’s a book for readers to immerse themselves in the world of spices, teaching them about each spice’s flavour profile and how heirloom recipes have used them over generations. Eventually, Hussain hopes readers will grow curious enough to start experimenting on their own.
Many packaged spice brands started out as humble shops in small towns such as Munshi Panna Spices, which started more than 80 years ago with a store in the local spice market at Rawatpara, Agra
“I’ve always believed that we don’t give enough value to spices. When someone enjoys a meal, they compliment how it has been cooked, or how tender the meat is, for example. But no one talks about how incredible the spices are,” he says, “Why do you prefer one chaat shop over another? There are only so many ways you can fry tikki, and even that makes a difference in texture, not so much in flavour. It’s the ‘secret’ chaat masala blend the shop uses that makes all the difference.”
This is also why Masalamandi, despite holding close to 500 recipes, has very few of them detailing how to make the entire dish. Instead, most recipes focus on how to prepare the spice blend. “There are so many recipes for rajma online. In my book, I don’t tell you how to make it. But I do explain how to make different rajma dishes with different spice blends. This is why I call this an ‘adhoora’ or half-baked book,” he says.
There are five different rajma masala recipes in the book, just as there are 37 biryani masala recipes. Changing the spice blend alters the dish itself. Halve the number of spices used in his Ammi’s biryani and swap a couple of them with the gentler flavours of poppy and nigella seeds. You’re left with a fragrant Lucknowi biryani masala. Technically, they are both biryanis, but they are very different in flavour, heat, and aroma, he explains.
Well then, if it’s a spice that makes the dish, is vegetable biryani real? We ask him, tongue firmly in cheek. “Of course! I always tell people that vegetable biryani is a real thing. I get upset when people imply that just because there’s no meat in it, veg biryani is not real. You can make biryani out of anything.”
Chef Hussain visits the local spice market wherever he travels, whether it’s in Kashmir or Goa
“I love spices; playing with them is one of the best things I do. I keep thinking of how to make something new, or how I can use a familiar spice blend in something else,” says the MasterChef India alumnus, “Let’s say you have shami kebab masala, but no meat, then I want to push you to think, Can we put this masala in aloo tikki? Experimentation is how some genius came up with the masala blend; now it’s up to us to push the envelope further.”
Sadaf Hussain
Quite recently, he tells us, he was busy writing his book and his cook—yes, MasterChef finalist Sadaf Hussain has a cooking “didi” too—told him there was no chicken masala at home. How was she to make chicken curry? “I told her to combine biryani and fish tikka masalas and make the curry. She said it wouldn’t taste good, but all masalas are just spices in different combinations. The combinations shouldn’t limit us. The curry ended up tasting wonderful!”
Ammi’s biryani
Ingredients
1/2 kg chicken
1/2 kg basmati rice (soaked and partly boiled with the following spices)
2 black cardamom
2 bay leaves
2 star anise
1 inch cinnamon
6 cloves
3/4 cup curd
3 potatoes (sliced, boiled and fried)
1/4 cup ghee (to cook) + 3tbsp
5 onions (medium, sliced)
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
Spice blend:
1 bay leaf
8–9 black pepper whole
1 star anise
2 inches cinnamon
4–5 cloves
1 black cardamom
4 green cardamom
11/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
Additions
4–5 green chillies
6 dried plums
50 gm mint leaves
Saffron, a pinch dissolved in 50 ml water
4–6 drops biryani attar
2 tsp garam masala
Method
Dry roast all the spices in the spice blend section, leaving garam masala and salt aside. Let it rest, and grind all the spices together, leaving the green cardamom and cinnamon sticks aside. Mix the whole and powdered spices with the dried plums, and your biryani masala is ready.
In a pot, add oil and the onions and fry until golden brown. Remove half the fried onions and set aside. To the remaining fried onions, add ginger-garlic paste and mix well. Add and fry the chicken until it changes colour.
Add the biryani masala and whisked curd, and cook on a medium flame for 6–8 minutes. Add slit green chillies and salt to taste. Cover and cook for 8–10 minutes. Take out half of the cooked chicken and set it aside.
Layer the chicken with rice, fried onions, chopped mint and coriander leaves, boiled potatoes, 11/2 tbsp melted ghee, and 1 tbsp garam masala. Repeat the process for the second layer. Drizzle saffron-infused milk on top and the remaining gravy, if any. Seal the lid with whole wheat flour dough or aluminium foil and put the lid on. Put some heavy weight on top to keep the air in the pot. Puncture five holes for the biryani to breathe in the pot. Keep the dum on a low flame for 15 minutes. Take it off the flame and let it rest for 15 more minutes. Serve hot.
Spice shopping
One of Sadaf Hussain’s favourite places to buy spices in Mumbai is at Bohri Mohalla in Bhendi Bazaar and at Motilal Masalawala in Tardeo. “I like how you can buy the masala at Lalbaug spice market and they have a machine that will pound it into a powder with a wooden block instead of grinding it. The texture and flavours are both better,” he says. His all-time favourite spice shop is Mata Badal Pansari in Lucknow, which is “old school, and has spices used in cooking dishes like galawati kebab”. In Delhi, he swears by Noori Masale near Jama Masjid. “It’s older than most packaged brands and is very popular,” he says.
Hussain also recommends visiting the local spice market wherever you travel. “This gives you a glimpse into the place’s culture and flavours,” he says. He has one tip for newbies: “Don’t ask the shopkeeper for ‘local spices’. I made this mistake during a trip to Jaipur once, and the shopkeeper looked at me like I was stupid. Everything is local for them; they cook with those ingredients,” he says, “Instead, ask them what masalas to use if you want to make a sabzi or cook meat or fish, and they will point out the masalas that are most used locally.”
On these shopping trips, Hussain discovered many of the spices or herbs he’s come to love, such as Kashmir’s ver masala (which can be used like a garam masala) and the jimbu herb from the Himalayas (which can be used for tadka in daal; it adds a subtle onion-garlic aroma).
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