A tale of many masalas

If someone were to ask you about your earliest memory of an Indian spice yoursquod probably have to jog your mind to when Like the first time you tasted haldi in khichdi or sipped on elaichi chai or enjoyed dal drenched in an aromatic tadka of rai and curry leavesAuthorchef Keith Sarasin cohosts More than Masala with Ragini Kashyap where the two discuss the complex history of Indian spices Pic CourtesyAlisha VasudevldquoItrsquos not an easy memory to reclaimrdquo admits Mumbaibased Ragini Kashyap food researcher and founder of multinational supper club Third Culture Cooks So when American cookbook author and chef Keith Sarasin told her about that time from his late teens when he walked into an Indian ldquodukaanrdquo located in a small strip mall and was overcome by the ldquointoxicating smell of toasted jeerardquo Kashyap was more than amusedldquoI grew up eating all these spices But here was someone who hadnrsquot and yet distinctly remembered the backstory to each and every Indian spice he had first tastedrdquo she saysThis was the icebreaker to a foodie conversation that eventually translated into a new podcast series More Than Masala on Spotify where the duo discuss the complex history of Indian spices and the rich stories folklore warfare and cultural connections associated with themSarasin met Kashyap almost serendipitously The chef says that after 20 years of working nonstop in kitchens across the US he decided to take a short break during the lockdown last year selling his restaurant business to his partnerHe used this time to turn his focus to Indian food Itrsquos how he found himself in a food and politics course hosted by Kashyap with Mumbaibased archaeologist and food historian Kurush F Dalal Both Dalal and Kashyap he says have helped him see Indian food with fresh eyesGrowing up in a small city in New Hampshire Sarasin had no exposure to Indian food ldquoBut I had an Indian friend whose family owned a restaurant there and hersquod always try to convince me to try a meal with him I was a very picky eater so Irsquod refuse pointblankrdquo Once after having lost a video game challenge with him he agreed ldquoThat moment changed my liferdquo he recalls The two went to a local restaurant where Sarasin ordered a chicken tandoori gravy and garlic naan ldquoI ripped off a piece dunked it into the sauce and that first bitehellip it was like an explosion I didnrsquot know that food could ever taste like thatrdquoNot too long after that he visited an Indian grocery store and was surprised by what he saw on the racks A Gujarati lady named Indira working in a kitchen at the back of the store sensing his wonderment got him to try what he describes as a ldquosemolina sabzirdquo The two immediately hit it off and Sarasin who started cooking as early as 14 convinced Indira to teach him to make Indian mealsAlso Read Masala Bonds ldquoThe first day I walked in she had me make her rice and halfway through it she told me I was doing it all wrong Indirarsquos food was very simple but absolutely delicious It was the soul that she put into it I think that made it special Her bhindi sabzi and masoor dal were to die forrdquo remembers Sarasin He eventually began helping her out in her catering business handling all the meat preparations ldquoI also started developing my Indian vocabulary making sure that when I was in the kitchen with her I only used the Hindi names of spicesrdquoA tamarind glaze vadapoha sabzi with beetroot dahiDuring the lockdown voraciously listening to Vikram Doctorrsquos The Real Food Podcast he was led to one of the showrsquos guests Dalal who he says has now become his ldquogururdquo on all things food His plans to visit India this year were cut short due to the pandemic But his new podcast show he feels is a good excuse to think about Indian cuisine differently ldquoRagini is academic when it comes to her approach to food We thought what if a finedining chef like myself collaborated on a project with her where we could do a deepdive into spicesrdquo he saysEach monthly episode addresses a different spice At the end of it Kashyap throws in a challenge for Sarasin who has to prepare a dish using the spice as a key ingredient One of his first challenges was to prepare sheermal a mildlysweet saffronflavoured naan Recently he made mooriyerachi curry a Keralainspired Syrian Christian dish using elaichiA farmersrsquo dinner hosted by Sarasin at a farm in New EnglandMeanwhile Sarasin is hoping to use his learnings to introduce the diverse regional Indian food to Americans whose knowledge of the cuisine he says is limited to butter chickennaan This month along with chef Tarun Bangalore he hosted a ninecourse popup dinner called Aatma inspired by Indian states using fresh local ingredients from New England farms at the restaurant Stages in Dover New Hampshire ldquoI call it aatma soul because for me this Indian cooking is my truest form of expressionhellip itrsquos my true selfrdquoAlso Read Traditions in a pickle jar