Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking

#19- A fascinating science book that has probably cracked the code of how Chemistry should be taught in schools

A little place, stationed in a few sq.feet in our homes,

Dishing out a melodious rhythm of science & art - everyday.

The fuel for sensory delight,

The ink to countless stories

The vehicle to nostalgic rides.

Welcome to the Indian kitchen,

Which is truly ‘ The Masala Lab’.

Food is a survival necessity, but also a sensorial luxury. Food delivers taste as well as memories. It represents cultural reality. Indian kitchen is a true spectacle. The symphony of pressure cooker whistles, tempering of spices in hot oil, the sensual aroma of the fresh ingredients concocting with ghee, the rhythmic cadence of cutting & chopping sounds, the rainbow of colors, all meticulously coming together to create magic. This is the place where varied ingredients from different parts of the country come together, to create a luscious culinary experience.

In one of the previous aticles, we covered how food has been represented in films. Even in books, the genre of food related writing is a prominent one - recipe books, cultural foods, food history. 

A fantastic addition in this space is Krish Ashok’s ‘Masala Lab’.

Cooking is essentially chemical engineering in a home laboratory.known as kitchen, with an optional lab coat, known as apron.

Art is and should be hard to master, but if the craft is hard to get right, then the documentation is probably inadequate’

These two quotes capture the essence of the space that the book occupies. It breaks down Indian cuisine, from a scientific lens - the chemical engineering that a food item undergoes during cooking ; why does colour change when an item is fried; the preservation and life cycle of food items; common myths around food. 

The source material for the book is driven from the author’s daily cooking chronicles over more than a decade. Krish Ashok mentions he cooks at home everyday and created notes of his observations. This long, dedicated journey created Masala Lab.

Where does Masala lab fit in the food writing space?

An important disclaimer that he does at the beginning of the book is acknowledge privilege. He articulates that while his pursuit of intellectual curiosity led him to this quest, the experience is diametrically opposite for millions of women. For them, cooking is an arduous responsibility - done 3 times a day, accommodating choices of family members, nutritional requirements and economic household budget. 

This scientific ( romantic for few ) take on Indian cooking may just not resonate with them. This initial disclaimer establishes that the field is not level playing. 

The book does a fine job of giving a logical, scientific explanation to a lot of wisdom orally passed between generations - dadi maa ke nuske; preservation techniques; choice of cooking utensils; enterprise in concoction of ingredients. 

Since Krish Ashok has a penchant for music, let me try another way to explain the book-

The book covers a lot of fundamental concepts around boiling point, specific heat capacity, acidity of ingredients,reactions like starch gelatinization. The book also introduces you to Maillard reaction- and makes you fall in love with it. By the end of it, this is one person whose work you would read up more on.

One of my favorite part is the essay on spices -how flavors are actually part of the defense mechanism of plants against predators. Another important point the book covers is the puritan debate on the authenticity of food. The book acts as a profound, wise science teacher, debunking one point at a time with facts. It mentions how authenticity is a subjective outcome of nostalgia/memory. The debate is futile. There is nothing called authentic food.

An added narrative style which makes the read engaging is the comical undertone used. Ashok sketches smart illustrations that ‘humanizes’ the food ingredients and make them interesting characters. They also act as a solid relief/ pause in between the scientific concepts.

So you may be a food lover, an ameteur cook, or just a curious person, the book has something in it for you. The book has numerous nuggets that make you revisit your notion of cooking - in an engaging, fun read.