Masala Lab

The Science of Indian Cooking

By: Krish Ashok

Narrated by: Ashish Bhandari

Ever wondered why your grandmother threw a teabag into the pressure cooker while boiling chickpeas, or why she measured using the knuckle of her index finger? Why does a counter-intuitive pinch of salt make your kheer more intensely flavourful? What is the Maillard reaction and what does it have to do with fenugreek? What does your high-school chemistry knowledge, or what you remember of it, have to do with perfectly browning your onions?
Masala Lab by Krish Ashok is a science nerd's exploration of Indian cooking with the ultimate aim of making the reader a better cook and turning the kitchen into a joyful, creative playground for culinary experimentation. Just like memorizing an equation might have helped you pass an exam but not become a chemist, following a recipe without knowing its rationale can be a sub-optimal way of learning how to cook.

Exhaustively tested and researched, and with a curious and engaging approach to food, Krish Ashok puts together the one book the Indian kitchen definitely needs, proving along the way that your grandmother was right all along.

Some really good stuff hidden in a long dialogue.

The book is quite long but has some good scientific takes on indian cooking. The narrator/author tries to keep it light but some of the content is repeated and frankly not very useful. Overall, a fresh and scientific take on indian cooking which I haven't heard before.

Learned a lot!

I learned a lot from this book. This book was focused on Indian cooking. It took away some of the mystery of that cuisine which I love. The science and techniques could be applied to any cuisine actually. It was an educational and interesting listen.

Fun - hoping i t will improve my cooking skills!

While I am not a skilled cook, my family boasts a lineage of culinary experts. Always intrigued by various cooking procedures and methods, this book provided enlightening explanations. I found it very enjoyable and loved the insights it offered. Despite my optimism, my wife remains skeptical about its impact on my cooking skills. Only time will tell!

I use the techniques

I use the techniques in the book and they almost always work. Also when you watch other peoples recipes those recipes make more sense now.