Masala Lab

The Science of Indian Cooking

De: Krish Ashok

Narrado por: 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.

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.

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.

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.