Masala Lab : The Science of Indian Cooking
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- Create Date：2021-08-06 07:51:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Krish Ashok
- ISBN：0143451375
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Prem
，
"29 degree Celsius Chennai declares winter" If you liked this joke then continue reading or if you got irritated， annoyed then dont try this book。 "29 degree Celsius Chennai declares winter" If you liked this joke then continue reading or if you got irritated， annoyed then dont try this book。 。。。more
Conor Flynn
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Apparently， adding baking soda makes cooking anything better。 Also Indian spice packets are amazing。 Parboiled rice is healthier。 Actually， this podcast covers almost everything in the book， and the accents are better: https://seenunseen。in/episodes/2020/1。。。 Apparently， adding baking soda makes cooking anything better。 Also Indian spice packets are amazing。 Parboiled rice is healthier。 Actually， this podcast covers almost everything in the book， and the accents are better: https://seenunseen。in/episodes/2020/1。。。 。。。more
Anu Warrier
，
I bought Masala Lab because its blurb sounded interesting。 And because it had excellent reviews。 Now， a disclaimer – I’m definitely not the target audience for this book。 I’ve been cooking for more years than I care to remember。 I grew up in the school of， “When I said one handful， I meant the size of my hand！”， or recipes from relatives that asked for “a pinch of this， a dash of that”。 I learnt the basics from my mother and from poring over recipes in magazines。 I learnt quickly to adapt to not I bought Masala Lab because its blurb sounded interesting。 And because it had excellent reviews。 Now， a disclaimer – I’m definitely not the target audience for this book。 I’ve been cooking for more years than I care to remember。 I grew up in the school of， “When I said one handful， I meant the size of my hand！”， or recipes from relatives that asked for “a pinch of this， a dash of that”。 I learnt the basics from my mother and from poring over recipes in magazines。 I learnt quickly to adapt to not having a certain ingredient or substituting something else for it。 But， as I said， the blurb seemed interesting， and I'm always curious to know the whys and wherefores。First， the positives。 Krish Ashok’s book is a nerd’s foray into the science of cooking – he talks of how heat affects carbohydrates， proteins and fats differently; what a Maillard reaction is and its effect in cooking; why powdered spices should be made/bought in small quantities; how to layer acids to add taste and why they are important， and so on。 Split into different chapters， he examines the science – the physics， chemistry and even biology – that goes into the products， processes and techniques of Indian cooking。 He dissects various ‘common’ spices such as garam masala， provides a generalised idea of common gravies （much like a restaurant） and suggests how to mimic several regional cuisines using ingredients that are unique to those cuisines。 Flow charts and illustrations make the information easier to understand。He also gives you a general idea of the different ways of cooking – pressure cooking， stove-top and oven; the best way to go about making and freezing different types of gravies （that you can then customize to individual dishes）; the different spice blends， and how to use them to good effect。 So， experienced as I am， I’m more than glad to incorporate some of the information into my cooking to see how it will go。I also agree with him that the term ‘authentic’ for a certain dish is redundant， especially in the Indian context where the same dish appears in many regional cuisines with their own localised variations – and they are all authentic。 Yet， I must confess that I’d rather get an ‘authentic’ recipe that closely mimics the traditional way in which it was made than a modern version which completely changes everything。Now， what irked me about the book？ Plenty。First， the condescension that dripped off the page in the “Just kidding” kind of way。 Calling people who do something differently from you ‘Idiots” is not the best way to go about imparting information。 Suggesting that if someone does something differently – especially when it is not even clear that anyone following your instructions is going to be successful – they are merely wasting their time at best or are downright moronic at worst is beyond condescending; that devolves into， “My， what a big ego he has！” territory。 Secondly， while I agree that having some gravies frozen on hand to adapt to various dishes is a godsend when you are beginning your journey as a cook， the whole point of home cooking is the freshness and the variety you bring to the dishes – with the different spices， techniques， processes。 What’s the point if by following Ashok’s ‘algorithms’， you turn your dishes into the same mass-produced generic ‘curry’？What’s with the condescension towards food bloggers （other than Bongeats， which he seems to approve of） or recipes on the Internet？ Good food bloggers not only give you a recipe， but also offer substitutions， tips based on their experience， and simplified versions of doing things。 They have tested their recipes many times and made it as fool-proof as possible。 Why not take advantage of their experience？The repeated ‘jokes’！ Ashok is like that annoying old ‘uncle-ji’ he references， who corners you at every family gathering to tell you the same ghisa-pita joke。 Which， being polite， you must laugh at， even if it was not remotely funny the first time！ His sense of humour punches down and I suppose he thinks he’s being humorous。 He’s just being tiresome。My final conclusion is – Masala Lab has some very good information。 But it is badly written， has cringe-worthy humour， and is over-hyped。 Buy this book， even if you are a beginner， only if you want to understand the science behind some of the techniques。 Because cooking is not just science， it is also an art。 It is the joy of creating a dish， not manufacturing a product。I’m sure there are some excellent cookbooks for beginners out there which make cooking a joy and a journey of discovery。 （And doesn't treat you like an idiot for wanting to do something differently。） Find some！ 。。。more
Sravanthi
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Very good book to the people who are interested in cooking
Mala Ashok
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I thought this book would give me a few interesting recipes for cooking Indian dishes but I was wrong。 This is not to say that I was disappointed because the book taught me why cooking works the way it does - or the science of cooking。 What kept the book alive was its humour。 The author， it appears， realizes that his book could be 'dry' so spices up his writing with humour（Pun Intended）。 If you are not an Indian and would like to try your hand at Indian cooking ， this is a good starting place。 F I thought this book would give me a few interesting recipes for cooking Indian dishes but I was wrong。 This is not to say that I was disappointed because the book taught me why cooking works the way it does - or the science of cooking。 What kept the book alive was its humour。 The author， it appears， realizes that his book could be 'dry' so spices up his writing with humour（Pun Intended）。 If you are not an Indian and would like to try your hand at Indian cooking ， this is a good starting place。 From here you can progress to recipes on the Internet。 In other words， having mastered the science of cooking， the art of cooking will follow effortlessly。 。。。more
Tanisha Pandey
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If you loved Boolean algebra and love cooking， this is the book for you！
Jaiprakash
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The science is good。 Could have been better。
Aditya
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This book needs serious editing。 It is verbose beyond measure。 Anything which could be said in 2 lines is said in 10 and then repeated multiple times over。 All the repition makes it a tedious read。
Girish
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As a kid， I grew up reading funny blogs of Krish Ashok。 On twitterverse he started posting food pics and I thought it's a phase。 When I read this book - It all clicked！ Welcome to cooking food for nerds - if you were scarred by Chemistry， Physics or Thermodynamics in schools stay away！Despite the meandering commentary that are borderline funny， the book is really serious！ The chemistry of cooking the perfect Dal and Channa is for those of us who get scared by "as needed" instructions。 I loved th As a kid， I grew up reading funny blogs of Krish Ashok。 On twitterverse he started posting food pics and I thought it's a phase。 When I read this book - It all clicked！ Welcome to cooking food for nerds - if you were scarred by Chemistry， Physics or Thermodynamics in schools stay away！Despite the meandering commentary that are borderline funny， the book is really serious！ The chemistry of cooking the perfect Dal and Channa is for those of us who get scared by "as needed" instructions。 I loved the metarecipies towards the end and the application of concepts such as A/B testing in cooking appealed to the nerd in me。 This is a book that I will occassionally turn to when I have a highly innovative day and the missus doesn't throw me out of the kitchen for making a mess。If you are novice cook who cracked the IIT JEE and hope to have half decently tasting food on your own - the book will open up a new world！ Else relish in the days of swiggy and the secrets of your family's kitchen - which is hit and trial mostly。 。。。more
Sudeepa Nair
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To those who are purists and prefer to call a dish by the correct name or use the exact right ingredients for a dish - this book might not satisfy you。To those looking for a recipe book - this is not the book for youTo those who have mastered the art of cooking through years of culinary experience， either in the home kitchen or otherwise - this book might annoy you To those who want to begin cooking， learn better cooking methods， or experiment in the kitchen - this book is a good choice。A few su To those who are purists and prefer to call a dish by the correct name or use the exact right ingredients for a dish - this book might not satisfy you。To those looking for a recipe book - this is not the book for youTo those who have mastered the art of cooking through years of culinary experience， either in the home kitchen or otherwise - this book might annoy you To those who want to begin cooking， learn better cooking methods， or experiment in the kitchen - this book is a good choice。A few suggestions before you read the book:1。 A physical copy works better than an ebook so that you can underline， take notes or pick it up from the shelf for a quick reference。 I read the ebook， and I am sure that I might have to rewrite nearly all the chapters into my notebook to use the book effectively。2。 As I mentioned above， do not look for specific recipes or authentic ones。 The book is a compilation of kitchen experiments and the successful algorithms/steps/processes/combinations that came out of it。 The writer's programming experience seems to have come in handy。3。 Forgive any annoying instructions that might feel redundant for the experienced cooks out there。As the writer says， Food science is a personal discovery towards more delicious food。 Personal discoveries are always exhilarating for the individual who goes through the journey， though it might seem mundane and commonplace for others。 :）My favourite chapter from the book is， of course， the one on the biriyani。 I have been making biriyanis of various kinds for nearly 15 years now， and yet， I found some tips worth trying。 You never know what you might learn from another's journey。 。。。more
Shatarupa
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Am amazing read for people who love to cook and are inquisitive about the science behind cooking！
Uday Kanth
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Solid attempt at breaking down the mystery behind the cooking process and why we do the things we do， even if we never think about the science behind it。 This will provide anybody with enough guidance to turn the process of cooking into an artform wherein layering of flavors becomes key。 Also I love that the author reiterates from time to time that authenticity in recipes is a silly expectation at best。 There are people who still vehemently believe that cooking the way our "ancestors" did will i Solid attempt at breaking down the mystery behind the cooking process and why we do the things we do， even if we never think about the science behind it。 This will provide anybody with enough guidance to turn the process of cooking into an artform wherein layering of flavors becomes key。 Also I love that the author reiterates from time to time that authenticity in recipes is a silly expectation at best。 There are people who still vehemently believe that cooking the way our "ancestors" did will impart a special magical flavor and chuck stuff like pressure cookers and microwaves as too modernist。 So it was good to see the book fully embrace the modern and efficient approach rather than sticking to "that's how my mom used to do so I'm just going to follow"。 ;） My only criticism would be that in a lot of places， it reads like a text-book and not something you can easily read and digest from cover to cover。 So you definitely won't remember everything it has to offer without going back and looking up specific chapters。 Maybe that was the intention， eh？ And another minor gripe is that a lot of jokes don't work in the context。 Appreciate the trivia， but kinda takes you out of the flow for a bit。 。。。more
Natrajan
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Interesting actionable ideas to cook something quick and efficient with the basic science explained。 Definitely recommended for people who'd like to try out new dishes。 Interesting actionable ideas to cook something quick and efficient with the basic science explained。 Definitely recommended for people who'd like to try out new dishes。 。。。more
Madhulika Liddle
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How heat works to cook food， how proteins and carbohydrates and fats are affected by heat， acid， sugar， salt， etc。 Why you shouldn't store powdered spices for months altogether， and why Coke is absolutely the wrong choice to counteract a massive dose of chillies。 And much more。 In the first few chapters of Masala Lab， Krish Ashok focuses on the physics， chemistry and some of the biology that goes into the ingredients， utensils， processes and techniques of the average Indian kitchen。 He examines How heat works to cook food， how proteins and carbohydrates and fats are affected by heat， acid， sugar， salt， etc。 Why you shouldn't store powdered spices for months altogether， and why Coke is absolutely the wrong choice to counteract a massive dose of chillies。 And much more。 In the first few chapters of Masala Lab， Krish Ashok focuses on the physics， chemistry and some of the biology that goes into the ingredients， utensils， processes and techniques of the average Indian kitchen。 He examines common flavours and what they consist of， how they work， and so on。 In the last section of the book， Ashok suggests algorithms to make individualized rice， bread， gravy， chutney/raita and salad dishes， based on several different regional cuisines。 The best thing about Ashok's writing is that he is good at explaining science in layman's terms。 He knows how much explanation is needed， and how much would be too much: he strikes the balance well。 The many illustrations to explain concepts are a bonus。 That said， while the writing tries to be witty， it does go overboard at times and becomes irritating。Earlier this year， I had read Harold McGee's definitive tome on food science， On Food and Cooking。 Having read that， I was a little sceptical if Ashok's book， only about a quarter of the length of McGee's， would be as impactful。 While the books do cover some of the same ground， their goals are separate。 McGee sets out to cover food science in its entirety （he even examines， for each ingredient group， nutritive values， history， manufacturing， spoilage and contamination）; he is thorough。 Ashok's book， on the other hand， has a relatively narrow focus: just a few major Indian cuisines， and just enough knowledge imparted to help an Indian home cook understand the how， why， what and when of Indian food。That said， I was not really the target audience for this book。 I have been cooking for the past thirty years and more; I studied hotel management， so do have some food production training。 And， given that I cook three meals a day without any domestic help， I simply don't have the time to do any of the experiments Ashok suggests。 What's more， I realize a lot of what the 'average Indian' seems to do—pressure cook by the ‘whistle system’; pressure-cook rice， mostly cook Indian food， adore chillies， etc—is not me。 At all。 But yes， I did learn some things that I will be implementing in my cooking。 And I can imagine that anybody who likes cooking but is worried about following recipes， or is new to cooking， might benefit a good deal from this book。 。。。more
bladenomics
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Huge fan of everything he does- music， writing， music， tweets， music， videos， music， humour， did I say music？ My two stars are purely adhering to my own goodreads system。 4 if I had some takeaways and 5 if I want everyone to read it and have those same takeaways。 Having said that， I've recommended this book to many people who don't cook。 It's a great primer and introduction to indian food that is overwhelming for many。 I've given a copy of it to my non Indian friends who will not try making Indi Huge fan of everything he does- music， writing， music， tweets， music， videos， music， humour， did I say music？ My two stars are purely adhering to my own goodreads system。 4 if I had some takeaways and 5 if I want everyone to read it and have those same takeaways。 Having said that， I've recommended this book to many people who don't cook。 It's a great primer and introduction to indian food that is overwhelming for many。 I've given a copy of it to my non Indian friends who will not try making India food beyond buying a bottle of curry paste and frozen naan。 I read plenty of cookbooks by all kinds of chefs- professional， amateur， celebrity。 So The title sounded familiar to Kenji's Food Lab。The content is fun to read。 Krish has a voice and influence over many people and I'm hoping this succeeds in influencing more people to try Indian food and influences more men to cook at home。 What I'm dreading though is people reading this and instructing women in their houses to do it a certain way （going by some other reviews here）。 。。。more
Nikhil Bojja
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This is a chemistry book， not a cookbook！Guess I’m part of the ideal intended audience for this book: engineer who treats cooking as chemistry than rote recipe following。 Needless to say， this booked rocked my world。 Now there is logic behind the experiments and there are frameworks to replace weird mental mind maps。 Going to reboot my cooking thanks to this book nowOh and don’t go imparting gyan gleaned from the book in parties。 Potatoes don’t soak up extra salt， most Indian meat cooking is ove This is a chemistry book， not a cookbook！Guess I’m part of the ideal intended audience for this book: engineer who treats cooking as chemistry than rote recipe following。 Needless to say， this booked rocked my world。 Now there is logic behind the experiments and there are frameworks to replace weird mental mind maps。 Going to reboot my cooking thanks to this book nowOh and don’t go imparting gyan gleaned from the book in parties。 Potatoes don’t soak up extra salt， most Indian meat cooking is over done etc。 party hosts will give you the stink eye and your friends will accuse you of insulting their mother 。。。more
AMARTYA GUPTA
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This is the first cooking related book that I have read， turns out it is a non-cookbook kind of a book！ As a newbie， I found the book thoroughly interesting and informative。 To be honest when I had started reading it， I thought of reading it like a novel。 But as I went on I realised that its not that kind of a book。 To really understand this book for what it is， one needs to go into the kitchen and start experimenting。 While reading it， a lot of things didn't make sense， I had never heard of som This is the first cooking related book that I have read， turns out it is a non-cookbook kind of a book！ As a newbie， I found the book thoroughly interesting and informative。 To be honest when I had started reading it， I thought of reading it like a novel。 But as I went on I realised that its not that kind of a book。 To really understand this book for what it is， one needs to go into the kitchen and start experimenting。 While reading it， a lot of things didn't make sense， I had never heard of some ingredients but as I started poking around in the kitchen， things slowly started to fit in。 I am definitely not a cook， because I know I love to be on the receiving end in the art of cooking！ But this book has helped me glimpse into the explosion of flavours that Indian cooking is famous more。 It has made me more inquisitive about the cooking process。One thing that I have to point out is the writing style of the author。 The reason why any newbie will find this book interesting is not just because of the scientific explanation behind cooking or because of the extensive scope of this book with regards to urban cooking or even how the entire last chapter is dedicated to my favourite dish Biryani， but because of his light hearted humour。 His small jokes and quirks seem to be placed strategically thought the book。 This book with all the goodness in it would have been incomplete had it not been for his jovial writing。Though I have read this book cover to cover， I know that I am going to keep this book close everytime I head into the kitchen for the next big experiment。 。。。more
Rohit Raj
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Plz read the book
Vikrant
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Nerdy read。 Enjoyed it
Upendra R
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The book has a lot of information about why we do what we do in the kitchen。 It also has very neat models and cheat sheets that can be used as references for making many dishes。 I'm sure there are things here that will also improve my own cooking。 The writing style and editing， however， desperately need an upgrade。 I wouldn't want to end this review on that note， because this book still does what it sets out to do。 The book has a lot of information about why we do what we do in the kitchen。 It also has very neat models and cheat sheets that can be used as references for making many dishes。 I'm sure there are things here that will also improve my own cooking。 The writing style and editing， however， desperately need an upgrade。 I wouldn't want to end this review on that note， because this book still does what it sets out to do。 。。。more
Anup Sudhendranath
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Some really great insights for homecooks to get better at their cooking game。 Highly recommend。
Mahima
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A bit too technical and in depth for me， probably would be really amazing to read for a chef/someone really into cooking/food science。 Peppered with quite a few interesting bytes though。
Aadil
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Basically 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' in the Indian context。 Does a good job fitting in big ideas in an intuitive manner， though a little heavy on the science sometimes。 Great book， Krish's conversational style helps read the book cover to cover as opposed to cookbooks。 Basically 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' in the Indian context。 Does a good job fitting in big ideas in an intuitive manner， though a little heavy on the science sometimes。 Great book， Krish's conversational style helps read the book cover to cover as opposed to cookbooks。 。。。more
Abhishek Jindal
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A good attempt at writing a book on Indian cooking。 I learned quite a bit from this book but hoped it was written better。 There are lots of useful concepts but sometimes there is too much chemistry which just puts me off。 It is more like 3。5 stars for me but given 4 because of the effort and the uniqueness of the book。 Would recommend this to amateur cooks like me who like to experiment a bit in the kitchen。
Monojit Choudhury
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This is a topic， or rather a combination of two topics， that I love - cooking and science。 Ashok attempts to explain the science behind almost every aspect of （Indian） cooking。 I learnt a lot a from the book。 But I can't say I enjoyed reading this book。 As a kid， I used to read an encyclopaedic series - 'Tell me Why？' Aahok's book reminds me of those。 It is a collection of scientific explanations of cooking processes， which get monotonous after the 50% mark。 Every chapter begins， expands and end This is a topic， or rather a combination of two topics， that I love - cooking and science。 Ashok attempts to explain the science behind almost every aspect of （Indian） cooking。 I learnt a lot a from the book。 But I can't say I enjoyed reading this book。 As a kid， I used to read an encyclopaedic series - 'Tell me Why？' Aahok's book reminds me of those。 It is a collection of scientific explanations of cooking processes， which get monotonous after the 50% mark。 Every chapter begins， expands and ends in the exact same way。 The tone is a bit preachy and humor often forced。 I would have loved to see a more fluid narrative smoothly blending the science， history （of science of cooking） and culture of cooking。Overall， it is a well-researched book that I would not mind reading once and save as a handy reference which I can go back to whenever I have a culinary quest。 。。。more
Sandeep
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Rating 6/5 - Yeah - no harm in over rating！If you have tried your hand at cooking Indian recipes and failed like me - or for that matter you are a n00b （I wouldn't call a m00k though） - this book definitely helps。This book contains a wealth of information - sufficient enough to suggest the best practices， tells where things go wrong。 （Most of which deal with pure science， yeah - sounds interesting to me） But， but， but， this book has a ton of information to awaken your brain cells - awaken those Rating 6/5 - Yeah - no harm in over rating！If you have tried your hand at cooking Indian recipes and failed like me - or for that matter you are a n00b （I wouldn't call a m00k though） - this book definitely helps。This book contains a wealth of information - sufficient enough to suggest the best practices， tells where things go wrong。 （Most of which deal with pure science， yeah - sounds interesting to me） But， but， but， this book has a ton of information to awaken your brain cells - awaken those creative juices， which you can put to good use while cooking。For me - this book opened up tributaries of thought process about what could I do， or do instead while cooking。 With so many options suggested， you can basically play with ingredients， tricks， techniques and what not！If flavor is a super car， this book and its contents （driver and co-driver） definitely are made to "send it " down the race track！The whole agenda of the book is not only to teach you / correct mistakes but to awaken creativity！ and this is so reasonably priced Rs 200 odd for so much of learning - its a bargain。Cheers， 。。。more
Prateek
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An amazing book on the science behind cooking。 I think it is important to have some idea about cooking to really appreciate the book。 I started cooking during lockdown and wouldnt have found this an engaging read without some hands on experience of cooking。 Author has given lot of thought in the flow and questions that might come in the reader's mind （ reader being an inquisitive person， engineer finding logic in each of the cooking steps） and most queries that come to your mind appeared to get An amazing book on the science behind cooking。 I think it is important to have some idea about cooking to really appreciate the book。 I started cooking during lockdown and wouldnt have found this an engaging read without some hands on experience of cooking。 Author has given lot of thought in the flow and questions that might come in the reader's mind （ reader being an inquisitive person， engineer finding logic in each of the cooking steps） and most queries that come to your mind appeared to get covered。 A must read。 。。。more
Nitin Kautkar
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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 & turning the kitchen into a joyful， creative playground。 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 & turning the kitchen into a joyful， creative playground。 。。。more
Venkat
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Just loved the book。 The author takes a methodical approach towards cooking。 This is something we engineers love。 He explains beautifully the science involved in various aspects of cooking。 Also， the preference of "algorithms" to "recipes" amuses me。 Just loved the book。 The author takes a methodical approach towards cooking。 This is something we engineers love。 He explains beautifully the science involved in various aspects of cooking。 Also， the preference of "algorithms" to "recipes" amuses me。 。。。more
Gaurav
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