What Does India Cook With? A Peek Into the Great Masala Dabba

The Indian culinary map can be sketched using the constituents of the Masala Dabba – North to South, East to West.

The essence of an Indian kitchen, to me, is quite easily contained in the Masala Dabba. Of course, one might argue that other handy appurtenances like the mortar and pestle, the graters and peelers, are also key – but the Masala Dabba is home to so much more than just the functions of its ingredients.

Mine always reminds me of my mom – and her own well-weathered Masala Dabba, or Sambhar Dabbi, as she lovingly referred to it. Not one for clumsy execution of kitchen tasks, my mom cleared out and replenished the Masala Dabba every so often. But still, during the in-between periods, it never struck me as odd that there was a bit of a turmeric spill in the mustard compartment, stray jeera seeds among the nearly repleted dals, and so forth....

The Magic of My Mom’s Masala Dabba

To be fair, Mom had little time to channel her energies into redressing these minor mishaps, focusing keenly on the bigger things – like ensuring the gravy didn’t boil over and spill on the counter top, or the cooker didn’t hiss more than required.

My mom’s Masala Dabba told many stories. It wasn’t unusual for one to come across a few rolled up tens and fives in there, or a piece of jagged-edged paper with a recipe, or grocery list scribbled on it. You could also spot the rare 5 rupee coin, or safety pin in there. Mustard, cumin, turmeric, urad dal, chana dal, dried red chillies, methi seeds, coriander seeds, dry ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon – these were the typical ingredients in there – all classic “oggarane” or Tadka ingredients, in a Karnataka kitchen.

Almost all my memories of my mom are tied to food, and her food never tasted better than when seasoned with the Masala Dabba ingredients.

In fact, I can think of at least one recipe that could be rustled up with the Masala Dabba ingredients starring in it: kashaya. The latter is a herbal concoction to ease colds and coughs and can be prepared by boiling equal measures of dry ginger, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin, and a pinch of turmeric, in water.

Also, being married to a Bengali, my Masala Dabba has acquired new inhabitants for over 15 years now, and the well-known Paanch Phoron and Tej Patta occupy prime real estate in it. I feel one can easily conjure up a festive Bengali dish by simply scanning these ingredients!

From the Rasam to the Punjabi Dal Tadka

Sindhu Bharadwaj, a food blogger friend, who is also a proud representative of Karnataka’s rich culinary tradition, shares my sentiments –

My Masala Dabba is a box full of memories that my ajji has passed on to me. Her stories, the recipes and the finesse with which she cooked and fed us, is the most distinct memory I can associate with it.

She also adds that there’s another medicinal recipe for Milk and Pepper Rasam, which her grandma used to stir up with a handful of Masala Dabba ingredients.

It’s a soupy kind of Rasam made with a combination of pepper, lentils and a bit of milk and coconut, and it is a balm for the throat – especially when you’re down with a cold.

What about the Masala Dabba in a Punjabi household – how different is that one?

My friend, Navjot Kaur, who is an expert cook in her native cuisine and hence a much-sought-after caterer in Bangalore, shares her insights –

My Masala Dabba, which is the heart of my kitchen, is filled with garam masala, degi mirch, dhaniya powder, haldi and salt.

She adds,

The Punjabi Dal Tadka is our everyday love affair with food, and it is incomplete without the cumin, turmeric and garam masala in the Tadka – specifically in a dollop of sizzling hot ghee!

The Spices on the Indian Culinary Map

My talented friend, Saee Koranne-Khandekar, Mumbai-based cookbook author and entrepreneur, shares insights into her beloved Phodnicha Daba (Marathi term for Masala Dabba):

It contains mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad daal, methi seeds, dried red chilis, asafoetida and turmeric. These are the most essential ingredients for the Tadka. I also have a separate one that contains the powdered masalas or spice mixes – stuff that is added at a later stage to curries – my mother’s homemade Goda masala, roasted cumin powder, coriander powder, two kinds of chilli powder, and a garam masala/saambar masala/any other kind of masala I’m currently smitten by.

What makes the Phodnicha Daba so endearing? I ask, and pat comes the response –

I’m at my happiest when the the Phodnicha Daba is washed clean and dried in the sun, and filled with fresh spices – not a stray mustard seed or turmeric dust lurking under the smaller bowls. To me, it is a metaphor for plenty in the kitchen. A standard Maharashtrian Tadka involves mustard seeds, asafoetida and turmeric.

She shares a recipe for Vaatli Daal, a dry ground daal preparation using soaked and ground chana daal and a generous Phodni (tadka).

Meenal Jain Aggarwal, who is a nutritionist and caterer in Bangalore, sheds light on her Marwari Masala Dabba:

The staples in my Dabba are jeera, hing, salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder, black pepper, garam masala and aamchur.

She adds that the Marwari Kadi Pakodi is one recipe that uses all of these staples in the Tadka!

Thus and so, the Indian culinary map can effectively be sketched using the variegated constituents of the Masala Dabba, from North to South, East to West. While the degrees of potency of spice or heat could differ from region to region, the onus of adding finishing touches to any meal, in any part of the country, is on the Masala Dabba.

And as is evident, it does its job with a flourish!

(Ranjini is a mom, writer, teacher, head-hasher and a whole lot of other things rolled into one. She finds her chi in her little Bangalore kitchen, amid arrays of spices, frayed napkins and stainless steel kettles. She blogs at Tadka Pasta with a partner. She tweets @leftofwrite.)