In Masalamandi, Sadaf Hussain explores India’s artistry of spice blends and heirloom recipes

In his second book, Sadaf Hussain explores India’s artistry of spice blends and revisits heirloom recipes of biriyanis, kebabs, and more

“Masalamandi isn’t just a book — it’s an archive of our subcontinent’s flavours,” says Sadaf Hussain, of his book that launches on December 27. It not only explores India’s vast culinary landscape, Masalamandi (published by Penguin India) pays homage to the spices that make every dish sing. “It took me 20 months to complete this book, and while it may appear similar to my first book, Daastan-e-Dastarkhan (2019) — that spotlighted recipes from Muslim communities — the history and anecdotal stories are more detailed and layered in Masalamandi,” says New Delhi-based Sadaf, who was one of the top eight contestants of MasterChef India 2016.

For this book that has over 450 spice recipes, he visited spice shops across the country, meeting spice enthusiasts, chroniclers, chefs, and cooks, and “speaking with anyone who could share insights about spices”. 

But why spices?, I ask. “Spices are the rooh (soul) of every dish, yet they rarely get the spotlight they deserve,” he says, adding, “Growing up, I watched my family treat spices with reverence — sorting them with care, grinding blends on a sil-batta, and crafting masalas for everything from garam masala and biryani to chai. I’m a hopeless romantic when it comes to food and flavours, and I want this book to make people fall in love with spices the way I have”. Masalamandi is not about full recipes but focusses on the artistry of spice blends from Kashmir to Kerala.

Even for universal dishes like the golgappa or butter chicken, Sadaf says each version is unique because the spices differ. “I call this an adhuri kitab (incomplete book) because it’s about blends, not recipes. But that’s intentional — I want readers to experiment, to play with these blends. Add kabab masala to your chicken korma or sprinkle chaat masala on your aloo gobi. This book gives you the ratios and proportions, but the secret ingredient will always be your curiosity.” 

The first recipe listed in the book is Ammi’s Biryani, which is apt for a book that is dedicated to his mother and grandmother, the family’s “master cooks”, as Sadaf calls them. “My love for food blossomed in their kitchens. My mother, without doubt, made the best biryani in the world. Ammi knowingly and unknowingly taught me the tricks of the trade. Her recipes were not just about ingredients and measurements; they were about love, patience, and intuition. This book is an extension of the love and wisdom she shared with me,” he says of the book that also has sections on biryani, chai, chaat masala, chole and rajma, garam masala, kebabs, and local spices, among others.

Recalling his time spent visiting spice bazaars across the country, Sadaf recalls a trip to Bapu Bazaar, Jaipur, where he walked into a grocery shop and asked for “local spices”. “The shopkeeper looked at me, puzzled, and said, ‘Everything I have is local, be more specific!’ It made me realise how personal and subjective the idea of ‘local’ is. Even their chai masala was ‘local’. That moment was both frustrating and fascinating, and I had to switch tactics and ask for spices used in specific dishes, like meat or potatoes.”

At Goa’s Mapusa market, Sadaf recalls meeting Alladin, a youngster who ran his father’s spice shop, and patiently explained how they make Xacuti masala. “At Chitli Qabar in Old Delhi, I met a kebab seller who shared their ‘secret’ spice blend with a smirk: they simply mix three pre-made spice blends and call it their own! Moments like these made me laugh and reminded me of the magic — and the mystery — that spices hold,” shares Sadaf, who admits getting “street chefs” to share their stories and spice secrets was a challenge.