More than Masala

Join Ragini and Chef Keith in conversation with  Sana Javeri Kadri, the trailblazing founder of Diaspora Co., a direct trade spice company working towards a radically equitable, sustainable, and more delicious spice supply chain. 

Sana was born and raised in Mumbai, India in a big, mixed up Muslim-Jain-Hindu. She’s been working in the food industry since she was a teenager, and has dipped her toes in every facet of the food industry...

Ragini and Chef Keith in conversation with Charulata Moorjani, the founder of Junyali Spice Blends. Charu takes us through her fascinating journey and life in haute couture fashion, which unexpectedly but ultimately led her to Junyali. Junyali is the celebration of home, of women who are flavour geniuses, and a tapestry of unique stories from across India. From Sawantwadi Garam Masala, to a Lucknowi Lazzat-Ul-Tam, Coorgi Pandi Masa...

Join Ragini and Chef Keith in conversation with our favourite food guru, Dr. Kurush Dalal. Dr. Dalal is an archaeologist, historian, food anthropologist and raconteur. He was an Assistant Professor of the Archeology Department at the University of Mumbai and the co-director of the Salcette Explorations Project, which documented the archaeology of Mumbai. He currently teaches Archaeology and its allied disciplines at the INSTUCEN Tr...

Pepper, pepper, pepper. It'll make you sneeze, but you will keep coming back for more! Did you know we trade more pepper than any other spice in the world? Did you know that the Roman empire fell to a whopping demand for black pepper? Or that they did not permit pepper plantation workers to wear cuffed trousers, for fear that they'd steal the black gold? Chef Keith and Ragini unravel the tales of pepper's past. 
...

This month, Ragini and Chef Keith dive straight into a favourite holiday spice: nutmeg. Encased in its equally gorgeous counterpart, mace, the nutmeg seed is both potent and beautiful. A little goes a long way, and in fact, too much nutmeg may make you mildly hallucinogenic. But what is Christmas without nutmeg? How did that come to be? As always, the history is part fascinating, part surprising, and in this case, part gruesome. Gr...

Spicy, piquant, zesty - mustard has it all. One of the world's most widely loved spices, mustard is prized for its leaves and multiple seed varieties. From the depths of China, through South Asia, Europe, and North America, mustard most definitely... cuts the mustard! Join Ragini and Chef Keith as they do deep dive into the spice. The history, the religious significance, the varieties, and the origin - they talk about it all. ...

Turmeric, turmeric, turmeric. From religious symbolism to counterfeit saffron, to the mainstay of curry powder. Turmeric is perhaps one of the most easily recognizable spices in the world. Its brilliant yellow hue has captivated cooks and doctors alike. An old superfood in the East, a more recent superfood in the West. Ragini and Keith explore the journey, the symbolism, the colonial impact on curry, and everything in between. Grab...

Ah Cumin. Cumin is that spice, you know, the one that is almost everywhere? It's used pretty ubiquitously across the subcontinent, from the southern tip of India, all the way north, and well into Central Asia. It goes to the east into China, and in the other direction across the Mediterranean and the Middle East. We also see it in North and East Africa, and then over the oceans into Mexico. Later in history, we see cumin show ...

The hero of masala chai, cardamom. Flavourful and delicate, but also pungent and astringent. From the ancient texts of Ayurvedic and Unani medicine, to the Arab spice trade - cardamom is the official queen of spices. Join food researcher Ragini and Chef Keith as they talk about eating, understanding and contextualising this beautiful spice. Why is it used in so many of the subcontinents' desserts? How much cardamom does India ...

Ah Saffron. Flavourful, delicate, and very very fragrant saffron. From La Mancha in Spain, to Morocco, to Iran, to Afghanistan, to the Indian subcontinent - saffron is the queen spice. Join Ragini and Chef Keith as they talk about eating, understanding and contextualizing this beautiful spice. Why is it used in so many of the subcontinents' desserts? Why does Iran consume so much? Why do we talk about the chickens of the Mugha...

Our first episode to whet your appetite for spices! The history of spices is complex and loaded with stories, folklore, warfare and cultural connections. Join Chef Keith Sarasin and Ragini Kashyap of Third Culture Cooks as they explore spices of the Indian subcontinent. Spices have the potential to flavour, to heal, to become tea, to become food - in olden times they were even salary! It's safe to say they've been a prett...

Our first episode! The history of spices is complex and loaded with stories, folklore, warfare and cultural connections. Spices have the potential to flavour, to heal, to become tea or food - in olden times they were even used as salary! It's safe to say they've been a pretty important part of human history. Join Chef Keith Sarasin and Ragini Kashyap of Third Culture Cooks, as they explore spices of the Indian subcontinen...