India’s new spice merchants
Updated:
Updated:
April 30, 2021 21:38 IST
The focus is clearly shifting to small farmers, fair trade, traceability and provenance. Meet a few people who are leading the change
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Farmer Tamala Ramulu from the Araku project | Photo Credit:
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The focus is clearly shifting to small farmers, fair trade, traceability and provenance. Meet a few people who are leading the change
It is estimated that a spice changes hands almost 10 times (in trade) once it leaves the farm. Inevitably, freshness is lost, and valuable essential oils are sometimes extracted before it lands on retail shelves. For something that forms the underpinning of most Indian cuisines, it is ironical that the way spices are sourced and used gets such little attention in the modern Indian kitchen.
Modern fine-dining icon Masque, Mumbai is already on every true gourmet savantâs radar for its contemporary Indian fare. It s also safe to say the man behind itâ chef Prateek Sadhu âhas a bit of a culinary Midas touch, bringing his inimitable style to every collab and special project he puts out. Part of what has made Sadhuâs restaurant such a gold star winner year after year is its unparalleled attention to ingredients. And his latest endeavour, Paushtik, keeps that attention very much alive.
Created by co-founders Zainab Burmawalla and Aashina Kaul (with Sadhu as advisor and consultant) the zero-waste, sustainable and, for the most part, organic brand aims to serve up that meticulously Masque-grade curation in spice form. âAashina, Zainab and I would have endless chats about food and how each spice is so different from the other not only North, South, West and East of India, but also how masalas are so different in each household,â chef Prateek Sadhu