On this episode of the podcast we are in conversation with Krish Ashok, author of the fascinating new book Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking. In Ashok’s words, the book attempts to bring an engineering approach to Indian cooking, breaking down the physics and chemistry of some of it’s key processes and adopting an algorithmic approach to the combination of its vast array of ingredients. That may sound daunting at the outset and you may ask, why do we need a scientific approach to cooking? Isn’t it all skill and craft handed down and over generations and innate feel? That is where masala lab attempts to change your perception of Indian cooking. You can either spend years in the kitchen trying to master that innate feel, as all experienced cooks in our families did or you can follow recipe books that can give you a method but not even come close to conveying the craft. If you fall somewhere in between these two approaches, then Krish Ashok has a lot of lessons for you.
