Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking

by Krish Ashok

Overview

Ever wondered why your grandmother threw a teabag into the pressure cooker while boiling chickpeas, or why she measured using the knuckle of her index finger? Why does a counter-intuitive pinch of salt make your kheer more intensely flavourful? What is the Maillard reaction and what does it have to do with fenugreek? What does your high-school chemistry knowledge, or what you remember of it, have to do with perfectly browning your onions?
Masala Lab by Krish Ashok is a science nerd's exploration of Indian cooking with the ultimate aim of making the reader a better cook and turning the kitchen into a joyful, creative playground for culinary experimentation. Just like memorizing an equation might have helped you pass an exam but not become a chemist, following a recipe without knowing its rationale can be a sub-optimal way of learning how to cook.

Exhaustively tested and researched, and with a curious and engaging approach to food, Krish Ashok puts together the one book the Indian kitchen definitely needs, proving along the way that your grandmother was right all along.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143451372
Publisher:	Penguin Random House India Pvt. Ltd
Publication date:	04/15/2021
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	288,742
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Krish Ashok is not a chef but cooks daily. He is not a scientist, but he can explain science with easy-to-understand clarity. He trained to be an electronic engineer but is now a software engineer. He learnt to cook from the women in his family, who can make the perfectly fluffy idli without lecturing people on lactobacilli and pH levels. He likes the scientific method not because it offers him the ability to bully people with knowledge, but because it confidently lets him say, 'I don't know, let me test it for myself.'
When he is not cooking, he's usually playing subversive music on the violin or cello. He lives in Chennai with a wife, who sagely prevents him from buying more gadgets for the kitchen, and a son, who has the flora and fauna in the neighbourhood terrorized.
You can follow him at @krishashok on Twitter at your own risk.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

1 Zero-Pressure Cooking 1

What Is Cooking? 1

Basic Physics of Cooking 3

Basic Chemistry of Cooking 9

Cooking Techniques 12

Materials 16

Heat Sources 21

The Magic of Water 24

Pressure-Cooking 28

Science of Rice 32

Science of Lentils 37

Science of Wheat 40

Science of Vegetables 44

Science of Meat 47

Science of Eggs 50

Science of Fat 52

2 Science of Spice and Flavour 58

Taste and Flavour Perception 60

Taste 60

Aroma 64

Mouthfeel 66

Sound and Sight 67

Science of Salt 67

Science of Sugar 71

Science of Heat 73

Origins of Flavour 78

Extracting Flavour 83

Combining Flavours 88

3 Brown, Baby, Brown 94

Science of Garlic 108

Cabbage and Potatoes 112

Mailard Reaction 114

Caramelization 117

Science of Frying 118

4 Dropping Acid 121

Introduction to Sourness 122

What Is an Acid? 125

Science of Yoghurt 126

Science of Tamarind 129

Science of Mango 130

Science of Citrus Juices 131

Science of Vinegar 133

Science of Tomatoes 134

Other Culinary Acids 136

The Acid Cheat Sheet 139

5 Umami, Soda, Rum 141

The Fifth Taste 144

The Magic of Baking Soda 145

The Magic of Alcohol 148

6 Taking It to the Next Level 154

Science of Microwaves 154

Dehydrators 160

Electronic Pressure Cookers 161

Modernist Ingredients 163

Smoking 166

Sous Vide 168

7 Burn the Recipe 173

Special Theory of Indian Cooking (Conditions Apply) 176

Prepping for Productivity and Maximizing Flavour 178

Vegetables 179

Meat and Seafood 183

Legumes 184

Rice 185

Eggs 185

The Rice Dish Algorithm 186

Steamed Rice 187

Flavoured Rice 189

Rice + Lentils 189

Pulao 190

The Indian Bread Algorithm 190

Gluten Breads 192

General Dough Tips 194

Non-Gluten Breads 194

The Indian Gravy Algorithm 196

Base Gravies 201

Base Gravy Tips 204

Spice Mixes 205

Tempering Templates and Infused Oils 206

The Gravy Algorithm 207

The Chutney and Raita Generator 210

Chutney and Raita Rules 212

The Salad Generator 213

8 The Biryani 217

The Rice Layer 220

The Protein Layer 221

Layering and Dum Cooking 224

The Rice Track 225

The Biryani Masala Track 226

The Protein Track 226

The Onion Track 227

The Masala Milk Track 228

The Herbs and Other Accoutrements Track 228

The Dum Track 228

Regional Variations 229

Methodology 233

References 239

Bibliography 243

Internet Recommendations 245

Acknowledgements 247

Index 249