No longer with the ability to mirror his mom’s cooking led Chennai-based Krish Ashok to discover the science in the back of Indian cooking, culminating in his e-book ‘Masala Lab’. He additionally debunks meals myths and advocates for the use of trendy generation within the kitchen.
When my mom used to shuttle, she would jot down easy recipes like sambhar, rasam, elementary sabzis, raitas, and curries. In spite of our earnest efforts to duplicate them precisely as written, my father and I may by no means slightly fit the style of amma’s cooking.
Take, as an example, the standard rasam — it kind of feels easy however proves deceptively difficult to best possible. At its core, this tangy, comforting dish calls for minimum substances: tamarind, tomatoes, and crucially, the best rasam powder (which may make or spoil the dish!), all seasoned with spices and a beneficiant dollop of ghee.
So, then why does my rasam by no means measure as much as the ones made by means of the stalwarts of the family? Some would possibly characteristic it to ‘maa ka pyaar’ (mom’s love), and whilst that sentiment holds true, there’s additionally a systematic facet to it.
Krish Ashok launched into a project to resolve this science and proportion it with the sector. When he moved to the United States for paintings, he found out that his grandmother’s potato fry a ways outshone his personal. How does one succeed in that elusive best possible crispness? Why do you upload some spices after others and roast them for lesser instances? It’s now not simply since the recipe e-book says so. It’s because of chemical reactions that happen. The hunt in the back of those causes resulted in Ashok’s adventure in opposition to changing into a kitchen alchemist!
The worldwide head for AI Cloud Advisory and Consulting at TCS (Tata Consultancy Products and services), Ashok applies his coaching as an engineer to decode the science in the back of Indian cooking. Beginning with a humour weblog within the nineties, he wrote a e-book known as ‘Masala Lab’ in 2021.
Afterwards, his adventure on social media started, sharing intriguing tidbits from his e-book. He sooner or later took on prevalent scaremongering about positive substances and meals which can be mentioned to hurt well being. The 46-year-old began myth-busting and explaining easy ideas, similar to why it’s completely fantastic to make use of a microwave oven or air fryer, why storing meals within the refrigerator is protected, and why permutations in salt sorts don’t considerably have an effect on your well being.
His feature wit and sass gained over the web, providing a dose of sanity and science in an area crowded by means of other folks in search of two-minute repute with out substantiating their claims with information.
Chemical engineering in a house lab
Rising up in a modern family in Chennai, Krish Ashok used to be inspired by means of his father to experiment with quite a lot of sorts of meals out of doors the house. He started cooking as a teen, however his actual adventure with cooking began when he moved to the United States for paintings.
Prior to shifting, he meticulously wrote down recipes from his mom, grandmother, and different older girls within the circle of relatives. He discovered their manner of sharing recipes fascinatingly other from cookbook strategies. Their inherent wisdom of the science of cooking, with out viewing it via a scientist’s or engineer’s lens, captivated Ashok and sparked his pastime in meals science.
“My unique pastime in meals science came about after I recognised that the way in which my grandmother or grand-aunt thought of meals used to be basically other from how recipe books tended to take into accounts it. It used to be obvious that my grandmother used to be eager about meals as heuristics and algorithms and in an overly clinical manner,” Ashok tells The Higher India.
Moreover, when he referred to cookbooks, they neglected out in this essential tacit wisdom. “Cookbooks don’t let you know why you want so as to add two cups of water for rice. They don’t educate you find out how to alter for extra rice or find out how to in finding out if one thing is cooked. When is the best time so as to add salt? This sensible wisdom by means of first-hand enjoy used to be lacking in cookbooks,” he provides.
So on holidays again house, he began gazing them and realised that that is all sensible wisdom, versus theoretical. Since science may give an explanation for the hows, whats and whys, the writer began writing about it on X. His meals deconstruction posts and threads changed into extensively standard.
“I lived out of the country for seven years. My engineering mindset made me have a look at cooking during the lens of science, quite than during the lens of artwork and historical past. And I discovered that there used to be no e-book concerning the science of Indian cooking,” he provides.
This resulted in him writing Masala Lab, which used his coaching as a tool engineer, because of which he may follow knowledge, algorithms and patterns to provide an explanation for meals. Via his e-book and movies on social media, he makes use of what he calls prime school-level science to provide an explanation for what our moms and grandmothers do within the kitchen.
Ashok covers quite a lot of clinical sides of cooking, such because the science of force cooking, the position of acids, microwaves, warmth, roasting, and extra. His objective is to demystify cooking and dispel misconceptions, making the method extra approachable and understood.
“Our oldsters and grandparents won this data via years within the kitchen. We don’t have that point, so why now not use generation in your comfort? I’m hoping that by means of explaining that it’s k to make use of frozen meals or the fridge or microwaves and air fryers, the more youthful era doesn’t proceed the foolish perception that meals will probably be scrumptious provided that you spend 3 hours making it,” he provides.
Forgot to soak your chana (chickpeas) at evening? Merely soak it in scorching water for a couple of mins.
The kitchen alchemist
But even so sharing interesting meals science tidbits, Ashok additionally delves into meals historical past, exploring the etymology of phrases like ‘calamari’ and the historical past of biryani, amongst different subjects. Individually, what I revel in maximum is how he debunks pseudoscientists with information, delivered together with his trademark humour and sarcasm, regularly beginning with ‘Abey yaar’.
Fable busting with Krish Ashok:
- Leftover meals is fine, and frozen meals is totally fantastic.
- An air fryer or microwave isn’t going to come up with most cancers.
- Force cooking does now not spoil vitamins.
- You can’t detox simply by consuming or consuming one thing.
- Palm oil is simply any other oil. Eat all oils carefully.
Edited by means of Pranita Bhat; Pictures Courtesy Krish Ashok