Made with the current generation in mind, this is a blend of hing (asafoetida) mixed with various spices, a staple of any kitchen in India. Sprinkle this on any chat, papad or a mix of fruits and transform from the flavor of your kitchen to what you buy on the street!

Why it is magical is because while it can be used as a spice on various “street” dishes, it can also double up as the only spice required to make authentic Indian dal (lentils). Add a teaspoon to 1/2 a cup of dal and you would not need any other spice!

The story behind the magic:

While far away from home, I always craved for the smell and taste of my mother’s daal. The fresh aroma of those coarsely ground masala’s and how they simmer in ghee (clarified butter) just takes one back to his/her childhood.

But no matter how hard I tried, I could never get that taste, that consistency in my daal. At times it was too spicy and at times… well let me not spell out those times. Just then, I came across this masala that my maternal grandmother’s sister in law used to make. Well even though the relationship is a mouthful, we soon realized that the masala basically solved all our problems. Just a teaspoon of masala in the tadka and voilah!

I started giving it to friends and family and soon realized that the demand skyrocketed. That 92 year old lovely lady could only make so much of it. She entrusted me with the recipe and that is how we came up with the Mahadevi Magic Masala!