Fifteen spices
Each one has a job.
Ajji sorted her masala by what each spice does. Scroll on to see who does what.
आज्जीची गोष्ट
Every Kolhapuri kitchen has an Ajji. Ours refused to buy masala.
She dried the chillies on the terrace in April, roasted coconut till the whole lane could smell it, and roasted every spice separately, because each one gives up its aroma at a different heat. Rush it, she said, and you lose the khamang.
Ajji's Spice Co. is that recipe, made in small batches in Pune, exactly her way. It isn't an onion-garlic masala with colour added. It is the real thing: sharp, smoky, and complete on its own.
"वेगळा गरम मसाला घालण्याची गरज नाही."
No extra garam masala required. It is all in here.
