Who is masala mama?

Yes, Virginia, there really is a Masala Mama.  Let me tell you her story, or as much of it as is fit to be printed in a family-friendly medium.

Masala Mama, AKA Nidhi Jalan, came into this world drooling—no doubt at the thought of all the delicious food she was going to eat in this life—in a hospital in Calcutta, India. The nurse who delivered her rubbed her mother’s stomach and exclaimed, “Masala, Mama!”. The nurse was merely reminding her mother to eat spicy food to get her strength back after childbirth. But the nickname stuck, as did Nidhi’s passion for food that was to be the overarching theme of her life.

With a name like Masala Mama, you’d imagine that Nidhi grew up in a bustling Indian household surrounded by passionate eaters, top secret family spice blends, and steady wafts of fragrant garlic, ginger, and tamarind coming in waves from the kitchen. In truth, Nidhi’s culinary beginnings were much more humble and well, honestly, pretty boring. Nidhi comes from a large family and with 3 or 4 generations all living under one roof, the best way to please all palates at the table was usually the blandest way, much to young Nidhi’s chagrin.

After meals were served, Nidhi would sneak away to the kitchen to sit down to eat with the family’s cook and staff, who made their own food which was rich with flavors of onion, garlic, ginger and myriad spices. It was at these clandestine suppers where Nidhi’s love of flavor and spice came into full bloom.

Learning at the feet of the renowned artists Ganesh Haloi and Ray Meeker, Nidhi became a ceramic artist. She moved from Calcutta to New York to get a Masters of Fine Arts degree. But as she dove headfirst into her studies and the hustle and bustle of New York City life, she craved the flavors of home. The ubiquitous Indian takeout she sampled simply couldn’t hold a candle to the exquisitely fragrant, warming, spice-rich dishes that she enjoyed in her childhood kitchen and around the tables of friends in Calcutta. 

Nidhi realized that the best Indian food she’d ever eaten was the food she’d shared with friends and families in peoples’ homes. In the years following her studies, she learned more deeply about the subtle complexity of regional Indian cuisines from skilled home cooks whose dishes might take a laundry list of unique spices and days to prepare. 

It was at one of these dinner parties where the idea for Masala Mama, the company, was born. Nidhi chatted with the tired hostess after a decadent Indian meal. The gracious host lamented that she adored Indian food, but with so many ingredients, spices, and hours of labor that go into making it, she wished someone could do some of the work for her. 

That night young Masala Mama went home with a gleam in her eye and a dream in her head.

Have a seat at Mama’s table and enjoy the dream.