Blends & Recipes

Masala mixes worth making, in grams, and what to change for your own pot.

13 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2

A Working Masala Ratio You Can Adjust Without Starting Over

One base blend, four grams a pot, and a clear idea of which spice to move when it is not right.

Zoya Merchant·Jul 31, 2026·4 min read

The same six spices in different proportions produce two drinks that behave nothing alike in the mouth.

Prakash Rawal·May 3, 2026·4 min read

Heat-forward spice is oppressive in hot weather, and the fix is a blend built around perfume rather than pungency.

Prakash Rawal·Apr 27, 2026·3 min read

Green leaf, no milk, a gentle brew and a fistful of nuts — almost every rule of masala chai is inverted.

Zoya Merchant·Apr 25, 2026·4 min read

When the tea itself has nothing to say, the blend has to change job from accompaniment to structure.

Prakash Rawal·Apr 22, 2026·3 min read

Pounding fresh ginger with whole spices into a paste captures compounds that no dry blend can hold.

Prakash Rawal·Apr 17, 2026·4 min read

Grinders do not treat every spice equally, and a big batch drifts away from the recipe in ways a small one never does.

Falguni Mehta·Apr 15, 2026·4 min read

Ingredients are listed by descending weight, which tells you more about a blend than the picture on the front ever will.

Zoya Merchant·Apr 12, 2026·4 min read

Most masala aversion is really clove aversion, and stripping the blend back to three components usually settles the argument.

Prakash Rawal·Apr 7, 2026·3 min read

Unrefined cane sugar brings acid, minerals and molasses into the pan, and each of those changes something you did not intend.

Falguni Mehta·Apr 4, 2026·3 min read

Take the leaf out and you are not making weak chai; you are making a different drink that needs its own proportions.

Falguni Mehta·Apr 2, 2026·3 min read

Fat blunts aroma and buffers heat, so a half-milk cup needs a blend built to a different set of proportions.

Falguni Mehta·Mar 28, 2026·4 min read