Once Upon A Spice

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The content will include:

1. Recipes (all the unique dishes you see on our page and more).
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3. Learning Academy which will feature courses on spices, mixes and ingredients to help you better understand the cuisine.
4. Cooking Classes, where you can virtually follow along with us and create some dreamy dishes.
5. Photography sessions, where you can learn how we take those moody shots, our equipment and more.
6. Videos and a lot more exclusive content that will come as we go along.

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Our exclusive content will be available only to our subscribers! We look forward to sharing all that we have to offer to you!

Pani Pomme Puri - Pomme Souffle Shell (Puri), Falsa Spiced Pani, Sev Birds Nest, Tamarind Coated Chilli, Onion Flower, Yogurt Mousse Rim.

This is both a modern and adventurous take on probably what is the most popular street food in India - Pani Puri. If there was any doubt of the popularity of this street food, it was laid to bed when Pani Puri was officially added as a word in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2005.

Traditionally it's Shell or Puri is made from Chickpea Flour or more recently Semolina but we decided to use potato instead and so the direction of Pomme Souffle was taken. Pomme Souffle essentially mimicks the traditional shell both in texture and shape but adds the potato flavor which is an ingredient that is added inside the Puri usually.

For the water (Pani) we decided to use Falsa, which is a berry found only during a short period of early spring in India. You can freeze the berries and use them at a later time as it can be hard to find. The Falsa carries a hint of sweetness with tartness, perfect for that tang that this recipe needs and added some black salt, spices and sugar to it. For the other elements we added some candied tamarind chilli, onion flower on a flavored yogurt mousse and sat it on a sev bed (birds nest illusion).

These days there is no one true recipe for Pani Puri, there are umpteen variations with and without water with some of the biggest Chefs in the world using this dish as inspiration. What do you think of our version? Let us know below.

Aam Papad Dumpling - Aam Papad Sleeve, Shrimp Ceviche, Fennel Flower, Aam Panna Jus.

It's mango season! In thinking about small plates that could be served cold we decided to work with a dumpling sleeve that does not need to be steamed and can be eaten at room temperature. The idea of making this sleeve from Mango (Aam Papad) seemed to make sense in addition to being something unique. The Aam Paapad sleeve was made from dehydrating mango pulp with spices and chillies. The filling is from curing shrimp with acid, jalapenos, cilantro (ceviche) and the jus is a green mango derivation (Aam Panna) which has been house made with some more spices. We garnished it with fennel flowers and some microgreens.

We shaped this dumpling in a tortellini so it could be a dumpling or tortellini. It was a little challenging shaping the Aam Papad sleeve because unlike a traditional dumpling that is made from dough and has more give it can also be enclosed easier. That being said we got creative and were able to get it done and plated it in two different plates to help accentuate the appearance (swipe to see).

The flavors definitely hit all the notes on your palette and it's a unique take that is sure to leave you wondering and wanting more.

Have you had Aam Papad before? What would you do with it? Let us know what you think of this variation.

Poached Pear Chaat - Spiced Poached Pear, Kokum Bourbon Demi Glace, Kaffir Leaf.

Growing up we ate a lot of Fruit Chaat in India, infact that was one of the dishes that became a staple in my repertoire, which was limited at best. Now, that years have gone by and I have a wider array of culinary skills to draw from, I decided to create a version of that Chaat.

We started with a singular fruit so we could focus on the complimenting flavors. The idea of poaching the fruit spoke to us and so we decided to go with a Pear. We poached the pear in a wine, bourbon and spiced broth. Several spices were used including Kokum for acidity, black salt, cinnamon and cardamom. We then added some sugar, dash of Screwpine, Citrus peels and continued to poach the pear in this broth on low flame. The Pear would infuse all these flavors while cooking in the broth and once done we pulled the pear out keeping it intact. Then we reduced the liquid further to a glaze (glace).

This is a simple dish to prepare and combinations can be endless but our goal was to use ingredients that would mimic flavors of Chaat (sweet, spicy, tangy). Finally topping it off with another citrus flavor of Kaffir and some of the oil coaxed out of it.

As with our previous dish, we plated this in another one of our beautiful plates from the Jessamine collection by

What's your fruit Chaat flavor? Let us know in the comments below.

Shrimp Toast - Spiced & Pickled Minced Shrimp, Lotus Sago Wonton / Raisin, Tandoori Smoked Remoulade, Butterfly Pea, Espelette.

We have loved this fairly simple yet delicious dish for a long time. Minced shrimp on toast is the traditional way it is made but we wanted to add our own flair to it. While we did create a toast version of this, the one we highlight here is made from a sago or sabudana wonton wrapper. We got some fresh jumbo shrimp and minced it. Added some spices, Yuzu to the mix and filled it in the wrapper. The next step which is usually deep fried, we decided to shallow fry and baste so that the shrimp got cooked evenly. Finally garnished with some chilli, butterfly pea and served on a smoked tandoori Remoulade along with a dusting of Espelette pepper.

While we created our version, we are always seeking a great shrimp Toast at dim sum locations around. Let us know what you think of this and if you would recommend any place with good shrimp Toast?