Collections
- The Spicy Gourmet Spice Blending Collection
- The Spicy Gourmet Counter top Spice Rack & Spice Set
- The Spicy Gourmet Spice Grinder
- Aromatic Yellow Rice Spice Set
- Fragrant Garam Masala Spice Blending Collection
- Fragrant Garam Masala Spice Set
- Preferred Spice Club Collection
- Ceylon Roast Spice Blending Collection
- Ceylon Roast Spice Set
Spices & Refills
Spice Blends
The History of The Spicy Gourmet
I’m Dinesh Perera, The Spicy Gourmet, and it’s my pleasure
to bring you a unique culinary experience that lets you make authentic,
delicious, exotic South Asian spice blends and classic dishes in the comfort of
your own kitchen.
I grew up on the tropical island nation of Sri Lanka, off the southern tip of India, and cooking with spices came as naturally to me as the warm breeze that rustled the palm trees outside our house. My grandmother and grand aunt were always preparing spice blends to use in an array of meat, fish and vegetable dishes.
They started by dry-roasting fresh, whole spices in large skillets. Earthy aromas signifying that a feast was in my future soon filled the house and drew me to the kitchen. I would watch my grandmother select pinches of this and that roasted spice and grind them together with a mortar and pestle to make a blend. She would then add salt and white rice vinegar and mold the mix into “spice balls,” which were used for a whole week’s cooking.
Later in the day, at least a dozen relatives and neighbors would join us for the meal that was always a big, noisy celebration full of laughter and good food – the ideal pairing. Those early memories greatly influenced my ideas about what life ought to be, and freshly blended spices were – and still are – a key ingredient.
Eventually, my two siblings and I lived with my father in the United Kingdom. Here was a man who had not made so much as a cup of tea in his whole life; yet he had to keep himself and his three children fed. It didn’t take him long to master the art of using spices to prepare excellent meals. Through trial and error and our occasional suggestion to “take it a little easy with the cayenne,” he became a good cook who loved to boast to family and friends about his famous kukul mus (chicken curry) and parripu (lentils). We came to enjoy his food as much as his passion for preparing it.
Those childhood experiences of life and food in Sri Lanka and England – witnessing the play of spices, the laughter and joy in my grandmother’s kitchen, and my father as he lovingly mastered the art of cooking – have not only stuck with me, but made me The Spicy Gourmet. It’s a great legacy, and one I’m so happy to share with you.
Dinesh
The Spicy Gourmet
