Flavor to Chatter About

Anyone who loves Indian cuisine knows the layers of flavor that unfold in each bite. But the idea of recreating those intricately spiced sauces in one’s own kitchen can be intimidating. San Ramon resident Dhara Gadi’s Masala Gossip line of ready-made simmer sauces make it easy to chatter about how easy it is to produce those pleasures at home.

Gadi, 46, grew up in Punjab, India. She treasures memories of cooking with her mother, grandmother, and brother. “Every dish was a celebration of togetherness, health, and the joy of cooking,” she says. It helped that her family had a farm where they grew wheat, eggplants, okra, tomatoes, mustard greens, mangoes, plums, and apples. They even had a cow for fresh milk.

Gadi moved to California in 2005. Although she had worked as a dentist in India, she didn’t want to go through college again to get requalified, so she tried working in tech and spent six years as a program manager at Google.

“Tech is not for someone like me,” she says. “I’m creative, and I wanted to work directly with people. I tried different things but came back to my passion for food.”

During those years at Google, Gadi needed to put meals on the table quickly for her kids. She consolidated her kitchen time by making sauces in quantity and freezing them in meal-size portions. She makes her own spice blends by roasting and grinding 20 or more whole spices, adding them in stages to build complexity as she cooks. That finesse is what people love when they eat out at Indian restaurants, but who has the time or skills to make such complex sauces at home? She thought, “People are looking for something to make their lives easier.”

When Gadi launched her business at the San Ramon Farmers’ Market in 2023, she had an initial surprise. “I thought I would target the Indian market, but it turned out totally opposite,” she says. “It’s the non-Indians who really appreciate these sauces.” When she began selling at the Walnut Creek Farmers’ market, she found the response was even better, and she collected lots of good feedback on the flavors and spice levels. While she knows her products are not the first Indian sauces on the market, she feels they are notable because of her skill with spice blends and the “clean ingredients” she uses. For instance, she uses none of the highly processed seed oils that food influencers are recently warning against, and all of her products are free of soy and gluten. All but the butter-based Makhani sauce are vegan.

Gadi is accustomed to being asked how she came up with such a clever brand name. She knew that people would be familiar with masala, the spice mix that is the base of many curries. But she wanted to bring in some fun, so she asked her kids and friends for a fun name. In the end, it was ChatGTP that suggested “gossip.”

 

 

The Masala Gossip line includes four simmer sauces that home cooks can customize by adding vegetables, tofu, chicken, fish, beans, lentils, or cheese. Palak—a pungent green spinach sauce—and the buttery Makhani are on the mild side, while Tikka is medium, and Chana has some heat. She also offers a Dal Tadka sauce for lentils. The brand’s website shares simple recipes to make with these versatile products.

Since Gadi loves the explosion of flavor in Chinese chili crisps, she made her own versions with an Indian twist. Her Masala Chili Crisps feature red chilis with Indian spices, and her Green Chili Crisps, inspired by Achar Indian pickles, add ginger and turmeric. “They are very versatile,” she says. “You can cook with them or put them on top of noodles, pizza, soup, or cooked vegetables.”

Gadi’s family experience remains central to her life and business endeavor, and not surprisingly, her brother, Mithun, is on a similar culinary path in India. His online shop, Hey Grain, sells cookies that he and his wife make with whole grain (or bean) flours like millet, sorghum, oat, and chickpea. “We both have the same values,” says Gadi, “cooking and selling healthy, flavorful food that reflects our culture.” ♦

---

As of publication, Masala Gossip products are available at Alameda Marketplace, Berkeley Organic Market, Diablo Foods in Lafayette, and Village Market, Piedmont Grocery, and Farmer Joe’s Market in Oakland. These products invite culinary improvisation, and to get you started, Dhara Gadi offers simple recipes at masalagossip.com, and you’ll find two more below.

 

Anna Mindess is an award-winning journalist who writes on food, culture, and travel for numerous publications including the Washington Post, Atlas Obscura, and Berkeleyside. Follow her on Instagram @annamindess and find her stories at annamindess.contently.com.