About us
Spiceistry started with a simple frustration. The food we grew up with, the daal on a Tuesday night, the karahi when guests turn up unannounced, the biryani that takes half a day on Eid, is usually taught by watching someone who has made it a thousand times. "Add masala till it looks right." "Cook till the oil comes up." That works beautifully in a family kitchen. It works much less well when you're cooking alone in a hostel, newly married into a new household, or homesick in a flat on the other side of the world.
So we started writing it down properly. Not just what to add, but why: what the onions should look like at each stage, how you know the bhunai is done, why the yogurt split, what to do when the dough won't rise. That notebook became Spiceistry.
Who we are
We're the Spiceistry kitchen, an independent food site. We're not a restaurant, a brand or a food company, and we don't sell anything: we write for home cooks. The name is a mix of spice and chemistry, because that's really what desi cooking is: a little science, a lot of instinct, and spices doing quiet work in hot oil.
What you'll find here
- Recipes from four kitchens. Pakistani home cooking first and most, alongside Indian regional food, Turkish home cooking and Arabic dishes from the Gulf to Morocco, plus tea, coffee, lassi and sharbat.
- Every step illustrated. Each recipe has a small drawn scene that changes as you cook, so you can see what the pot should look like at each stage.
- Every kitchen word explained. Tap the ⓘ next to words like dum, tarka or kanni for a short explanation, or browse the glossary and our technique guides.
- English and Urdu. Every recipe and article is written in both, so the whole family can cook from the same page.
- Free kitchen tools. A "What can I cook?" finder, a weekly and school-lunch planner, a dawat planner for guests, a cost estimator on every recipe, a shopping list, and a hands-free cook mode that reads steps aloud.
How we write a recipe
Every recipe on Spiceistry is written from scratch for this site. We aren't copying anyone's cookbook, and we never will. Before a recipe goes up we:
- compare how the dish is traditionally made in different homes and regions, and note where versions differ;
- write each step so a first-time cook can follow it, with times, heat levels and what to look for, not just "cook till done";
- add the kitchen notes that usually only come from experience: common mistakes, substitutions for cooks outside Pakistan, make-ahead and freezing tips;
- check quantities, cooking times and food-safety points (like cooking chicken through and storing rice safely);
- write the Urdu version so it reads naturally, not like a machine translation.
Where a dish has a disputed history, we say so rather than picking a side. Where a figure is an estimate, like nutrition or cost, we label it clearly. Our disclaimer explains the limits.
Our illustrations
You won't find stock photos or AI-generated food photos here. Every dish and step is shown with our own illustrations in a hand-drawn style, built from a kit of drawings we made for the site: the karahi, the degchi, the tawa, and the onions, tomatoes and spices that go into them. Your finished dish will look like real food, of course, and probably better.
What we believe about food
- Home food deserves the same care as restaurant food. A good masoor daal is as worthy of a careful recipe as a wedding biryani.
- Nobody should be made to feel they cook it "wrong". Every family's karahi is a little different. We give you a reliable version and the reasons behind it, so you can make it your own.
- Food is shared across borders. Many dishes belong to more than one country. We write about them with respect for everyone who cooks them.
- Waste less, spend wisely. Leftovers, batch cooking and honest cost estimates are part of good cooking, especially when prices keep rising.
Corrections and requests
We get things wrong sometimes: a quantity that's off, a step that confuses, an Urdu sentence that doesn't sound right. When you spot one, please tell us and we'll fix it. And if there's a dish from your family or your travels that you'd like explained properly, we'd love to hear about it.
Write to us at hello@spiceistry.com, or see the contact page.
From the Spiceistry kitchen, with a cup of chai and the pressure cooker whistling in the background.