Sitting bright and masala red, along the busy Grant Road stretch, opposite Novelty cinema is the 96 year old- Motilal Masalawala. It is an Indian spice shop with the feel of a grocery mart. “The place has been re-vamped three times since 1912 when it was first opened by Mangaldas Motilal. The last renovation has given birth to the shop which is the first air-conditioned, self service store,” Jagdish Patel professed as he welcomed UpperCrust into the little store.

The Motilal family split in 1966, when Jagdish Patel launched his own independent brand of Mangal spices. “I tend to lend my personal touch to the blending of spices, be it curry masalas or pickles,” Jagdishbhai explained. According to him the customers seem to be loyal to M.M.M.’s prolific tastes and varieties in spite of the stiff competition. He joked how M.M.M. was the place where Parsis celebrated navjotes, weddings and even baby showers. The perfect analogy to describe the store is, “Motilal is to Parsis, what Bhuleshwar is to the Gujaratis.”

The magic of Mangal spices has spread to USA, London, Australia and even South Africa. “We have tried to conquer the export market as well,” he admitted rather immodestly. We were taken on a journey through the land of spices, curry pastes, pickles, conserves and regional Indian food while we interacted with many clients, and the storekeeper, Mrs. Perin Modi. It was interesting to learn that Motilal’s third generation owners are settled in California and have even launched a successful brand of Indian curry pastes and mixes called Mr. Kooks.

Perin’s take on the USP of the store was that provisions which were available when they first began still exist and this very consistency in approach suits the third generation clients very well.

Jagdish Patel laid out before us a whole range of ragi chips. “We have a lot of ready snacks and home provisions besides spices and pickles,” Jagdishbhai explained. He then showed us something called vasanu, a herbal cake eaten by Parsis in winter. It is fortified with dry fruits and tonic. It was enlightening to get a visual tour around the store. There were some niche products from various Indian states like Gujarat and Maharashtra as well as Benares. Motilal Masalawala’s famous Dhansak Masala, an eternal Parsi delicacy as well as the Goan Vindaloo paste. The Gujarati Dal Masala- a mélange of tamarind, lentil powder and jaggery is also among its famous masalas. The trademark methiyu, an absolute delight for Parsis and Gujaratis alike is sumptuous. The wet form of the garlic and ginger chutney is a favourite amongst the shop’s thirty year old clientele, mostly Parsi. “Though that’s changing, as our clients are becoming more cosmopolitan now,” Perin reiterates.

There was a wide range of attractive Gujarati pickles from choonda, murabba, sweet lemon as well as undhiyu spices. The store specializes in gourmet products from Nausari as well. The Parsi wedding food speciality, the finger-licking Gajar Mewa (grated carrots and dry fruit pickle), the delicious Sweet Mango chutney gorkeri are all available here. Absolutely fresh. “The basic difference between Gujarati gorkeri and its Parsi counterpart is the oil and vinegar marination respectively,” Jagdishbhai explained before he left us gourmands to tend to an urgent phone call.

As India is abundant in spices, the raw materials at Mangal spices are sourced from diverse regions of South India like Varangal, Cochin, Gunter as well as from Unjha in Gujarat. Amidst the peppery and pungent whiffs of fresh spices we discovered that the store was a treasure chest for gourmets. There was everything from pulses to flours to chikkis to Surti biscuits. “Try our nankhatai and batashas, they are very original,” Perin urged. There was a kaleidoscopic range of khakras, poppadums and even unique sambhariya green chillies (stuffed with dried coriander powder) and an exotic range of Madras, Kashmiri as well as Boriya chillies. Their philosophy is that each Indian state has a particular style of cooking with specific ingredients and the store gives them the opportunity to utilize this culinary diversity. Whether it’s a thirty year old client Nergish Arya or the loyal Mrs. Tavdia, everyone returns each time for the consistency and diversity of the food products.

The new line of products that have been introduced, include saffron, rose and vanilla flavours of falooda mixes as well as the dry fruit kheer, phirni and sheer khurma mix eaten at Eid feasts. The bhajiya mix (dry besan batter to mix with water) as well as the Sharad Poornima flavoured rice-flakes seemed interesting buys too. Tempting the shoppers near the cash counter were spongy ghee-laden malpuas as well as dhoklas, bhakras (a Parsi snack) and Karachi biscuits.

“We haven’t ever done aggressive marketing or publicity. Our goodwill and participation in exhibitions as well as continental popularity have been the key factors,” Perin explained. As Jagdishbhai said, “I have multiple ideas for blending spices. My brain is an encyclopedia of masalas. It is spices which flow through our veins and not blood.” On that note we decided to leave the store. It was clear how Motilal Masalawala, the Spice King of India had maintained its position for almost a century and continued to rule the roost.