From The Earth Is New On The Shelf

Delicious South Asian Dishes made easy? Yes, please!

by Abby Wiseman | Jul 9, 2021 | New On The Shelf

You know when you find a great recipe but it requires about 40 ingredients that you don’t have, or aren’t even available in-country? You may even brave the market and stock up on spices that will inevitably sit in your cupboard until they taste like chalk. Well, there’s a new local company here to up your South Asian spice game. It’s called From the Earth, and it’s our latest New on the Shelf product that we think you should check out.

From the Earth Spice Blends. Photo | Abby Wiseman

Miriam Anvarali Nichols and her mother Masooma Anvarali were fed up with the fillers found in many store-bought spice blends. So, they put together a curry spice blend from a generations-old family recipe and started to sell it at the farmer’s market.

From there they expanded the line to include Kheer (rice pudding), Butter Chicken, Daal, Biryani, and more. What makes these spice blends unique is that they are heavily influenced by the Anvarali’s Indian and Pakistani roots, but also East African flavours as Masooma is part Kenyan. For example, the curry has almonds and peanuts, which are not typically found in Indian curry.

We taste-tested the Kheer and the butter chicken at the Small Batch HQ and here is our honest take.

Many butter chickens are heavy on the tomato sauce, but this blend adds a lot of aromatic and complex flavours that make it a much more interesting dish than what you might be used to. It’s not particularly spicy, so if you are spice-sensitive, this is a good blend for you. If you like it spicy, as we do, just add more chilli flakes or, as we did, Aleppo pepper.

The Kheer with rose water and cardamom is really fantastic. Mariam said she tested several rose water’s to get one that didn’t taste like perfume, and her research paid off. The blend of cardamom, rose water, pistachios, and cane sugar make for a luxurious pudding that is worth languishing over. Plus, it’s super easy to make. All you have to do is add milk or mylk.

The spice we’d love to try next is the Biryani pilaf, which Miriam said is traditionally a dish made for special occasions or Friday nights.

Find From the Earth Spices here or catch Miriam at the Moss Street Market in Victoria where she may or may not be wearing shoes.