Our Story
Seeds for the Indian kitchen garden,
rooted in a California backyard.
Masala Central grew out of our family’s cooking and years of growing food at home. We test every variety in our backyard, cook with it in our own kitchen, and only then offer it for sale. So what you grow actually belongs on your plate.
Tested in our backyard
Grown in Monrovia, California
Every variety we offer is first tested in our own backyard, in real raised beds and grow bags.
Our promise
If we wouldn't grow it or cook with it, we won't sell it.
About Masala Central
Masala Central began in our backyard—but it was shaped by our kitchen.
We are a small, independent seed company dedicated to the Indian kitchen garden: the plants that give Indian cooking its depth, aroma, and character, and the home gardeners who want to grow those flavors themselves.
From cooking to growing
For more than a decade, our family has shared recipes, food history, and everyday cooking through Indiaphile, our long-running food and storytelling project. As we cooked, photographed, and wrote, we kept returning to the same realization: Indian food is inseparable from its plants.
The fenugreek that perfumes theplas.
The dill that lifts daal.
The cilantro and chilies that find their way into nearly every meal.
Over time, our curiosity shifted from how to cook these dishes to how to reliably grow the plants behind them.
A backyard test garden in Southern California
When we moved into our home in Monrovia, California, we finally had space to grow. What began as a few containers quickly became a working backyard test garden—raised beds, grow bags, irrigation lines, and a steady rotation of cool- and warm-season crops.
Season by season, we learned what thrives in Southern California’s microclimates, which varieties germinate reliably, and how traditional Indian kitchen-garden crops adapt to a backyard setting in the U.S. We experimented, failed, adjusted, and planted again.
Soon we were growing as much of our cooking as possible: cilantro, methi, mustard, taro, dill, fennel, chilies, peas, arugula, spinach, and more. Friends and neighbors began asking for seeds. Readers of our recipes asked where they could find the same varieties.
That’s when the gap became clear.
Why Masala Central exists
There are many seed companies—but very few are built around how people actually cook.
Masala Central exists to serve cooks and gardeners who want to grow ingredients that matter in the kitchen, not just plants that look good in a catalog. We focus on varieties that deliver flavor, reliability, and practicality for home gardens—not industrial yield or commodity farming.
Every seed we sell is one we grow ourselves first in our backyard test garden. We select for:
- Strong, consistent germination
- Adaptability to home gardens
- Flavor and culinary usefulness
We test batches, refine our seed envelopes, and design planting guides with the same care we bring to our cooking.
Seed to plate
Our approach is simple: grow what you love to cook.
Whether you are reconnecting with your culinary heritage, discovering Indian kitchen-garden plants for the first time, or expanding your garden with bold, culturally rich flavors, Masala Central is here to help you grow with confidence.
From backyard soil to home kitchen, from seed to plate—we’re growing the flavors that make cooking come alive.