MASTI, The Fun Family-Run Joint Serving Up Authentic Indian Dishes For Urbanites

It’s not hard to see traces of evidence of our country’s gourmet relationship with India, which goes back to centuries ago. Take, for instance, the many gulai and curries that we so often enjoy in Padang and Aceh restaurants, or nasi kebuli Betawi and nasi minyak from Palembang, which bear similarities with mandi rice or biryani rice. These dishes have strong Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine influence, brought into the Archipelago by the traders in the 16^th century.

Yet despite this rather close relationship, most Indonesians are not familiar with Indian food. That’s because Indian food is also very diverse in terms of taste and traditions. The country has two major regions, the North and the South, and both areas have their own unique cooking style and ingredients. And though a lot of Indonesian food relies heavily on spices, the spices used in Indian food tend to be even richer and bolder.

In general, there are 6 essential ingredients or spices that have to be incorporated into Indian cooking in order to reach the perfect taste balance and complexity: hot chili powder, coriander, sweet cumin, mustard seeds, asafetida, and turmeric.

Nowadays, it’s not hard to find Indian restaurants everywhere in the world, especially in big cities like Jakarta. But the Indian restaurants that we find here are usually catered to the Indian population rather to the wider market that are not too familiar with Indian food. Dilip Aswani noticed this vacuum and saw it as an opportunity to build Masti, a North Indian-inspired eatery with a more urban concept.

Masti was originally born out of his wife, Henna Aswani’s love and talent for cooking. “She’s a very good cook, cooking is her passion. We wanted to channel that passion into something constructive,” said Dilip. Aiming to introduce Indian food in a modern, young, and energetic way, they came up with a grab-and-go concept with a relatively friendly price. This after a careful observation of the Indian food scene in the city, which consisted of only dine-in restaurants with fancy (read: expensive) menu prices.

Channeling Henna’s passion for cooking and paired with careful planning, the Aswanis opened Masti’s first outlet in World Trade Center 3, Sudirman, located inside Kemchick supermarket. That was back in January 2020, and the reception was very promising. Come March 2020 when pandemic hit though, traffic dropped significantly as the offices surrounding the place were closed. After a while, Dilip saw a good opportunity for online selling, especially because Masti’s initial concept was grab-and-go so it could easily be adapted into delivery platforms. Seeing a healthy and steady demand, Masti expanded their outlets to Kemang, Gading Festival, and finally at Ashta.

The menu at Masti is made for the younger crowd or the millennials, featuring a plethora of Indian food that are relatable and more accessible to Indonesians. Thus, you’ll find the more popular dishes like biryani, chicken kebab, chicken tikka, samosa, butter chicken, and naan. “These are basic items that are easy for Indonesians,” explained Dilip. 

All the recipes are developed and refined by Henna, based on her family recipe and her own take of the dish—like creating a hummus dip as a condiment to her naan bread, a dish inspired by middle eastern cuisine. But here at Masti, the hummus was tinted pink from beetroot, and it pairs beautifully with the green hued spinach naan, another one of Henna’s creative recipes. (Not coincidentally, the pink and green color of this food pairing are in harmony with Masti’s branding and color tone).

“I started cooking when I was very young, helping my mother in the kitchen back when I was in India. We have a catering business,” said the soft-spoken lady. She reminisced about the days when she would wake up very early everyday to help her mother prepare meals, and then divide the meals into steel tiffin carriers (or dabbas) which would then be delivered by couriers (called dabbawalas) to its owners for lunch.

Tamish Aswani, Dilip and Henna’s son, who’s involved in the family-run business especially in terms of branding and design (he’s the co-founder of Indonesian based streetwear brand, Ageless Galaxy), recalled how his mom has always been, “An all-rounded amazing chef. She would practice different types of cuisines, from Lebanese, to Chinese, and obviously Indian—she just loves to try new things. She’s the kind of mom who knew how to make things; she’d watch something on TV and would try to replicate it,” he said.

“Some people are trained professionally to become chefs and some are trained by doing things repeatedly and experimenting until they become a pro—my mother is definitely the latter. I love watching her making a piece of naan bread or chapati. The way she holds the dough and plays with the flour, using her hands to flip the flatbread on a hot pan without any utensils. It’s amazing how she’s so skilled and confident with her food,” said Tamish. 

“Every time she’s making a flatbread like chapati or naan, she’d pick it up with her hand and deliver it to your plate. All that experience of you eating a super hot meal with fresh flat bread, it’s truly wonderful. Whenever anyone is over at the house to have lunch or dinner, she’d be there to make sure you get that full experience. That’s always on top of my mind every time I picture her cooking,” he continued.

Some of the most popular dishes at Masti, which are also Tamish’s favorite, are the Mutton Biryani and Chicken Kebab. Both are recipes that have been passed down in the family for some time. The mutton is cooked perfectly well until tender and the texture melts in your mouth, with a balanced but punchy spice profile that can make you break a sweat. While the chicken kebab is a bit unique because it’s made of minced chicken meat that’s shaped into a sausage-like form before being thrown onto the griller. As per Tamish’s suggestion, one of the best ways to devour the kebab is to wrap it with a piece of naan bread (don’t forget to spread some chutney on it) and have it like a taco.

Although the meat dishes at Masti are clear favorites for many, we’d recommend you to not skip on the vegetarian dishes from this joint. Simply because Henna herself has been a devout vegetarian since she was a teenager. So how does she come up with the many impressive meat recipes for her family? “I know how to cook the meat. When you use your fingers to cut into the meat, it has to have the consistency that you want when you bite into it in your mouth—that’s how you know the meat is well cooked,” she explained. “As for taste and seasoning, I let my husband and son be the critiques,” said the woman who cited cumin as her favorite spice.

The rise of conscious consumers and healthy lifestyle does not escape Dilip’s observation. “We kept on adding vegetarian dishes on the menu because there’s a big demand and market for it,” he said. So if you’re trying to cut down on meat and are looking for a lighter healthier option, go for Palak Paneer (Indian cottage cheese cooked in spinach sauce), egg curry, or Henna’s personal favorite comfort food, the humble yet complex Tadka Daal (yellow split-lentil soup).

Need a mid-afternoon pick-me-up snack? Order up some potato samosa or enjoy a Vada Pav (pronounced wada pao), Masti’s take on vegan burger with a potato fritter filling, a dish inspired by the streets of Mumbai.

Going back to Masti’s goal to make Indian food more accessible and relatable to the wider audience, the price tag for the menu is very affordable when compared to portion and quality. When you’re feeling indecisive, you can even enjoy two dishes in one box via their ‘Half & Half’ options, i.e. Butter Chicken with Jeera Rice paired with either Biryani Mutton or Chicken or Vegetable, only for IDR80-85K. The convenient and filling rice bowls are priced between IDR39-49K.

Whether you’re currently still working from home, or have already come back to the office, satisfy your taste buds with Masti’s bold and rich flavors during breakfast (yes, they have a selection of simple but yum breakfast menu such as Khichdi, a one pot rice and lentil porridge, and Green Peas Parathas), lunch breaks, or even after hours with friends and family (like Indonesia food, we feel that Indian food tastes even better when shared with loved ones).

If you’re looking for a more elevated experience, let Masti guide you to a unique Indian tasting menu dinner—coming up soon in July 2021. Tickets can be booked exclusively from SELESA

^{SELESA’s event, SECRET of THE PRO feat. MASTI will be available for prepaid booking starting 21st June 2021, exclusively on SELESA.}

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