‘It’s cheesy umami’: the woman behind some of the best US spices shares her 19 kitchen essentials

Sana Javeri Kadri, co-author of the new Diaspora Spice Co Cookbook, told us about cooking for her two toddlers and hauling 30lbs of rice on flights from India

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Sana Javeri Kadri, founder of Diaspora Spice Co, wants you to stop letting the spices in your pantry languish. “I think people are really scared of their spice cabinet, or they ignore it,” she said.

A decade ago, she started a successful spice company with the goal of building a more transparent spice supply chain and putting fresher goods on grocery shelves. Now with Diaspora Co Cookbook, which came out in March, Javeri Kadri wants to share what you can do with all that turmeric, black pepper and cardamom: “This book teaches you how to use spices very intuitively,” she said.

Diaspora Co Everything Grill seasoning