Commercial Masala Dabba / Indian Spice Box — Square Stainless Steel, 32 oz Compartments

A commercial masala dabba built for an Indian restaurant prep line. Nine or twelve stainless steel inner boxes, each holding a full quart, sit in a square frame under one lid — so a chef opens one box and has the whole working spice set in front of them instead of reaching down a shelf of separate jars mid-service.

This is the size most kitchens reach for first. A quart is a sensible working quantity for the spices a cook measures in spoonfuls — garam masala, clove, cardamom, black pepper, ajwain, kasuri methi. It gets topped up from the dry store once or twice a week rather than twice a shift.

Nine or twelve compartments

• 9 compartments — a three by three grid. Right for a focused menu, or as a second dabba dedicated to one station: tandoor, curry or biryani.
• 12 compartments — four by three. Right for a full North Indian or regional menu where the working spice list genuinely runs past nine.

Both take the same 4 inch inner boxes, so containers, lids and refills are interchangeable between the two.

What makes it a commercial box rather than a home one

A home masala dabba is a round tin roughly seven inches across with seven shallow wells, sized to hold enough spice for a few meals. This one is square, in heavier gauge stainless, and a single compartment holds more than a whole home tin. The square shape is not decoration — it sits flush against a wall or beside another box on a prep table, without the wasted corners a round tin leaves behind.

On the line

• Inner boxes lift straight out for washing and refilling. Nothing to dismantle and no fixed wells to wipe around.
• The full-size lid covers every compartment at once, keeping light, air and steam off the spices between services — the three things that strip colour and aroma fastest.
• Handles on both sides. A loaded dabba is heavy and it travels: to an offsite catering job, or just from the dry store back to the line.
• Stainless steel throughout, so it survives a commercial wash cycle without pitting or staining.

Specifications

If you need more per spice

Turmeric, chilli, coriander and cumin empty far faster than the aromatics. For those, the 115 oz masala dabba holds about three and a half quarts per compartment. Plenty of kitchens run one of each — the large box on the main line, this one for everything measured by the spoon.

Ordering

Not sure which compartment count suits your menu? Call before you order — it is a short conversation. sales@nishienterprise.com or (732) 790-0199. Nishi Enterprise Inc has supplied Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Nepali restaurant kitchens across the United States and Canada since 2002, from Rahway, New Jersey.