Departments / 06 of 14
Pantry & Staples
Since 1962 we have kept the larder of Colaba's most exacting cooks: single-estate rice aged in our own godowns, attas stoneground weekly on granite, dals from named farms, and oils pressed cold and bottled within the fortnight. Everything on these shelves earns its place slowly — by provenance, patience and the proprietor's palate.
Signature Provisions
Sold by name.
A standing selection from the pantry & staples ledger. Prices turn with the season; the standard does not. WhatsApp the counter to reserve today's picks.
Ambemohar Rice
Mulshi valley, Maharashtra; the mango-blossom grain₹495per kgStoneground Khapli Atta
Emmer wheat from Paithan, granite-milled each Monday₹680per 2 kgUnpolished Toor Dal
Gulbarga plateau, sun-dried whole on a single farm₹425per kgWood-Pressed Groundnut Oil
Saurashtra kernels, lakdi ghana, pressed monthly₹825per 1 LFour-Year Toddy Vinegar
Coconut palm sap, barrel-aged in Aldona, Goa₹495per 500 mlBronze-Die Spaghettoni
Gragnano IGP, slow-dried 48 hours; flown from Naples₹745per 500 gRatnagiri Alphonso Conserve
First-flush Hapus, set in small copper-pan batches₹595per 280 g jar
06 · Pantry & Staples
Good cooking begins long before the flame is lit.— The Pantry & Staples counter
Pantry Notes
From the buyer's ledger.
On Ageing Rice
Our basmati rests two full years in jute in a dry Karnal godown, losing moisture and gaining length, fragrance and composure. Buy little and often, and keep it well away from the spice cupboard — basmati borrows aromas it should not.
The Monday Milling
Khapli wheat arrives whole and is ground on granite each Monday, never warmer than the miller's hand, so the germ stays in. Treat stoneground atta as fresh produce: six weeks in an airtight tin, or the refrigerator through the monsoon.
A Word on Vinegar
Aldona's toddy vinegar is the quiet authority behind a proper pork vindaloo, though a spoonful over Ooty lettuce with wood-pressed groundnut oil and flaked salt is reason enough to keep a bottle. It sharpens without shouting — the mark of anything aged four years in wood.