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Rs. 275.00
Rs. 400.00
The famous Amritsari papad, now in their homemade avatar. The perfect accompaniment to dal-chawal or sabzi-phulka and of course, they hold their own as a stand-alone anytime snack too.
Who hasn’t heard about Amritsari Papad Wadiyan?
Any tourist worth her or his salt will pick up a pack or two from the ubiquitous papad shops that surround the Golden Temple. These papad and wadiyan, though delicious, are mass produced under questionable hygiene conditions. Ammiji visited these shops only if it were an emergency and if she had run out of her own homemade papad wadiyan. Even now, when her arthritic fingers will not let her roll out papad or shape the wadiyan properly, she will sit on a chair in her verandah, and get these made by her helper under her eagle-eyed supervision.
These papad and wadiyan come to you from Amritsar, made under Ammiji’s supervision, from ingredients that are hand-picked by her. They are made from premium urad dal and use the choicest spices.
Ammiji’s Tandoori Papads are redolent of the fiery tandoors on Amritsar’s streets where kulchas, chicken, fish vegetables and rotis are all popped lovingly into the mitti tandoor till they’re sizzling hot and delicious! Our tandoori masala blend is the same blend that is used for marinating food items for the tandoor. This spice blend, when added to our papad, results in a smokily tempting papad which is slightly spicy and very high on flavour.
You can roast our papads on a griddle or pan, deep fry them, toast them or microwave them – any which way, they add that perfect zing to your meal.
Ingredients: Urad dal, Salt, Hing, Red chilli, Cumin, Garlic, Coriander, Fenugreek, Sajji khaar
Weight: 250 gms
Good for: 6 months. Please keep in an airtight container for longevity.
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Rs. 450.00
Rs. 550.00
Raw, crisp chunks of guava, pickled in subtle spices to give layers of tang and flavour.
What’s a winter season if you haven’t sat in the sun in the afternoon, having a pre-lunch snack of freshly cut guava sprinkled with some rock salt? As children, Ammiji’s verandah was the place where we would get all our winter pre-lunch goodies at. She used to start her day early, finish her housework quickly and spend the afternoon out in the sun, peeling oranges, slicing up amrood and urging us to eat it all.
One day, one of her sons, while munching on a piece of guava, jokingly remarked that he wished that such crispy, tangy guavas were available the year round. The next day, Ammiji pulled out her pickling pitara and set about chopping up a whole lot of guavas. We sat with her, surrounded by guavas, and filched a lot of slices – she usually turned a blind eye to this and then later pretended that we had finished the entire lot! Soon, two barnis were full of guava, spices and oil, happily sunning themselves and Ammiji sat back with a satisfied smile.
From then on, the guava pickle was made every winter – to see us through the summers. In keeping with the tradition, we’ve put a big batch of Amrood ka Achaar too. This pickle is being made in Amritsar under Ammiji’s supervision. The guavas are from an orchard nearby and the mustard oil is custom cold-pressed. Only select, premium and hand-sorted spices are used in this pickle.
Amrood ka Achaar will add that special tang to all your meals. Munch on it between bites of your meal, and make your meals more interesting and nostalgic…
Ingredients: Guava, Cold-pressed Mustard Oil, Black Salt, Raw Turmeric, Red Chilli, Cumin, Coriander, Black Pepper, Mustard seeds, Nigella seeds, Fenugreek seeds
Weight: 250 gms
Price: Rs 550 450 (inclusive of taxes)
Good for: 6 months
Refrigerate after opening. (This pickle contains no preservatives.)
Always use a clean, dry spoon while scooping out Ammiji’s delicious pickles!
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-13%
Rs. 699.00
Rs. 799.00
When you think about ‘sherbets’, we bet your childhood comes to mind – long, sultry summer afternoons where the only way to beat the incessant heat was by drinking a tall glass of an iced, homemade drink made by a mother or a grandmother. Whether it smelled of roses or was tangy with the zing of citrus, if something could be turned into a cooler, our families invariably did it during the unbearable Indian summer. Long before there were colas in the market, there were sherbets at home.
Ammiji’s Badaam Sherbet is exactly what it says it is – lots and lots of badaams with a tinge of elaichi and black pepper. History tells us that the Badaam sherbet is of Persian origin, and the first sip you take of this homemade cooler will instantly transport you to a Mughal palace, where cool drinks were poured out of silver surais and savored slowly to beat the infernal heat while handheld fans flapped lazily. Redolent of times gone by and reeking of royalty, this traditional drink was a favorite with Ammiji. She made it by the gallons each summer, and there was a steel jug of it ready in her kitchen all through summer, and well into autumn.
We’ve used Ammiji’s original recipe, and poured a whole lot of her love into the sherbet. We hope that each time you make yourself a glass, you are hit with a wave of nostalgia. (And also a bit of a feel-good feeling, since this is, after all, a superfood sherbet!)
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Rs. 700.00
Rs. 750.00
We’re taking exotic to a whole new level with this one. Fresh bambooshoots from the hills of Himachal, pickled and bottled for your leisurely tasting. ;)
Amritsar’s proximity to the hills of Himachal meant that we had lots of impromptu vacations as children. A mere 3-hour drive away, the hills of Himachal were like a shining beacon for us – a haven where long, lazy, idyllic days were spent clambering up trails, climbing trees, gazing at snow-capped peaks, eating delicious food and sipping warming drinks. For Ammiji, the proximity to the hills meant that she had even more ingredients to bring into her kitchen. Bambooshoot was one of them.
Himachal Pradesh is the only state in North-Western India where Bamboo grows wild and in abundance. The Northeastern states have been including the tender, young shoots of bamboo in their brilliant cuisine for years now. But in Himachal most bamboo grows to maturity, and is put to other uses. It is only a small percentage that is picked at the onset of the monsoon season, when still young, and is used for culinary purposes. This year, we managed to lay our hands on a small portion of that harvest, and of course, brainstormed with Ammiji about how to go about pickling it. Ammiji had all the answers for us – and that’s why she’s our Ammiji!
So here it is. Crispy, crunchy, woodsy young bambooshoot, pickled in selected spices and cold-pressed mustard oil. Full of dietary fibre, amino acids, proteins, vitamins and minerals, bambooshoots are what some would term a superfood. They have antibacterial, antiviral and anticancer properties, which make them the ideal addition to your mealtimes.
And the taste! We ourselves were pleasantly surprised by the matured pickle – the complexity of the flavours, the fragrance of the spices and texture of the shoots themselves makes for a pickle that is not only an exotic treat, but a rare delicacy too!
Ingredients: Bambooshoots, Salt, Red Chilli, Turmeric, Clove, Cinnamon, Brown Cardamom, Dry Mango Powder, Fenugreek Seeds, Nigella Seeds, Pipli, Black Pepper, Mace, Nutmeg, Garam Masala, Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Cold-pressed Mustard Oil.
Weight: 300 gm Net
Price: Rs 750 700
Good for: 6 months
Refrigerate for longer shelf life. Always use a dry, clean spoon.
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Rs. 335.00
Rs. 399.00
Barfi before Toffee – that’s our new motto! As an extension of our belief in everything local and indigenous, we took Ammiji’s traditional recipe of barfi and tweaked it to make these caramelized bits of milky goodness.
Long before fudge and milk toffees, there was our barfi. Milk, simmered for hours on low flame, till it combines with sugar and ghee to form a fudge-like mess. Pure flavour. Nothing else.
Our Barfi Bombs could be described as melt-in-the-mouth, but we’re sure you’d like to go beyond this clichéd understatement. They could also be described as yummilicious, but that would be an insult to the essence of these flavour bombs. They taste purely of milk, ghee and sugar – the only 3 ingredients used. No elaichi, no preservatives, no corn syrup or any flavour enhancer. Just pure, homemade desi goodness.
Treat these as a post-meal dessert, or an anytime indulgence. Promise your children two of these for good behaviour, or a pack of these for an achievement. They’ll take you back to when life was simpler and tastes uncomplicated. They’ll take you back to your childhood – we promise.
Ingredients: Milk, Sugar, Desi Ghee
Net Weight: 120 gm
Sale
-9%
Rs. 500.00
Rs. 550.00
Ammiji’s favorite way to cook rice was what she called the Navrattan Pulao. Each time a meal was served for guests, we knew that the pièce de resistance was going to be carried in, demoulded on to a lavish platter. It was a cake of three differently coloured rice studded with fried paneer cubes, peas, carrots and cashews. And it smelled like the best corner of heaven!
That aroma of her Navrattan Pulao is what we’ve captured in this unique spice blend. From the humble cumin to the exotic kopec buds, each ingredient in this blend is blessed with Ammiji’s nod of approval.
Add this masala to whatever biryani you’re cooking, and we promise that the neighbors will know that you’re cooking biryani. Add it to your peas pulao, and enjoy the sweetness of peas against the earthiness of the spices. We’ve even added this masala to the humble khichdi – and with excellent results!
To use: Add 1-2 teaspoons per cup of rice to your biryani or pulao.
Ingredients: Cumin, Coriander, Fennel, Black Cumin, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Bay Leaves, Red chilli, Nutmeg, Kebabchini, Mace, Brown Cardamom, Green Cardamom, Clove, Black pepper, Stone flower, Kopec buds, Rose petals, Dehydrated onion, Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric, Saffron
Good for 6 months: Store in a cool, dry place away from sunlight.
Weight: 90 gms
Rs. 350.00
Angoor khattey hain? Not quite! Khatti, meethi, teekhi and finger-lickin’ good!
Ammiji made a chutney out of every fruit that ever crossed her tongue. And while we slowly weasel out her precious recipes from her, we bring to you her favourite chutney recipes that she’s already shared with us.
Her one instruction when we tried this Black Grape chutney recipe out for the first time was, “Cheeni hath khich ke!” or “Be stingy with the sugar!” And we were. We not only used minimal sugar in our first try, but we replaced three-fourths of the sugar with jaggery in the second try. What resulted was a chutney that tasted distinctly of earthy black grapes, with the kick of mustard and white pepper and the umami of jaggery, all neatly bound together with a tinge of lemon.
This delicious chutney can be paired with paranthas, roti, dal-chawal, biryani…anything, really! Or take a tip from us – eat it with some wholewheat crackers. Yes, you can use it as part of your cheeseboard too – it tastes awesome with brie!
Made from fresh seasonal black grapes, this chutney is proof that wine is not the only delicious thing that can be made with black grapes. :D
Ingredients: Black grapes, Jaggery, Sugar, Salt, White Pepper, Lemon, Bay leaves, Cumin, Yellow Mustard, Mustard Oil
Weight: 140 gm
Price: Rs 350
Good for: 3 months
Keep this chutney refrigerated. Use only a clean, dry spoon to scoop out Ammiji’s deliciousness.
Soldout
Rs. 500.00
Rs. 550.00
Ammiji likes jam on her toast now and then – especially with a cup of sugarless chai. She’s never really made her own jam though. When asked why, she sniffed and said, “English grandmothers make jams. Indian grandmothers make chutneys.” (Yes, she makes us roll our eyes on a regular basis.) She has firmly disassociated herself with any jam we make, but she’ll lift up the jar and inspect it with her hawk eye when it is presented to her.
So it was with this jam. “What do you mean by ‘brandied’?”, she asked. When we told her that the jam had a bit of brandy, her only answer was to put the jar down on the table with a definite snap. “Do what you want with your English jams and English grandmothers!”, she said. We’re taking that as grudging permission. 😀
Summer means that the market is flooded with beautiful, ripe summer fruit. And the most attractive of these (besides the much-loved mangoes) are the cherries – sweet, plump, juicy cherries, glistening a bright red or a deep maroon. So we took those cherries, soaked them in brandy overnight, and cooked a chunky jam out of it!
Our Brandied Cherry Jam has the perfectly spreadable consistency and each bite will give you a few pieces of juicy, sweet cherries in your mouth. It’s slightly boozy from the premium brandy and we’ve let the sweet tartness of the cherries shine through by limiting the amount of sugar we put in it. The fragrance is heady with brandy with a touch of pure vanilla. The texture is achieved by letting the fruit slow-cook and release its own pectin. There is no added packaged pectin or preservatives. What you get is real fruit, turned into a jam in small batches, the old-fashioned away.
The cherry jam tastes fantastic spread on toast, achieves excellence when served with scones and hits sublime when paired with cheese and crackers. Layer your cakes with it or dollop it onto ice-cream sundaes. What you do with it is totally you!
Note: Seasonal item. Will be available only till the fruit is available!
Ingredients: Cherries, sugar, brandy, lemon juice, vanilla extract.
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-16%
Rs. 295.00
Rs. 350.00
Ammiji likes her mirchi. She thinks bland food is the worst there is. She’s been known to spice up her plain raita with a spoonful of red chilli powder or add extra black pepper to her dal. For those who think she’s on the right track, here’s presenting a condiment that got the quickest nod of approval from her that we’ve ever got! 😉
Ammiji’s Bullet Mirchi is not a mere condiment – it’s a cross between a thecha, a dry powdered chutney or the sediment of a chilli oil. Red chillies are sun-dried at home and then stone-pounded with sun-dried garlic and peanuts with the aid of a little oil. There’s much deliciousness there. Also, much much fire. A quarter teaspoon is enough to have your socks rocking!
The first time we experimented with this recipe, we were literally blown away with the magic it added to our meals. Hence, the name. This is truly that blast you need to take your meals from the mundane to the oh-my-god-i-can’t-stop-eating level.
Works beautifully as a topping for snacks like vada pao, momos, grilled chicken, etc. Can also be added to marinades. Or we’ll tell you a secret – wrap it up in a parantha with a sabzi of your choice and watch the fire unfold!
Ingredients: Red Chilli, Garlic, Peanuts, Salt, Rock Salt, Curry Leaves, Mustard Oil.
Weight: 85 gms