05 October,2011 10:15 AM IST | | Prachi Sibal
The newly launched store Godrej Nature's Basket is that and more. We stopped by one evening to unearth quite a treasure trove
Looking for the perfect ingredients for that exotic recipe out of a cookbook you have been planning to try? Your search ends at Godrej Nature's Basket, just as ours did. We walked into a brightly lit store, pitted as an 'authentic world food store' and returned with bags full. If it looks small to you on first look, you will come back concluding that the size of a store is no measure of how much it can house. With each step you take you will discover more and more and soon enough you will want to rush back to your kitchen and get cooking. We did just that.
At the entrance is the breads section, which has a variety of in-house and other brands. There are the regular wheat and day breaker loaves, with some khubbus and Danish pastries. This section is satisfactory but hardly impressive. If veggies are on your shopping list, we suggest you head somewhere else for those. The section here is small and not so exhaustive, besides the veggies on the counter looked quite unappetising. The herbs section on the other hand is quite well-stocked. We found all the regulars- rosemary, oregano, thyme, lemongrass, basil and some Japanese ginger too.
Unlike other gourmet stores in town that keep regular grocery out to house the exotic, this one gives you both. So, you'd get your share of organic pulses and brown rice and the other packaged variety too.
The most impressive sections in the store are the sauces and the ready-to-eat foods. We found pestos, Mexican marinades, Lebanese pastes, barbecue sauces, finishing sauces and much more. The ready-to-eat section has pastas, antipasti, gravies and couscous too. The same rack houses olive oil across brands categorically (virgin and extra virgin). Also, choose from healthy snacking option like packaged flavoured almonds and cashews and soya and diet chips. Dips and organic flavoured honey were the other two sections that left us quite happy.
Perhaps the largest single section in the store is the Teas and Coffee one. Besides the array of flavoured teas, infusions and some Ceylon tea we also spotted a few stray flower teas and some rare first flushes. Amongst the coffees are the whole range of branded ones including Lavazza and illy.
The far end of this not-so-large store is the delicatessen. Packaged cheese, frozen meat, cold cuts and a small patisserie make up this section. We found some chorizos, gorgonzola cheese, flavoured cream cheese and some vegetarian sausages too. The patisserie had just a handful of options like Oreo Cheesecake and brownies on the day we stopped by. There is also the regular tinned food, tuna, mackerel and some Norwegian salmon.
While here, also check out the kulfis by Parsi Dairy Farm, Mumbai. For the conscious amongst us, there are organic free-trade oils.
Another interesting feature of the store is section dedicated to cookbooks. Though small, it works as a handy option. The store is sure to perk up more than the gourmand we realised as we chanced upon the chocolates. There is much variety and an array of Swiss chocolate brands including rare ones like Guliyan.
Where Godrej Nature's Basket, 514/A, CMH Road, Indiranagar
Call 25207401
Log on to naturebasket.co.in
For R 10 onwards
