A little more with less

Chilli oil, sundried tomatoes and green chillies from Sava

As the Coronavirus pandemic sweeps the world, and has grown into a global threat to life, there cannot be a better time to turn attention to eating healthy. On cue, design and culture entrepreneur Sangita Kathiwada, and Kavitha Mantha, chef and slow food and sustainability advocate, founded Sava.

Founders Sangita Kathiwada and Kavitha Mantha

Housed in the same location as Kathiwada's fashion store, Mélange, Sava offers food grains, flours, spices, and nuts that are all local, naturally grown, ethically sourced, and packaged responsibly. The range also includes sauces, dips, crackers, salad, cake, and breads, all made by Mantha. In Hindi, the term sava means one-and-a-quarter, and reflects their intent of "doing a little bit more".

Kathiwada says, "Kavitha and I share an ethos. Our values surrounding sustainable food and fashion clicked, allowing us to launch Sava in just two-and-a-half months. Most of the raw ingredients we use are sourced from Kavitha's farm in Hyderabad, and mine at Kathiwada in Gujarat."

In a glut of organic brands, the team believes their products stand apart because the food is not only consciously grown, but also offer consumers information about how to consume and preserve. The latter refers to extending the longevity of products, while maintaining the nutritional value and reducing waste. To slow down the food cycle, Mantha says she had replaced artificial preservatives with natural techniques such as solar drying, pickling and fermenting. "These techniques increase the durability of products. For example, when I solar dried a chikoo, its life extended from a week to three months and it became a perfect snack. Solar drying helps keep your fruit's nutritional value in tact. We went one step further, dried the chikoo some more and converted into flour. It has a slight sweet tinge and works exceptionally well as a gluten-free, naturally sweetened flour for baking."

Sunday Sava Market at Altamount Road

Everyone wants to eat healthy, but doesn't always know how. They recently organised a virtual cooking session with 25 consumers, who were keen to be conscious about buying and cooking. They learnt how to make two vegan meals - jowar-base pizza and millet salad.

Sava's central kitchen at Pochkhanwala Road allows the team to work with local, seasonal produce where fresh, unique products are created on a regular basis.

The pandemic, says Kathiwada, isn't a factor they considered when deciding to launch. "It's not a corporation, it's a passion project, an attempt to see if we can do more with less."

To Order: savagoodness.com
Price: Rs 175 to Rs 1,225