A visit to a new store that sources keto, vegan and gluten-free products from indie brands across India, proves fruitful even for someone on no diet at all
The Conscious Cravings at Pali Hill houses over 60 artisanal brands from across India
Pali Hill is now home to The Conscious Cravings. You’ll notice the tasteful decor through the glass doors of this two month-old shop. Step in, and you feel like a kid in a candy store, except that the candies here are healthy, vegan even.
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The tiny hydroponics garden inside the store sustains itself on a water-based technique, with nutrients provided to the plants for growth minus sunlight, soil and extra labour. Pics/Ashish Raje
When we swing by on a weekday evening, founder Sakshi Arora is guiding customers. She says the idea behind the store was born from her passion to curate healthy foods. With the pandemic necessitating a good nutritional status to fight infection, the time to launch the venture was perfect.
The product categories are varied, and options range from grocery essentials and pantry products to super foods, health drinks, spices and baby food. They also offer hydroponic salads, micro-greens, breads and dips. Diet preference-wise segregation (vegan, keto, gluten-free) makes it convenient for you to shop by speciality. There are labels as well to indicate sections such as healthy snacks, flour, oils and nut butters. We like that a large chunk of the products are created by young, artisanal brands from across the country, including Pascati, Jus Amazing, Good Fettle, MOOZ, Nutlers, The Seed Box, NutraHi, and Country Kitchen.
Here is a curation of items that we picked, tried and liked.
Quinoa dosa batter
The dosa batter is sourced from a young, homegrown Mumbai brand named Family Co. It’s one that Arora swears by, and now we do too. Prepared with urad dal, lentils, oats and quinoa, the crepe batter hit the right spot with its taste. We had to add some water to bring it to our preferred consistency, though.
Quinoa chipotle spicy cup
Pink Harvest Farms, an Indian brand launched by siblings Upasana and Devansh Parasrampuria, makes healthy, ready-to-eat snacks with a shelf life of 240 days. The spicy cup reminded us of the cup noodles we have ended up having on flights, but healthier we hope.
Vegan cheese from Sheese
Sheese is one of UK’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of dairy, lactose and gluten-free vegan cheese products. We tried the grated mature cheddar style, made using maize starch, coconut oil, oat fibre, yeast extract and modified potato starch. The last time we had non-dairy cheese, it tasted like shredded plastic, so this one was a welcome change. On heating, it became nice and stretchy. In fact, we even ate it straight out of the package. It’s quite close to the real deal.
Sheesham honey
Eiwa’s Sheesham honey is single-origin honey made from the flowers of the sheesham or north Indian rosewood tree. We liked the texture and taste. It was fresh, and had a firm consistency. The label claims it is 100 per cent pure, natural, pesticide and antibiotic-free, with no additives or infusions. It’s also 100 per cent traceable. Scan the QR code on the lid and see where the honey comes from.
What: The Conscious Cravings
Where: Genxfarm Agritech, Store No. 4, Glen Building, Ambedkar Road, Bandra West
Call: 749999444
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