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.

The earth turns yet again, the trees lose their leaves and then break out in a flurry of new leaves and flowers. Spring arrives and brings with it the fragrance of newness, of gulmohar and semal and pansies; of gulaal and dust and raw milk. And before you know it, Holi is around the corner and with it, colour returns to a still sombre earth.

And as the earth changes its covering, our tastes adjust accordingly. Gone are the warm, rich tastes of winter and the mouth craves something sweet, yet not overly so, something light yet rich, something crisp yet soft and something decadent yet traditional. Yes, we crave the sweet of the spring – Mawa Gujiya, shining with silver varq and sugar syrup, smelling to the heavens with saffron and elaichi. But then, we go a step further, and add a believable twist to the story; we infuse our gujiya with homemade Gulkand – yes, the same Gulkand that forms the base of our famed and bestselling Gul Bombs!

Ammiji’s Gulab Gujiya is made at home, in our kitchen with the best ingredients we could find. It’s delicately sweet and stuffed with as much stuffing as we could manage. Of course it’s fried – there are some things that are sacrosanct and should not be messed with, in our opinion. There are almonds and pistachios and cashews and melon seeds; there’s also mace and nutmeg flavouring the inside. And there’s gulkand, sweetening the inside and making the outside smell of roses. And inside and outside, it tastes of pure love.

Bite into one and you’ll feel the crispness of the coating juxtaposed with the sweetly melting interior. Bite into one and you’ll feel the richness of the mawa that smells of roses, the luxuriousness of the nuts crushed with gulkand and the exoticness of the spices complimenting the sweetness. Bite into one and you’ll feel joy – the joy of a spring garden, of freshly blooming desi gulab and of renewal and of hope. Bite into one and you’ll feel what Ammiji’s love is all about.

Ingredients: Mawa, Maida, Sugar, Desi Ghee, Gulkand, Pistachios, Almonds, Cashews, Melon seeds, Green Cardamom, Mace, Nutmeg, Saffron, Pure silver foil

Weight: Each box contains 10 pieces. Approximate weight is 600 gms.

The earth turns yet again, the trees lose their leaves and then break out in a flurry of new leaves and flowers. Spring arrives and brings with it the fragrance of newness, of gulmohar and semal and pansies; of gulaal and dust and raw milk. And before you know it, Holi is around the corner and with it, colour returns to a still sombre earth. 

And as the earth changes its covering, our tastes adjust accordingly. Gone are the warm, rich tastes of winter and the mouth craves something sweet, yet not overly so, something light yet rich, something crisp yet soft and something decadent yet traditional. Yes, we crave the sweet of the spring – Mawa Gujiya, shining with silver varq and sugar syrup, smelling to the heavens with saffron and elaichi.

Ammiji’s Kesar Gujiya is made at home, in our kitchen with the best ingredients we could find. It’s delicately sweet and stuffed with as much stuffing as we could manage. Of course it’s fried – there are some things that are sacrosanct and should not be messed with, in our opinion. There are almonds and pistachios and cashews and melon seeds; there’s also mace and nutmeg flavouring the inside. There’s silver foil and sugar syrup and sliced nuts and kesar strands adorning the outside. And inside and outside, it tastes of pure love.

Bite into one and you’ll feel the crispness of the coating juxtaposed with the melting interior. Bite into one and you’ll feel the richness of the mawa, the luxuriousness of the nuts and the exoticness of the spices. Bite into one and you’ll feel joy – the joy of spring, of renewal and of hope. Bite into one and you’ll feel what Ammiji’s love is all about.

Good for: 15 days. Refrigerate after receiving. 

Ingredients: Mawa, Maida, Sugar, Desi Ghee, Pistachios, Almonds, Cashews, Melon seeds, Green Cardamom, Mace, Nutmeg, Saffron, Pure silver foil

Weight: Each box contains 10 pieces. Approximate weight is 500 gms.

If you’re a Punjabi and you’ve delivered a child, you would remember being bombarded with highly nutritious foods that were supposed to provide you the perfect post-partum nutrition. And we’re sure Panjeeri was on top of that list. Ammiji’s way to make Panjeeri even MORE nutritious – she firmly believes she can do that to any dish! – was to make her Panjeeri with moong dal instead of atta or wheat flour.

This Panjeeri was pulled out of Ammiji’s cupboard and dished out to her grand children on any pretext. You have a cold? Have Panjeeri. It’s raining outside? Have Panjeeri. You’re going for a trip? Take Panjeeri with you. You’re in a bad mood? Eat some Panjeeri na! This Panjeeri was the mantra that was supposed to make everything better. And we grandchildren lapped it all up.

Ammiji’s Moong Dal Panjeeri is pure moong dal – no atta, no suji, no other grain. And of course, it has oodles of pure desi ghee and nuts and makhanas. The sugar used for this Panjeeri is raw and organic – we could have preferred using jaggery but Ammiji was insistent that the Panjeeri wouldn’t be crunchy without the sugar. As she said, “Cheeni vi khaani chahidi hai kadi kadi! Haddiyan bandi hain!” 

Use it as your post-meal meetha or your daily spoon of goodness along with breakfast. And rest assured that what you’re consuming is pure protein-packed, gluten-free goodness.

Ingredients:  Moong Dal, Raw Organic Sugar, Cashews, Almonds, Pistachios, Melon Seeds, Fox Nuts, desi Ghee.

Net Weight: 150 gm

Consume within one month of receiving the jar.