Multi-purpose bamboo cylinders

A friend brought back sweet-smelling scroll-holders from Calcutta. Only these netted bamboo cylinders were bursting with inviting spice mixes, rustled up by Rakhi Purnima Dasgupta, proprietor of the famed Kewpie’s Kitchen. Admittedly, the service at Kewpie’s can been excruciatingly slow, although the tiny restaurant in Elgin Lane commands a dedicated following. Now there is the DIY option. An enclosed parchment tells you exactly what to do with the concoctions. Mine were cosmopolitan picks — masalas for Anglo-Indian style ‘ball curry’, ‘shakuti’ and ‘junglee pulao’. There is more standard fare on offer as well: spices for chorchori, malai curry, kosha, kalia…mmm.