A harvest of wheat

By Glynda Alves

If you’re wondering what a roti concept café is, you’re not alone. Before we stepped into the small but tastefully done up space in a Bandra bylane, we were as baffled. Set up by Raghav Gupta, whose family has been in the atta business for generations, the aim of the café is to give roti a makeover and to inspire a healthier lifestyle for Mumbaikars.

The interiors are surprisingly glamorous for a place that specialises in homely roti and atta. They’ve got an al fresco area as well as a tiny indoor seating area, complete with high chairs and a few tree trunk stools. There’s a typical café-style chalkboard behind the counter displaying the entire wheat-to-roti process and some retro milling equipment. Their aim is to showcase the atta — Multi-grain, Slimming (with spinach, it’s delicious), Women Special, Blood Pressure and Youth Plus, among others.

They serve rotis as wraps with creative fillings such as Butter Bean & Feta, Exotic Veggies in Balsamic, Tandoori Bhindi Aloo, Paneer Shazlik, Char Grilled Fruits and Tofu Paprika. The Butter Bean & Feta wrap (Rs 95) was filling, but the salty feta was used sparingly making the wrap dry and boring after a few bites. Tofu Paprika scored better thanks to the spicy salsa. The Peanut Butter and Jam wrap was tasty, but that’s something even a four-year-old could whip up at home. Their coolers, Apple & Cinnamon and Jasmine & Lemongrass were light, refreshing and not overly sweet. The former, which uses jaggery for sweetness, was especially good.

The more time we spent at Jiwa, the less we felt it was a grab-a-coffeeand-a-bite café. It’s more of a marketing tool for their atta. And a clever one. We bought two neatly packed boxes to take home.

Where: Jiwa Roti Café, Prabhat Kunj, 24th road, next to The Den, Bandra (W) Tel: 9320299480, Price: Wraps (Rs 95), Atta (Rs 100 onwards)