A Staple Diet

The humble dal, chawal and roti have never been as fashionable as they are today. Right from Bollywood icons to celebrity chefs to dieticians, everyone, it seems, is talking about the goodness of traditional Indian food. Nowhere is the trend clearer than in a modern retail store where you nowadays see "disproportionate" shelf space being dedicated to Indian staple food such as wheat, pulses and rice. The Rs 25,00,000 crore Indian staples business is certainly gathering steam as branded staples make their way into consumer homes.

Future Group, for instance, sells as many as 100 varieties of rice from Kolam and Sona Masoori to Govind Bhog and, of course, Basmati. Its wheat brand, Desi Atta Company, has close to 57 varieties of flour. Similarly, Godrej Nature's Basket has created a premium staples