Brass Spice Box
Brass Spice Box
In stock now. Pre orders from 29 October, first 50 gift boxed.
Couldn't load pickup availability
- Handmade in the Indian subcontinent
- Free UK delivery over £85
Indian kitchens worked out spice storage generations ago. The masala dabba is one round brass box with seven bowls inside and one lid on top, and almost every Indian home has one.
If you grew up with one, you already know. If you did not, think of it as the end of the cupboard full of mismatched jars: the spices you cook with every day, together, within reach, open in one move.
It is not a novelty and it does not belong in a culture aisle. It belongs next to your hob.
Size and material
Size and material
Care
Care
Every day: hand wash with mild soap and dry straight away. No dishwasher.
When it dulls: rub with a paste of Pitambari powder and water, leave it a minute, then rinse.
Always: dry fully with a soft cloth.
A small Pitambari sample comes with every order.
Delivery and returns
Delivery and returns
Free UK delivery on orders over £85.
Full details in our shipping policy and returns policy.
The object
A storage system in one piece
Seven removable bowls sit in a round brass base under a single etched lid. One spice to a bowl, so everything you reach for while cooking lives in one place and moves as one piece, from shelf to counter and back.
Lift the bowls out to wash or refill them. Arrange them in the order you cook. The lid keeps light and dust out between meals.
Classic is 21.5 cm across, for a full spice rotation. Mini is 15 cm, for a smaller counter.
Ways to use it
For your spices and beyond
Cooking
By the hob
Turmeric, cumin, mustard seed and chilli in one box next to the stove. Lift the lid, take a pinch, close it again.
Chai station
On the counter
Loose tea, sugar, cardamom and ginger kept together, so the morning chai is ready in the time the water boils.
Serving
When friends drop by
Namkeen, nuts or a few Parle-G biscuits, set out in seven small bowls on one tray.
Mukhwas
After dinner
Fill the bowls with saunf, mishri and dried fruit and pass it round the table once the plates are cleared.
Drinks
For mulled wine nights
Star anise, cinnamon, cardamom and orange peel in one place, ready for mulled wine or a hot toddy.
Decor
For the festive table
Marigold, rose and jasmine in the bowls make a centrepiece for Diwali, Eid or any table that needs some colour.
The maker
Made in Moradabad
From our visit to the brass workshops in Moradabad.
Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh is known as Peetal Nagri, the brass city. Most of its workshops are run by the families who started them, and each step, from casting to polishing, is done by a different specialist.
We visited the workshop behind our brass. It is smaller than most London kitchens: one bare bulb, moulds stacked on the floor. Your spice box is shaped and finished there, then polished by hand before it leaves.
Questions
