777

777 is a South Indian grocery label built around convenience in the traditional style: sweet syrups for summer drinks, tamarind already pulped, and spice mixes that season a pot of rice in minutes. The flavours are the ones a Tamil or Andhra home cook grew up with, packed so the slow parts of the recipe are done before the jar is opened.

On the drinks side, the brand belongs with our rose syrup and sherbet shelf, with both a floral rose syrup and nannari, the earthy root cordial sold at juice stalls across Tamil Nadu. In the ready meals aisle its rice mixes cover the tangy lemon and tomato styles, and in the pantry its tamarind paste saves soaking and squeezing a block of pods.

Nannari syrup is stirred into chilled water with a squeeze of lime for nannari sarbath, or into cold milk, and rose syrup goes into falooda, milkshakes and pink rose milk. The rice mixes are made for leftover rice: warm a little oil, fold the mix through, and you have chitranna or thakkali sadam for a lunchbox or a long train ride. The tamarind paste works in sambar, rasam, puli kuzhambu and a quick sweet and sour chutney.

Keep opened syrup bottles capped and away from the hob, and refrigerate tamarind paste once the seal is broken so it stays bright and sharp. For other routes to the same dishes, compare our rice mix powders and the wider cordials and syrups range.