A World of Spices at the Cape

I miss the old pink building of Atlas Trading in upper Wale Street in Cape Town. One could still scoop your basmati rice into a brown paper bag from the wooden boxes filled with different kinds of rice.  From plain Basmati, brown Basmati to Jasmine and Fragrant rice. The shop has now moved a bit higher up in the Bo-Kaap to 104 Wale Street.  It is now housed in a bright red and yellow painted building.

One can smell the shop from the corner of Rose Street. The fragrance of a thousand different kinds of herbs, spices and incense comes to meet you on the corner and seduces you into a world of wonder.

Entering the shop one gets a glimpse of the history of exotic spice trading. The senses are overwhelmed by sight and smell. It’s a different world of flavours and ingredients that greets one. If you do not know specifically what you want, you could get lost in the selection of exotic ingredients. There are spices, oils, curries, henna, masala, incense, dried legumes and fresh ingredients for curry, and much more.

Atlas Trading has been selling spices since 1946. Most of the spices are bought whole and imported from India. They are then ground here ensuring that one will always buy the purest spices. One product that is sourced locally is the special sugar bean that is grown in South Africa.

Atlas Trading is a treasure trove of flavours with Saffron, Kasoori Methi, Javitri, Chakra Phool, Jaiphal, Nag Keshar, Safed Mirchi, and so on. The names on the rows and rows of packets, comes and sits on your tongue like enchanted words from an exotic land.

Wahab R. Ahmed, his brother and two cousins are the second generation to run the shop. Wahab explains that the best Basmati rice comes from India. The thing about basmati is that the older the rice is, the better it cooks.  If Basmati rice is too fresh it cooks soft, so it needs to lie for a few years. 

Okra or 'lady fingers'

One can buy whole spice to grind and blend your own if you know how, or you can buy the trusted 12-in-1 Leaf Masala that can be used with any meat, vegetables or fish curry. You can even get a free recipe to guide you in making a delicious curry if you don’t know how.

Atlas Trading is a part of Cape Town’s history as much as the colourful houses around it that line the streets of Bo-Kaap.

Karipatta or curry leaves

As usual, I leave the shop with much more than the aged basmati rice that I came to buy. I walk down Wale Street with a trail of exotic fragrances following me out of this vibrant and exciting experience.  When I turn into Bree Street I can still savour masala, nutmeg, star aniseed, cinnamon and a hint of rose incense.