INDIAN AND ASIAN SUPERMARKETS

[Chippychap]

I guess most folk who dabble in the magic of spicy cooking have a favourite supermarket.
Spices much fresher and at a fraction of the price charged by the mainstream ones.
We recommend Indian/Asian restaurants what about the shops as well?

[haldi]

I've got two big Asian supermarkets near me
Tastee & Medina
Both are on Radford Road, Nottingham
Medina is the better of the two
It has spices stocked in all sized bags, including the really huge ones
It looks like you can get half a cinnamon tree in one pack!!
The same goes for cooking oil, they come in small barrels
There is a wonderfull choice of exotic fruit and veg, and also Brisish veg too.
At the moment they are selling boxes of five indian mangoes for three pound fifty.
That price comes down to an amazing two pound fifty when the Pakistani mangoes finally arrive.
Pakistani Gold mangoes are amazing, the aroma is like nothing else
Sweet & heavy
They also have a frozen section
It's full of weird fish. samosas, spring rolls and goodness know what else!
The sell herbs too
Mint, fenugreek,thyme and of course coriander
I don't know why, but coriander is a bit expensive at the minute
But you can still pick up two for a pound
It used to be three for a pound
There are pickles & pastes by Pataks,Ahmed, Tiger,Tim Tom and many others
You can buy these in barrels too
There is half an ailse of Asian sweets and bombay mixes too
At the end of the shop is a large meat section
This is all Halal meat
When you have a bought curry it will be Halal
It's important to remember that the curries we love are made with very few ingredients
It's very tempting to to overbuy
You end up with spices  that you only ever use a teaspoon from it's bag
Try to have the right money, when paying
You can't assume the change will be correct
I hope that doesn't sound bad, but I've realised a problem too late, a few times
You must check fruit/veg quality too
Sometimes you can get a mouldy box of something
All the same, Medina is a magical shop
I highly recommend a visit & I bet you spend a small fortune!!

[JerryM]

spot on advice by Haldi.

although u naturally tend to end up with a fav shop - i feel it's the brands that they stock to be crucial in getting closer to the taste ie Rajah, TRS, KTC, Natco, Supreme.

the uk supermarket stuff is naff in comparison.

[haldi]

the uk supermarket stuff is naff in comparison.

Hi Jerry
        My local Asda Supermarket is near these Asian shops
They keep trying to edge in on the market
So far they stock KTC oil & gram flour
But their range of Pataks pastes and East End spices are very limited
They are good on price though
They have started selling big bags of cheap onions too
In truth, it's probably all you would need
But it's not as much fun as a stroll round an Asian supermarket

[JerryM]

Haldi,

we too live in asda (feel prices are being hiked for profit at the mo). of course asda stuff is not really completely naff.

the stuff i don't buy from asda though where i see a big difference in taste are the things like ground spices (ie paprika, curry powder, masala's), rice.

then there are the things on price like whole spices (coriander etc) and fresh ingredients (garlic, toms, coriander plant), cream coconut, cofresh balti mix 500g and olive oil 5L (although veg oil surprisingly is not competitive).

like everything u've still got to keep your onions and compare the prices - asda big bag onions 1.75/5kg looks good but 0.89/10kg is even better.

wholeheartedly agree on the fun of the stroll round and chat to the staff.

[Bobby Bhuna]

I love the Indian supermarket near me. Pretty much exactly what Haldi described in his post. I was really shocked at a 3.5kg jar of lime pickle for a bargain ?3.50. The label says you can only keep it for a month once open though, although I find that quite hard to believe.

I know what Haldi means about the overbuying. I buy all kinds of nonsense that I never use again. The latest additions are Panch Puren - making my rice taste worse, and deghi mirch - the equivalent to a 70/30 red food colouring/chilli powder mix, that no matter how much I add, doesn't get the curry hot enough... There are many others.

In passing, I always liked TRS, especially their extra hot chilli. However I bought a pack of their special madras popodums and they're crap. Don't buy them, they're very greasy.

[JerryM]

i wish our local was closer - i think i'd be in there everyday.

Bobby on the panch puran - i use it to make garam masala and on the deggi i add it to tikka chicken at the lemon juice stage - it adds the authentic red surface to the meat without the heat of chilli.

[Bobby Bhuna]

Bobby on the panch puran - i use it to make garam masala and on the deggi i add it to tikka chicken at the lemon juice stage - it adds the authentic red surface to the meat without the heat of chilli.

Hey Jerry, I actually have all the whole ingredients for most garam masala recipes, and the panch puren had one thing I don't have in cupboard - I can't remember the name. I just bought it for CA's latest rice recipe and don't really like the change.

As far as my Tikka chicken goes, I let Pataks tend to the colour What Tikka recipe are you using?

[JerryM]

Bobby,

i've only used CA's. i read somewhere on the site to put the chicken in lemon juice and salt for a couple of hrs 1st before adding the rest of the ingredients. i now add the deggi with the lemon juice and salt.

[Bobby Bhuna]

i now add the deggi with the lemon juice and salt.

Thanks Jerry, I will try adding some Deggi next time and let you know how I get on.

Cheers, BB.