Shopping Notes

Buying and storing spices

The best places to buy spices are usually Indian grocery stores, as the prices will be much lower than western-style supermarkets. If you like in the south bay or penninsula, India Cash and Carry has locations in Sunnyvale, Fremont, and Foster City. These stores are very large and carry a wide variety of groceries, including lots of pre-packaged spices. In the East Bay, Viks Retail has very good quality packaged spices. If you want to buy small quantities of spices, Milan Bazaar (990 University Avenue, Berkeley), has open bins of spices and you can buy as little (or much) as you like. Milan has the widest variety of spices I've found anywhere, another plus.

To store spices, keep them in a cool, dark location. Stored properly, ground spices stay at their best for only about 3 months, while whole spices keep well for a year or more. Spices kept to long start to lose their flavor.

Try adding some rotis (chapatis) to your diet

Many Indian dishes taste very good with rotis, also called chapatis. These are whole wheat flat breads that look somewhat like small tortillas. Most Indian grocery stores carry them in packages. We freeze the packages, so we always have rotis on hand. To heat them up, put the frozen rotis on a plate in the microwave. We usually heat about 5 rotis at a time, in a stack, which takes about 1 minute to cook. Serve immediately after heating them. (You can also serve them wrapped in a napkin, to keep them warm and soft for a little longer.)

The quality of the rotis available varies greatly. The best are usually just made with flour, water, and a small amount of oil, but some brands add all kinds of other suspect-looking ingredients. We particularly like the Gujarati Phulka rotis made by Kokila's Kitchen. They come in a silver, resealable packet. (We have found them at the India Cash and Carry in Sunnyvale.)