Specialty grocery store

jujuma

Can anyone recommend a grocery store or marketplace in Mumbai that might carry specialty food items from other areas in India? Or even just well-packaged food items I could take overseas as gifts? I'm looking for any small food items or condiments that we don't always see outside India, packaged in a way that won't upset the agriculture inspectors.
Thanks.

icetea

What kind of food items are you talking about? Ready-mades? Spices? Dried-fruits and nuts? You could take any of these and you'll find them in any shop, no need for any speciality store, all stores tend to carry a variety of popular items from all over India.

But I guess you can find most of these items in Indian stores in the US or most of western Europe, so it depends on where you're from.

jujuma

Definitely NOT spices or nuts, which ar you say are available everywhere, in India or out.
The idea came to me while I was eating some kasundi, which I bought in Kolkata a while ago. I've never seen kasundi in either the U.S. or London (or indeed ever before, and I only found it because I read about it on the Kolkata forum) but I think my friends would enjoy a chance to try it. I won't get back to Bengal before I leave India this time, but I do have some days in Mumbai before I leave. I thought that Mumbai being what it is, there might be someplace where I could buy kasundi. Then I thought some more, and wondered if there was some other delicious local condiment that would do just as well. So, any ideas?

AvidTrekker

I am from Mumbai and I want to try out some of this "kasundi" sluuurrp.

Honestly, I have never heard of this name. We many many bongs here who might post a photo for us...

And, yes, it SHOULD be available Mumbai.... even I wanna know where... ???

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icetea

I've never heard of it either, but looks like it's some chilli-mustard chutney. There seems to be a gujarati version also, with tomatoes (and probably sweet).

Well, I guess you should try going to a couple of big supermarkets and go through the ready-mades, chutneys and pickles section, and maybe you can find something there, even if not exactly kasundi. I took some ready-made foods & curry bases with me when I went home and cooked something for friends (heavily diluted, as most wouldn't touch spicy food..). Some regional sweets & snacks would also be a good option, like Haldiram's for example.

ba9rn

Intriguing! According to this recipe site, Kasundi is "Bengali Chili Mustard Relish"

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mumbaipete

Depending on where you are staying in Mumbai, you could check out Crawford Market. It's pretty famous, located near VT Station. They sell most things in there. Probably the easiest thing to take would be spices; saffron, cinnamon, tamarind etc. Other speciality food will be sold by small family shops that will be run by people from the various parts of the country. You will need to ask around locally.

Hope this helps.

icetea

Yes it just occured to me that I often read in the paper about ladies specializing in home-made items from this or that regional cuisine, or often just special sweets or pickles. They make them at home and one can order by phone, so maybe you can ask someone from Mumbai to find such a contact for you.

jujuma

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll see what I can find! Crawford Market is definitely on my list. What's the biggest supermarket chain in Mumbai? Spencers? I'll be staying around Colaba, but will have time to visit different areas.
For the record, the kashundi I bought is like a slightly thin, extra-flavorful mustard. I think it is correctly paired with fish dishes in Bengal (I could be wrong), but I find that it's also nice with fried snacks and in sandwiches. I thought it would be particularly good to take back for my less adventurous friends because it could be used with a lot of non-Indian dishes in place of Dijon or whatever mustard they might normally have.
Personally, I love Indian pickles and chutneys and will be more than game to try whatever I find in Mumbai, specially if they are homemade.

mumbaipete

Marks and Spencer does not sell food in India. There are very few supermarkets, about 96% of the retail in India is owned by small shopkeepers.

Crawford Market is about 20 minutes by taxi from Colaba. If you want to look at a supermarket, the nearest place would probably be Big Bazaar at a shopping complex called Pheonix Mills (the Marks and Spencer store is here). It's located in Lower Parel and is about 40 to 45 minutes away from Colaba by taxi.

anindya911

I have seen Kasundi in "Flavours of Kolkata" at Vashi, Navi Mumbai. One might try at "Howrah" at Crawford Market too.

Returning to the original question of Jujuma,
you have to find out the shops selling regional items like Bengali shop or ever so popular Kerala Shop get the regional specialities.

So keep asking...

Anindya

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