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A New Kind of Grocery

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Last week, I discovered something entirely new. Taj Grocers and Taj Chaat House in Plano, Texas was nothing like I expected it to be. I went in to the evening overwhelmed by homework in other classes, and with absolutely no clue what the evening had in store for me. When I first decided to go on this field trip, I was expecting to visit a tiny little Indian market with a food truck out back that served Chaat. What I discovered upon completing the drive to Plano was something entirely different. Taj Grocers was a full-on grocery store, comparable in size to Kroger’s or Tom Thumb. And in the back of the market was a full-on café of delicious and inexpensive Indian food. Any one riding in the car with me knew my surprise. But I was excited to try something new. This was the first time in my life visiting an Indian Grocery store, I’m not even positive I knew they existed before our field trip, but I’m glad that I have discovered them.

After wandering around the store for a few minutes my growling stomach became my priority and I made my way back to the Chaat House. I’ve had Indian food before since my parents are big fans of it, but my knowledge of Indian food is pretty limited to chicken tika masala, naan, and anything I have retained from our Sen readings. After Professor Ball-Phillips kindly translated and explained every food option on the menu, I decided to try something new. I ordered the paneer masala, but they were out and therefore I quickly just asked for whatever the person in front of me had ordered. A combination of my inability to know enough of the food to try something new and slight panic as the line grew longer behind me drove my decision, but it ended up working out well. I asked for my meal with medium spice, not knowing that Aloo Gobi’s mild is about as spicy as I’ll go, but with the help of about 10 glasses of water I was able to enjoy my meal.

After eating as much as my stomach could handle, I returned to the grocery part of the store, determined to find an Indian snack I had never tried before. I eventually decided on Peanut Tikki and dried mangoes, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. By the end of the evening, my other homework was no longer hanging over my head and I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to see something so different than I was accustomed to. I’m very glad I spent my Tuesday evening in the Taj Grocery and Chaat House and I would love to go back again some time!IMG_0880

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