When I heard we were going to a place called India Bazaar, I will admit I was a bit nervous. I’ve never been one to experiment with new foods, and I really don’t fare well with spices. I was definitely not sure what to expect when I got there. I was expecting a small restaurant in a strip mall, with little space and strong scents of the various foods they served. What I got instead was a large market with an amazing variety of Indian foods to choose from.

First, we went to Rajula’s Kitchen Express, a small cafe inside the market. They served a variety of Indian Appetizers, from Vegetable Samosa’s to Chilli Pakora to Aloo Vada. They also had a section of sweets, such as Rice Kheer. While these sound interesting, Unfortunately, I’m not very familiar with most of the items they offered. I knew I wanted to avoid anything too hot, so I decided to play it safe, and ordered a Mango Lassi. It is an extremely sweet drink, has the consistency of a smoothy, but no chunks of ice or other things floating around. It takes the idea of a smoothy to a whole new level. As someone who has never actually had a mango, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the Mango Lassi. It was incredible! I wish I could have finished it, but it was so sweet I had to drink it slowly to appreciate the flavor.

Rajula’s is an example of a chaat cafe, a new idea for the United States, which is slowly gaining popularity. Arijit Sen explains, “chaat cafes are places that accommodate everyday practices of immigrants, while also catering to the needs and activities of nonimmigrant customers” (Sen 9). This is very evident at India Bazaar’s cafe. It seems, from our visit, that many of the people shopping at the market have some Indian background. The store has many things to appeal to this group. Beyond the obvious answer of selling Indian food which is otherwise more difficult to come by, they also have many paintings of various Hindu gods behind the counter and all throughout the store. Yet India Bazaar also had a distinctly American side, being built in the same style as many American stores. The staff at Rajula’s was also incredibly helpful, explaining what different foods were and giving us recommendations. The store does an excellent job catering both to the wants of people of Indian background as well as those of us less familiar with the culture.

I was blown away by the variety of foods they served in the store. They had everything from coconuts and all sorts of fruits, to a freezer full of various flavors of ice cream! There was an entire aisle devoted to various sorts of rice, all labeled in several languages. Another section included tea cookies and wafers of many varieties. I was familiar with a few of these from other markets around town. However, the vast majority of the foods India Bazaar were items that weren’t carried by most American supermarkets. It was a fascinating experience visiting India Bazaar and seeing the awesome blending of cultures there.

 

source(s):
Sen, Arijit. “From Curry Mahals to Chaat Cafes:.” Curried Cultures: Globalization, Food, and South Asia. Vol. 34. Berkeley, CA: U of California, 2012. 196-218. Print.