The India Bazaar has become a staple for the Indian and South Asian communities in Dallas. With 5 separate locations, they serve over a thousand people a day throughout the DFW area. It is considered the “Peoples Store” because it was started out of necessity. Until the first store opened in 2004 people from all over Dallas had to travel to one place. The commute gave birth to a desire to be able to shop for Indian goods throughout Dallas and thus the Indian Bazaar was born.
When you walk in you are immediately hit with a smell of Indian spices. I grabbed a cart and went looking throughout. As I was walking throughout I couldn’t help but notice there was a number of foods that I had never seen before. For instance Arvi, or Taro root, a very used root vegetable in Indian and south pacific cooking but not used much here in the United States except for Chinese cooking is sold in abundance. There were many exotic fruits and vegetables. The snack aisle was filled with treats that I couldn’t even decipher but looked amazing. As I walked past a refrigerated area of snacks and desserts a lady walked by and saw me looking at all the different things. She recommended something to me called coconut burfi. Burfi is a very dense sugary milk based treat. It was absolutely delicious and couldn’t have been happier to get such a recommendation.
At the entrance is India Bazaar’s Chaat Café. The Chaat café in India Bazaar has a small kitchen, some tables and a section to keep foods heated. For many people that are not accustomed to the idea of these Chaat café’s it can seem a bit weird to have a café inside a grocery store but it is a staple in Indian life. Most grocery stores have a little café that serves small bites and a unique blend of drinks. I decided to get the mango lassi and samosas. Lassi is a dahl (yogurt) drink with some spices (this one was of course flavored with mango). The samosas are a deep fried pastry with a mixture of spices, potatoes, onions, and peas. Some samosas can be filled with meat such as lamb but this was vegetarian samosa recipe. The spices definitely gave a bit of a spice kick but it was served with a sweet chutney that complimented the heat rather well.
India Bazaar scents and different and culture specific foods definitely transport the senses to another place. The unique foods and the chaat café make this place an India away from India.
