Chembur Market:Bengali and South Indian food

Rhea,Saee and I decided to explore the Chembur Market for spices.None of us were familiar with the place but we thought we'd just figure it out.There was not much traffic and I reached early so I dropped in at an aunt's place to ask her about suitable shops.She told me there were several South Indian shops(Tamilian and Canara) near the station.We saw dosa mixes,rasam powders and packs for various curries.

Saee pointed out this amazing bottle of green peppercorns which gives a zingy feeling on having them.I bought that.

Chanced upon the Gongura Pickle which is oh so spicy,with a deep earthy taste! The leaves are ground and added to curries or pickles giving them a bitter-sour taste.This one gets from Andhra Pradesh.

There were several types of small chillies to add to curds.

Next we went to the Bengali shop my cousin Reena suggested.It was by the fish market...a tiny place filled with Bengali pooja supplies and food....a way to connect with my roots! Rhea was there to tell us about each ingredient.We spotted a small version of the masoor dal and moong dal
Found the Radhuni....which is a part of the famous Panch Phoran or Five Spice

The Gobindobhog rice...small and fragrant!

Palm sugar Batashas! These I have had in my childhood...oh well not so long ago..ahem...

and then the Muri and Muri Masala which has raised several debates with Finely Chopped over the issue of bhelpuri versus jhalmuri.

After the walk,we were hungry so we headed for a traditional Mallu meal at Sunny's

The Fish Moily was light.The fish was fresh and cooked so beautifully

as was the Fish Roast which had a spicy and tangy curry leaves and tomato base

Appams and
the classic Kerala parboiled rice....each grain was separate,moist and plump....cooked to perfection and went well with the curries.Good for health too.Now we know why it's called God's own country!

Nothing gives us more pleasure than trying cuisines from various parts of our country....there is so much more to know....