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An Indian afternoon in the snow…

January 11, 2010 12 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized

VBs supermarket, cheap, full of Indian products and spices…absolutely jam packed on a Sunday

Bought myself a roti board and rolling pin

Pickles and chutneys

Jaggery loaves in hessian

Beautifully laid out fruit and veg

There are many kinds of basmati, they will give you advice which is the best


Once more my blogging friend Bellaphon takes me on a trip…this time to the Sri Lankan ‘Oxford Street’ between Alperton and Wembley.

What a wondrous place it is… you can get a makeover as an Indian bride for £200 in one of the beauty shops…fantastic pound shops…I bought me plenty of kitsch kitchenware for The Underground Restaurant… exotic fruit (baby clementines!) and vegetable shops laden with mirrors and shrines…enormous and cheap Indian supermarkets. I was told off for taking pictures at the latter…a small squat Indian woman said to me very crossly

“Photographs are forbidden”

“Why?” I argued.

I mean, really, how can taking pictures of jaggery in sack cloth be wrong?

She carried on “This is private property”

I continued to argue back “It’s not like I’m going to say anything bad about this place…I love it!”

She started to relent, saying, more doubtfully cos basically it sounded like she’d made up this rule… “I’m sure my bosses wouldn’t like it..”

“Bring me your boss! I’ll talk to him” I said cheerfully.

She followed me around a bit then gave up, and showed me the amazing buckets of pickles that you can buy by weight.
We ate at Jashan which is a kind of fusion restaurant, very cheap, of Chinese and Indian food. I spoke to the waiter who was Nepalese, but brought up in India.

“Indians think Chinese food is too bland, so we like to add spices” he explained.

This led to some very odd concoctions like dumplings with curry, Chinese battered fried mushrooms in a sort of chilli sauce. Not all of it was successful but there were some excellent dishes in the complicated and extensive menu.
Highlights:
Makai paneer ke Pakore
Sweet corn and cottage cheese fritters with yoghurt. Absolutely delicious, especially with coriander and mint chutney; mango and turmeric chutney.
Dahi Batata Puri
Outstanding, mini puris and potatoes covered in yoghurt, ice cold, a typical street food in India.
Pudhini paratha, mint bread. Very nice.
Plain pilao: beautifully saffron coloured rice topped with cashews.
Kesar Badam Bahar: almond kulfi with saffron sauce. Nice.
OK but not for me:
Chilli mushrooms.
Lowlights:
Chinese/Indian fusion: cheese pao bhaji, supposed to be dumplings but in fact was a sloppy veg mix with melted cheese and two hamburger buns. Odd.
Kaju Mutter: cashew nut and pea curry. Too hot at ‘medium’ and I like hot food. Not sure cashews and peas go together.
About £15 -20 a head.
Jashan
1-2 Coronet Parade, Ealing Road, Wembley, London, HA0 4AY
Telephone: 0208 900 9800

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TheFastestIndian

    January 12, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    Oh, love Ealing Road- and it's ages since I've been now. Brill cash and carrys, etc.
    And I don't think the pao bhaji is any kind of chinese derivative. The pao bit is a bread roll (from the Portuguese) that you normally have toasted with loads of butter, and the bhaji bit is a potato curry. Think it's really popular in Bombay as I'd never even heard of it until I went there.

    Reply
  2. Fat Les

    January 12, 2010 at 7:51 pm

    Hey MsM, TFI is right, I misled you, pao just sounds like bao in Chinese for buns. I love the place and the Nepalese Gurkha manager was, you've gotta admit; a dude.

    Reply
  3. shayma

    January 13, 2010 at 2:05 am

    tee hee, i think us South Asians are just a bit paranoid, we make up rules, but there is no logic behind it. i SO want to eat those daihee puris! regrettably, my stomach cant take street food in pakistan anymore 🙁 typhoid is not what i want to get, anytime soon! ouch. interesting post and brava for insisting on taking photos- why not? it's a shop and they are not carrying any dresses which you are photographing to copy!

    Reply
  4. Scarlett the Heavenly Healer

    January 15, 2010 at 12:46 am

    Looks like the best supermarket! Take me with you next time you go please!

    Reply
  5. fingersandtoes

    January 18, 2010 at 7:45 am

    oooh, thank you for posting this! It's 9 hours since I got back from Sri Lanka and I'm craving the food already (actually, I've been staying in a posh hotel with European breakfasts the past few days and I'm really craving milk rice, roti, dal and sambal for my breakfast today – sadly, not going to happen). I brought some ingredients back with me but needed to find somewhere in London where I can buy other Sri Lankan ingredients! If I could find red rice I'd be really happy.

    Reply
  6. fingersandtoes

    January 18, 2010 at 7:49 am

    ps I've already had my Indian bride(smaid) makeover… photos to come once I can bully them out of someone who had a camera with them on the day (turns out a DSLR can NOT be hidden in a sari). My henna is still there, but very faded!

    Reply
  7. Helen T

    February 14, 2010 at 8:47 pm

    Sounds fantastic afternoon. I'm lucky to live near Leicester, and I love an afternoon in the supermarket and lunch at Bobbys or somewhere like Kayal. The prices are always amazing compared to somewhere like Tesco.

    Reply
  8. Douglas Blyde

    March 22, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    Vot a Bonanza!

    Reply
  9. Gourmet Chick

    March 22, 2010 at 7:57 pm

    I have just got back from Sri Lanka (and discovered jaggery!) so looks like I will have to head here.

    Reply
  10. mina

    April 16, 2010 at 9:57 pm

    reading this blog was a terrible idea. i am starving.

    Reply
  11. theundergroundrestaurant

    April 16, 2010 at 10:02 pm

    LOL…

    Reply
  12. ButterYum

    April 26, 2010 at 12:38 pm

    Black Raspberries:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_occidentalis

    Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

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