Why oh why have I never gone to the Asian supermarket before??

Need2bthrifty

I know it’s been mentioned before on this Forum that Asian Supermarkets are better for buying spices etc but Aberdeenshire does not have a vast amount of these stores that are easily accessible neither is it the best place to try and source foodstuffs from all corners of the world. But today I made a special effort to visit one of the few Asian Stores in the area to try and source ingredients not available in a couple of the big 4 I have locally.

I was astonished at how much cheaper this store was. From memory I thought that most supermarket pkts/jars of spices were around a pound but checked their websites when I got home and WHOOOOH :j, I will definitely be going back to this shop when I’m in that part of town and need to top up on spices, lentils and other ingredients for my Indian style cooking.

I specifically went in search of and found Black Cardamon pods 50g - 1.99, not available at sainsbugs/Mr T’s. Also not available in my local stores was Gram Flour but got 2kg - 1.99/online - sainsbugs 1kg = 1.75/Mr T’s 500g = 1.59.

I also topped up on Grd Cumin 100g = 0.89p/sainsers Schw@rt$ 28g = 1.48/Mr T, OB, 43g = 0.95
Grd Turmeric 100g 0.89p/sainers OB, 51g = 0.78p/Mr T OB, 45g = 0.58
Grd Coriander 100g 0.79p/sainers OB, 34g = 0.95p/Mr T OB, 45g = 0.58p

I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea but I use loads of cumin/coriander in soups, chilli, bean casserole, lentils and anything else that I that I think could use something to give it a “lift” from the ordinary.

I suppose with 2kg of Gram Flour I will be making loads of Pakora :rotfl:, but with a Best Before date of Dec 2012 I should get through it .

moneysaverboy

sounds like you had a good shop there. I find the cinnamon bark these places sell is a brilliant buy personally - just as flavoursome as the cinnamon sticks you can get in supermarkets and fraction of the cost.

katskorner

moneysaverboy wrote: »

sounds like you had a good shop there. I find the cinnamon bark these places sell is a brilliant buy personally - just as flavoursome as the cinnamon sticks you can get in supermarkets and fraction of the cost.

oh yes I buy this to flavour my rice with turmeric to make my own pilau - gorgeous!

Need2bthrifty

Thanks moneysaverboy, that's added to my shopping list along with a huge bag of dried chillies and 100g of Chilli powder for 0.89p :j.

Forgot to mention I also got a large bag of Fresh Curry Leaves, think it was about 80p, so I'm drying them off at present to keep me going throughout the winter months.

The only thing I couldn't get was dried fenugreek leaves, it was only when I got home and searched on T'Internet that I realised I should have been looking for "Menthi", cause the guy serving me didn't know what I was looking for, my fault not his.

hkminca

I used to buy trays of eggs for £1.50 and a sack of spuds for £2.50 from the local indian store when I lived in the city. For some reason toilet rolls were really cheap too, and sold individually!

anniemf2508

We used our local chinese supermarket alot as my husband is a coeliac and they sell all the specialist flours (gram, rice, tapioca etc) at a fraction of the price of the normal shops.

candygirl

I get tons of stuff from mine inc mahoosive bags of chick peas, lentils etc.Also get rose water for a toner, and the fruit and veg is ace:D:D:D

Need2bthrifty

hkminca wrote: »

I used to buy trays of eggs for £1.50 and a sack of spuds for £2.50 from the local indian store when I lived in the city. For some reason toilet rolls were really cheap too, and sold individually!

I didnt notice any toilet rolls, its not a large shop but stocks Halal meat, a small amount of fresh fruit/veg and mainly store cupboard stuff.

candygirl

They're not big on using toilet rolls IYSWIM:D;)

Need2bthrifty

candygirl wrote: »

They're not big on using toilet rolls IYSWIM:D;)

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: - Now, Now, behave (wagging finger)

valk_scot

We used to live close to a row of small asian greengrocers and for these five years we practically went vegetarian, the produce was so cheap, fresh and tempting. They sold all the spices etc loose as well so we could really go to town on exotic ingredients. One shop used to stock home made pickles and chutneys at rock bottom prices too. I really miss that place.

Nowadays though we've got a big Tesco with an ethnic ingredients aisle and I can find spices, daals, rice etc there in big bags at a fraction of the cost of the silly little jars and packs in the next aisle. Well worth checking out if you have such a thing. 2Kg of tarka daal or red lentils for £1.99 for example.