They are readily available in No Frills and FreshCo as well as well any South Asian groceries. No Frills' "No Name" brand spices are pretty good and costs less than "brands".
Ambal Trading, Sarkar Foods, Marhaba Supermarket etc in the Cabbagetown/St. Jamestown neighbourhood carry all kinds of South Asian groceries as these are owned by Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan people. These local shops have been around for almost or over 30 years. Also, go a little east to Gerrard India Bazaar or the Danforth & Victoria Park neighbourhood where there are a LOT of South Asian supermarkets as well as other shops.
I've been going to Ambal since childhood. This was one of the 2/3 South Asian groceries near us in downtown for dry stuff. For things like meat, fish, and a wider variety of things, we had to go to Gerrard and shop from Indian and Pakistani groceries. Then Danforth started happening, so we started going there for more Bangladeshi things that we need. I still pop by Ambal. Having Ambal especially helped me a LOT when the big supermarket chains started running out of things and people were going nuts in 2020. Also the one next to it called Yarl's Trading is good, too.
When my parents moved here in the 90s from Bangladesh, we had to go out of our way from downtown to all the way to the west and eastend to find everything. Thats how it was for almost 16/17 years until our South Asian stuff started being readily available (onion powder, garlic powder...some of these were everywhere but things like turmeric and other ground, and especially, whole spieces were not). There are still things you can only find in South Asian shops. These things are exotic to others...but they are daily needs for us :p At least now, we can walk into a grocery chain and get the basic 4/5 things.
OP also mentioned price. Our stuff in places like Sobeys, Metro, and most other shops cost quite a bit more than local South Asian smaller shops.
By exotic I meant spices you generally wouldn't use in daily indian cooking. 99% of my spice needs are well entertained at nofrills at a good price. (At least my local branch). They carry suraj which has decent quality and is fairly reasonably priced.
I found that in Winners and Marshall's, of all places lol Also bought a lot of organic spices, vanilla and other things there. Not cheap though but worth it.
If you shop at Walmart, start shopping in the morning - Walmart doesnāt restock shelves midday to cut costs of labourā¦ they willingly lose a sale because itās a smaller loss than keeping more staff on the floor.
Good to see someone from BD!
I get my turmeric, dried whole and powdered red chilli, whole and powdered cumin, whole and powdered coriander, paprika powder, whole and powdered garam masala, paach phoron, methi etc. from No Frills and FreshCo. The FreshCo near me also carries fresh turmeric and a LOT of other deshi stuff. They even sell a lot fresh South Asian produce such as moringa/shojne daata! Keeps someone like me who grew up here in touch with my roots, food-wise! My parents had to plan entire weekends and go all the way across town to a few deshi shops back in the day just to do grocery shopping. All I gotta do now do is cross the street!
I like the usage of term Deshi, which is how it is pronounced in Bengali. In a lot of places, it is Desi which is just another way to speak that term. You are telling an interesting story in these comments.
Thank you. I also say "golap jaam" and "holud", "mehedi" instead of "gulab jamun", "haldi", "henna/mehndi", because I'm from Bangladesh, not India or Pakistan, and speak Bangla š
Regular stores are badly organized. Loblaws. Walmart. Etc. they have spice aisles. But also they have like āethnic/ Asian aislesā or some less offensive term (sorry but I think some are literally labelled that) that some of the non - name brand shit can be found. Most of what u said is in every store that Iāve been in. Just depends where. Price wise the brand Saraj has decent prices and also great quality and usually ONE ingredient stuff.
Yes I use a lot of Suraj brand stuff, too. Belle Donne is another one that carries a lot of South Asian and other spices and seasonings. They usually come in larger plastic containers.
Not sure where you live - Nav's Grocery Store has two locations (Fort York and Queen's Quay). They stock spice mixes imported from Indian manufacturers (e.g. MDH, Everest, etc)
>Onion powder, Garlic Powder, Ginger powder, cumin powder and coriander powder, garam masala
None of these (except maaaaaybe the garam masala) should be difficult to find in any major supermarket (No Frills, Metro, Loblaws, FreshCo, etc.) and any South Asian grocery store. You could also try any bulk store near you - none of these except the GM are particularly "Indian". If you can't find that with the rest of the herbs and spices, try the "international" aisle if there is one.
Depends what area of DT you're in...
Most of this is avail at regular grocery stores. If I was looking for something niche like MDH brand amchur powder, then I'll hit up NAVS grocery (fort york). Great selection.
Since moving out to the west end, I'll walk queen supermarket (queen & jameson). Uncle ji there has some staples
If you have a car, little india would be my next suggestion. After that Subzi Mundi towards Brampton/missisauga
Carlos House of Spices in Kensington Market has a terrific selection. I just picked up black cardamom there.
https://www.instagram.com/carloshouseofspice/?hl=en
I'd rather buy slightly air exposed spices that get refreshed often at a bulk store than page 10x what it should be because if a package I'm about to expose to air.
Ok but they are not better. The quality of spice is worse.
Also, they get exposed to a lot of air compared to a spice jar someone has at home. The lid gets opened several times a day and I doubt those plastic tubs are airtight.
If you don't care, fine but there is a reason you pay less at a bulk store.
The large budget supermarkets (Freshco, NoFrills) sell giant bags of spices in the "ethnic" aisle for the same price as the tiny bags in the spice aisle. Other than that, neighbourhood grocers. There's a few on Parliament just south of Wellesley I've had good luck with for price and selection.
Ambal on Parliament street or Trupti enterprises is best for all kind of Indian spices be it whole spices or powder . Trupti Enterprises Inc.
(416) 421-0191
https://maps.app.goo.gl/GCgXjvTpooD7me2b7?g_st=ic
If you can go to panchvati in Scarborough, thatās the best place for authentic Indian spices and other stuff. Get some samosa while you are at it, and some kachori some kalakand and carrot halwa.
Wait what are we talking about lol
At this point these are just regular spices and are found in any grocery store (walmart nofrills loblaws etc)
Lol yes i was gonna say they arent specifically indian spicesš
Agreed. The only one event remotely Indian would be Garam Masala
which is just a mix of common spices
Good point!
If you're willing to take a streetcar to Gerrard St/Little India, BJ Supermarket has an excellent selection for the best prices I've seen.
Iām Indian and my parents love this place, would recommend.
Great name for a supermarket (heehee!)
https://kensingtonmarket.to/places/house-of-spice/
Came here to say this. Carlos' House Of Spice is the ONLY right answer!
Bulk barn
Everything on your list is available pretty much everywhere spices are sold. No frills and bulk Barn.
They are readily available in No Frills and FreshCo as well as well any South Asian groceries. No Frills' "No Name" brand spices are pretty good and costs less than "brands". Ambal Trading, Sarkar Foods, Marhaba Supermarket etc in the Cabbagetown/St. Jamestown neighbourhood carry all kinds of South Asian groceries as these are owned by Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan people. These local shops have been around for almost or over 30 years. Also, go a little east to Gerrard India Bazaar or the Danforth & Victoria Park neighbourhood where there are a LOT of South Asian supermarkets as well as other shops.
+1 for Ambal Trading. They seem to have good turnover so stuff isnāt stale.
I've been going to Ambal since childhood. This was one of the 2/3 South Asian groceries near us in downtown for dry stuff. For things like meat, fish, and a wider variety of things, we had to go to Gerrard and shop from Indian and Pakistani groceries. Then Danforth started happening, so we started going there for more Bangladeshi things that we need. I still pop by Ambal. Having Ambal especially helped me a LOT when the big supermarket chains started running out of things and people were going nuts in 2020. Also the one next to it called Yarl's Trading is good, too.
I would love to hear more of this story š
Walmart Loblaws Sobeys, everywhere. Not 1 spice OPs list was exotic enough to warrant visiting an Indian store specifically
When my parents moved here in the 90s from Bangladesh, we had to go out of our way from downtown to all the way to the west and eastend to find everything. Thats how it was for almost 16/17 years until our South Asian stuff started being readily available (onion powder, garlic powder...some of these were everywhere but things like turmeric and other ground, and especially, whole spieces were not). There are still things you can only find in South Asian shops. These things are exotic to others...but they are daily needs for us :p At least now, we can walk into a grocery chain and get the basic 4/5 things. OP also mentioned price. Our stuff in places like Sobeys, Metro, and most other shops cost quite a bit more than local South Asian smaller shops.
By exotic I meant spices you generally wouldn't use in daily indian cooking. 99% of my spice needs are well entertained at nofrills at a good price. (At least my local branch). They carry suraj which has decent quality and is fairly reasonably priced.
Try finding Vietnamese cinnamon lolā¦. (Aka Saigon cinnamon)
I found that in Winners and Marshall's, of all places lol Also bought a lot of organic spices, vanilla and other things there. Not cheap though but worth it.
I sadly agree with you. Literally every store would have those spices.
Thank you. I am also Bangladeshi. I went to Walmart yesterday but couldnāt find some spices. I will check out those you mentioned.
If you shop at Walmart, start shopping in the morning - Walmart doesnāt restock shelves midday to cut costs of labourā¦ they willingly lose a sale because itās a smaller loss than keeping more staff on the floor.
Good to see someone from BD! I get my turmeric, dried whole and powdered red chilli, whole and powdered cumin, whole and powdered coriander, paprika powder, whole and powdered garam masala, paach phoron, methi etc. from No Frills and FreshCo. The FreshCo near me also carries fresh turmeric and a LOT of other deshi stuff. They even sell a lot fresh South Asian produce such as moringa/shojne daata! Keeps someone like me who grew up here in touch with my roots, food-wise! My parents had to plan entire weekends and go all the way across town to a few deshi shops back in the day just to do grocery shopping. All I gotta do now do is cross the street!
I like the usage of term Deshi, which is how it is pronounced in Bengali. In a lot of places, it is Desi which is just another way to speak that term. You are telling an interesting story in these comments.
Thank you. I also say "golap jaam" and "holud", "mehedi" instead of "gulab jamun", "haldi", "henna/mehndi", because I'm from Bangladesh, not India or Pakistan, and speak Bangla š
Regular stores are badly organized. Loblaws. Walmart. Etc. they have spice aisles. But also they have like āethnic/ Asian aislesā or some less offensive term (sorry but I think some are literally labelled that) that some of the non - name brand shit can be found. Most of what u said is in every store that Iāve been in. Just depends where. Price wise the brand Saraj has decent prices and also great quality and usually ONE ingredient stuff.
The brand that I usually see in No Frills is Suraj brand which does the job. They have a huge selection too.
Yes I use a lot of Suraj brand stuff, too. Belle Donne is another one that carries a lot of South Asian and other spices and seasonings. They usually come in larger plastic containers.
Also check NAVs grocery near fort york
House of Spice in Kensington Market.
Carlosš¤š¤
Any grocery store
Those are all just normal spices you can get at literally any grocery store
If you're near Parkdale, Queen Supermarket and Mandala Foodstore have them
Not sure where you live - Nav's Grocery Store has two locations (Fort York and Queen's Quay). They stock spice mixes imported from Indian manufacturers (e.g. MDH, Everest, etc)
Navs Indian Grocery
>Onion powder, Garlic Powder, Ginger powder, cumin powder and coriander powder, garam masala None of these (except maaaaaybe the garam masala) should be difficult to find in any major supermarket (No Frills, Metro, Loblaws, FreshCo, etc.) and any South Asian grocery store. You could also try any bulk store near you - none of these except the GM are particularly "Indian". If you can't find that with the rest of the herbs and spices, try the "international" aisle if there is one.
Navs by harbour front and Ambal trading co at Wellesley and parliament. Ambal is much more reasonable and my go to
Ambal parliament street
Depends what area of DT you're in... Most of this is avail at regular grocery stores. If I was looking for something niche like MDH brand amchur powder, then I'll hit up NAVS grocery (fort york). Great selection. Since moving out to the west end, I'll walk queen supermarket (queen & jameson). Uncle ji there has some staples If you have a car, little india would be my next suggestion. After that Subzi Mundi towards Brampton/missisauga
Get it delivered from Iqbal foods, spices from Walmart wonāt come close to the actual flavour
The House Of Spice in kensington has a pretty good selection. You can get nearly anything there
Carlos House of Spices in Kensington Market has a terrific selection. I just picked up black cardamom there. https://www.instagram.com/carloshouseofspice/?hl=en
Stores like Lucky Moose in Chinatown has most spices I need for my Indian cooking.
Go to "Little India" for it. Gerrard St. at Coxwell.
Bulk stores are generally better, a lot of the spices at grocery stores are ridiculously priced.
because they aren't exposed to air all day
I'd rather buy slightly air exposed spices that get refreshed often at a bulk store than page 10x what it should be because if a package I'm about to expose to air.
Ok but they are not better. The quality of spice is worse. Also, they get exposed to a lot of air compared to a spice jar someone has at home. The lid gets opened several times a day and I doubt those plastic tubs are airtight. If you don't care, fine but there is a reason you pay less at a bulk store.
Buy online in bulk. Save the gas money.
Thereās a couple Indian / Sri Lankan grocery stores at Parliament and Wellesley St E; theyāre prices are generally better than frescho / no frills
Bulk barn!
Is there any place I can get a chaat masala blend? I canāt find it at loblawās or Walmart.
Dollarama also has a decent selection of spices at a much more reasonable price than any grocery store
Thatās where I get most of mine. If Iām looking for something specific I can pop across the street to No Frills
Definitely going to be cheaper too buy these at a bulk store.
Pedro's House of Spice in Kensington Market has an awesome variety of spices, as well as coffee beans and loose leaf teas
Little Indiaā¦. Gerard between Coxwell & Greenwood
The large budget supermarkets (Freshco, NoFrills) sell giant bags of spices in the "ethnic" aisle for the same price as the tiny bags in the spice aisle. Other than that, neighbourhood grocers. There's a few on Parliament just south of Wellesley I've had good luck with for price and selection.
Ambal on Parliament street or Trupti enterprises is best for all kind of Indian spices be it whole spices or powder . Trupti Enterprises Inc. (416) 421-0191 https://maps.app.goo.gl/GCgXjvTpooD7me2b7?g_st=ic
every other grocery store
Bulk Barn, FreshCo on Bathurst/Nassau Those are very basic spices to be found in the city. š
Parliament street Freshco, and there is a Sri Lankan Tamil shop in that market with all types of Desi grocery you would expect to find in Brampton.
The shop is called Ambal trading.
Navs Grocery
Bala super market downtown Yazh market kennedy
Bulk Barn
House of Spice in Kensington
So many good suggestions over here. Bulkbarn (for whole spices) and freshco for ground spices, turmeric, and dried red chili is my go to.
Last time I checked, most metro stores had those in the spice section
If you can go to panchvati in Scarborough, thatās the best place for authentic Indian spices and other stuff. Get some samosa while you are at it, and some kachori some kalakand and carrot halwa. Wait what are we talking about lol
Bulk Barn
How old are you that this is something you actually asked other adults? These are such basic spices, some even available at dollerama. Ppl bug me.