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When was the last time you wandered around the ethnic markets in your area? You know, the Polish deli where more of the signs are in Polish instead of English, the Mexican bodega where you can get fresh tortillas?

Wednesday I took my mother to Devon Avenue in the West Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, home to the urban Indian and Pakistani community. My mother, who has exhausted her options at her local suburban grocery stores wasn’t sure why I would suggest an Indo-Pak neighborhood as she doesn’t cook Asian cuisines.

When I explained about all the spices are frequently used on the subcontinent, it became clearer to her. And for Mom, who is trying to follow a Mediterranean diet, the store was a great source for whole grains and legumes as well.

The one trick? Being comfortable going into a store where YOU are the minority. For my daughter, Lillith, this was a difficult. For the first time in about 10 years she was attached to my elbow. But for Imelda, she wandered around with her grandmother trying to determine which of the foreign sounding names of the ingredients she had eaten before.

And there were plenty. Garbanzo and other dried beans, lentils of various colors, peas, dals were plentiful and in bulk. Spices such as pepper, chilis, coriander, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, cumin, garlic, white and green cardamom, mustard, turmeric were inexpensive and sold in assorted sizes. Herbs such as mint, fresh coriander (cilantro), basils and curry leaves and rose petals were available both fresh and dried.

I like to stock up on spices, pickles and chutneys as well as some of the legumes. But also to look at the other fresh ingredients available, such as an assortment of eggplant varieties, tomato and potatoes and even fresh banana flowers. There were more varieties of tea then I knew what to do with or how to select, fresh yogurt and exotic fruits juices and drinks including a dill seed soda that did look, as Imelda pointed out, like a bottle of polliwog eggs.

We shopped at Patel Brothers, 2610 W Devon Ave., Chicago, IL 60659, (773) 262-7777.

After a little grocery shopping it was nice to treat the girls to a trip to one of the sari palaces for bangles. The ladies at Taj Sari Palace were very accommodating while Imelda had to look at every available bangle. They are located at: 2553 W Devon Ave., Chicago, IL 60659, (773) 338-0177.

Lastly, we stopped off at Tiffin, for the luncheon buffet. It allowed Mom and reminded the girls how all those ingredients were supposed to go together. Each table was given a plate of Tandoori chicken and basket of roti while eating the buffet items such as lamb vindaloo, chicken curry, a vegetable curry, basmati rice, dal, samosas, onion fritters, chutneys, raita and kheer. (Note: I had NO idea that Tiffin was a chain out of Maryland, but check the other locations!)

Mom was excited to have gone to this marketplace for the first and I think is looking to explore others as well… “You know,” she told me, “I have never been to Chinatown…” That sounds like a hint to me!