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Little India in San Diego!
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Located on Black Mountain Road, a block north of Miramar Road, Little India consists of a group of restaurants and stores that act as a haven for South Asians and anyone else who enjoys Indian food and culture.
By Lakshmi Appachar
Photos by Jayanth Mandayam
The "Indian Mall" began as a single grocery store that provided essential supplies for Indian cooking. The mall has now grown into multiple grocery stores, restaurants, a center for yoga and also a Hindu temple. Ask any person of Indian origin in San Diego and they would tell you that this mall is one of their most frequented places.
The mall now has three grocery stores that include Ker Little India, India Food and Grocery, and Bombay Bazaar. The stores here have everything needed to create a authentic sumptuous Indian meal. Various kinds of lentils and rice, different kinds of flours used for the Indian bread (naan and rotis) and vegetables popular in Indian cooking are just a few of the many items available here. If you have ever fancied cooking the delicious Indian curries or samosas, you will be able to find everything you need at these stores.
India is a culturally diverse country and cuisines vary greatly from region to region. The grocery stores here carry fresh and packaged ingredients for many different regional styles of cooking. They also have a frozen section that includes the special doughs needed to make rotis, parathas or the yummy South Indian dosas. An attractive feature for many Indians is the frozen vegetables that many so dearly long to eat, like the drumstick, snake gourd, ladies finger (a.k.a. okra), bitter gourd and coriander (a.k.a. cilantro) leaves which are widely used in many Indian delicacies. For those of us who love the Indian sweets such as jamoons and rasmalai, the stores here have ready-to-prepare packages of these treats.
One of the stores, Ker Little India also offers lunch and a dinner buffet at $6.99 and $8.99, respectively. Oh, by the way, the fare is entirely vegetarian!
Delicious Indian Food from all over the Subcontinent
The mall on Black Mountain Road also has several restaurants. Each restaurant specializes in a regional style of cooking. In these restaurants you can find the cuisines of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Northern India as well as the unique and delectable cross-cultural cuisine known as Indian Chinese.
The Surati Farsan Mart restaurant is an ideal place to try out a variety of Indian snacks such as kachoris, samosas, vada pav, masala puri or the deliciously spiced bhelpuri. The names of these snacks might be unfamiliar to you but once you give them a taste you will surely come back for more. Many of the dishes available at the Surati Farsan are unique to the Gujaratian style of cooking, a cuisine that is hugely popular in many parts of the world. The restaurant also sells a plethora of sweets and their Indian Chai is definitely something one shouldn't miss!
The Madras Cafe specializes in South Indian food which is quite different than the North Indian cuisine that Americans are more familiar with. If you haven't tried South Indian cooking the menu might be a bit confusing, but the friendly waiters will be glad to explain what all the dishes consist of. You might try the crispy dosas and vadas, idlis and sambhar, all of which will definitely impress and satisfy your palate. Most of the dishes featured at the Madras Cafe are medium spiced, have a lot of vegetables and usually include rice or lentils. If you have never tried South Indian coffee, this is the place to redeem your ignorance of this regional specialty.
The latest addition to this group of delightful eateries is Indian Asian Buffet. This restaurant has satisfied the cravings of many Indians for the luscious cross-cultural fare known as "Indian Chinese." This cuisine is widely popular in India. Cauliflower manchurian (gobi manchurian), hakka noodles, fried rice and chicken noodles are but a few of the outstandingly delicious dishes found in this restaurant. The buffet also features many South Indian and North Indian curries and snacks. The lunch buffet costs $8.99 and the dinner buffet is just a dollar more. The decor of the Indian Asian Buffet is quite fantastic, evoking images of coastal seafaring India. As you can see in the picture above, they even have a large boat-shaped bar! Resplendent with a large image of an Indian beach, the maritime theme in this restaurant is enchanting and fun.
Exquisite Indian Clothing and Jewelry
After you have satisfied your cravings for Indian cooking, there are other delights awaiting you at the Indian mall. Indian clothing and jewelry is really quite exquisite and you can find a large selection of clothing and jewelry at the Bombay Bazaar. They sell Indian kurtas, ghaghras, salwar kameez and sarees (or saris) that often feature spectacular embroidered designs. At the Bazaar you can also find wonderful Indian jewelery and colorful handwoven bags. The mall also has a jewelry shop, Shrijaya Jewelers, where you can find many different interesting and lovely earrings, bracelets, anklets, necklaces, rings and much more!
Take a Cinematic Journey to India
India has the largest movie industry in the entire world and it contributes heavily to the Indian GDP. If you can't afford the time or money to travel to India right now, you can always take a cinematic trip there! Although they have not yet become popular in America where Hollywood films dominate the theaters, Indian films are tremendously popular throughout much of the rest of the world. Most famous are the extravagant song and dance melodramas known as Bollywood films. These are primarily North-Indian in flavor, but like just about everything else in the Indian cultural landscape, diversity abounds and films are produced throughout India, each location offering its own cultural influences. The video store Bombay Video carries a large collection of Indian movies. Most have English subtitles; be sure to check out the video box labels to confirm this. Interestingly, many Indians are multilingual and movie dialogs often contain lots of English snippets and phrases, even though most of what is being said is in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, or Telugu!
A Mall Replete with an Indian Temple
Little India on Black Mountain Road also has an Indian temple which sponsors many rituals and programs which are open to the public. If you are searching for a new type of spiritual experience, you might consider observing or participating in one of the Temple's frequent events.
Experience Indian Culture in San Diego
So if you are looking for a new and exciting cultural experience that encompasses the rich diversity that exists in India, take a visit to the "Indian Mall" on Black Mountain Road. San Diegans no longer have to travel 100 miles to "Little India" in Artesia to experience the richness of Indian cuisine and culture!
Article by Lakshmi Appachar
Photos by Jayanth Mandayam
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