Garam Masala and A Love For This Town
So I went to my favorite spice store over my lunch break today. Technically, World Spice is part of the Pike Place Market, though it's behind the main building and across the street, so it seems to go unnoticed by the tourists (all the better for me). I walked in there today and asked for Garam Masala (I recently decided I needed to learn how to make my favorite Indian dish -- Chana Masala -- rather than alway heating up the packets from Trader Joes, but this requires a spice blend called Garam Masala).
Let me describe the place a little ...
Like any spice shop, it smells wonderful. The main floor is a small space, only about 15' by 20' I would guess. The walls are lined with bins of spices, both common and rare, and in numerous variety. (The lower floor is a bit larger and they sell and serve more teas than I can wrap my brain around.) In the back of the room is a counter, behind which -- more bins.
I asked the woman behind the counter if they sold Garam Masala, and she fetches two bins, one about 2 gallon-sized, and the other about quart-sized. Two kinds of Garam Masala! The one in the large bin was Indian and the smaller bin was Kashmiri. She let me smell them and look at the mixtures. They had similar undertones, but they smell very different from each other. The Indian one smelled spicier, while the Kashmiri one had a sweeter smell, almost like pumpkin pie spices. I ordered three ounces of the Indian Garam Masala, and she measured it out, ground it (!!!), sealed it in a baggie, and charged me $4.50 for the coolest spice-buying experience ever.
I'm so excited to make up a batch of chana masala soon.
Anyway, the Pike Place Market is a great little tourist attraction with a lot of interesting history, but the nooks and corners and out buildings that don't see so many of the crowds are just one more of those things I love about my city. I love the whole market (even if it is clogged with tourists in the summertime). I love the flowers and fruit and blown glass and street musicians, and the park at the north end with a view of the Olympics. Especially on a sunny lunch break from an otherwise crappy day at work. But knowing which fruit stands and flower stands to stop at, knowing where the really cool spice shop, and the Italian cheese sampling happens, and how to sidestep the mad crowds at the fish-tossing place, all make me feel like I'm a part of this place ... even if I'm still technically a new-comer.
Let me describe the place a little ...
Like any spice shop, it smells wonderful. The main floor is a small space, only about 15' by 20' I would guess. The walls are lined with bins of spices, both common and rare, and in numerous variety. (The lower floor is a bit larger and they sell and serve more teas than I can wrap my brain around.) In the back of the room is a counter, behind which -- more bins.
I asked the woman behind the counter if they sold Garam Masala, and she fetches two bins, one about 2 gallon-sized, and the other about quart-sized. Two kinds of Garam Masala! The one in the large bin was Indian and the smaller bin was Kashmiri. She let me smell them and look at the mixtures. They had similar undertones, but they smell very different from each other. The Indian one smelled spicier, while the Kashmiri one had a sweeter smell, almost like pumpkin pie spices. I ordered three ounces of the Indian Garam Masala, and she measured it out, ground it (!!!), sealed it in a baggie, and charged me $4.50 for the coolest spice-buying experience ever.
I'm so excited to make up a batch of chana masala soon.
Anyway, the Pike Place Market is a great little tourist attraction with a lot of interesting history, but the nooks and corners and out buildings that don't see so many of the crowds are just one more of those things I love about my city. I love the whole market (even if it is clogged with tourists in the summertime). I love the flowers and fruit and blown glass and street musicians, and the park at the north end with a view of the Olympics. Especially on a sunny lunch break from an otherwise crappy day at work. But knowing which fruit stands and flower stands to stop at, knowing where the really cool spice shop, and the Italian cheese sampling happens, and how to sidestep the mad crowds at the fish-tossing place, all make me feel like I'm a part of this place ... even if I'm still technically a new-comer.