Food items hard to find in India

After moving to US, we come across some items that we have not heard or used in India. I thought we could discuss about such items in this thread. Please share your experiences likewise. Would be fun to know what all we didn't know earlier.

I was unaware of thesem when in India.

Dill leaves
Fennel bulbs
Rosemary
Zuchini
Parsley
Brussel sprouts
Alfalfa sprouts
Broccoli
Avacados - I recently came to know that this is available in ooty/kodai.
Different varieties of cheese

I think it depends on the food and lifestyle of that place.

I saw Broccoli in India almost 5yrs back. I have not seen strawberries when I was in India. My dd is so surprised. So, I asked her did you see 'velakai' here in US? She has no clue what it is. I dont know what you call in english but the outer cover is porous,inside is soft and makes yummy chutney.

Me too had no clue what avacado was when in India. Then bok choy, asparagus are also the ones. I was shocked for a second to see cactus leaves in farmers market. I was like who in the world eats these? I came to know mexicans make tasty dish out of it....scared to even try.


Adara

I have seen strawberries sold on the street in Delhi and bok choy sold by the Tibetans in North Delhi. Lichiis (aka Golden Fruit) and avocados (The New Fruit...lol) sold in Coorg. The item that I always wish was in India (and can't figure out why it hasn't caught on) is cream cheese. Long keeping and delicious in many uses.

Some of my list goes,

- Persimmon fruit
- blueberry, blackberry, rasberry type of fruits
- cherry tomatoes (though we still can take seeds from here)
- tofu (may be available these days, though haven't seen it definitely)
- some western herbs (chives, thyme, rosemary etc)
- Some greens (like chard, kale etc)

I guess its partly because of the climatic conditions some of these veggies/fruits can't thrive that well in our soil. Its the same over here, you won't see lot of tropical veggies/fruits in a lot of places around US.

-Uma

tofu is available in hyderabad. A bit expensive and you can get it from heritage foods.

Smart_soul,
I do get fresh Dill/Rosemary/Thyme/Zuchini/Parsley/Brussel sprouts/Brocolli/Avacados here in B'lore. I think Avacados are called butter fruit and I remember Mom buying it for us when we were kids. All varieties of cheeses are also available, I stick to Buffalo Mozzarella though. I've not seen fennel bulbs or Alfalfa sprouts but then I've never used then so never really looked for them.

Adara - Every fruit stall these days sell strawberries(boxed)! I also get asparagus. Bok Choy is something that I've not seen yet.

Tashildek - I do buy cream cheese. I don't use it too much though, how do you use it? I just use it for cheesecake that I prepare sometimes.

Uma - I've not seen swiss chards(red ones) here but I have seen something that resembles the green chards. I'm yet to try it out. All the berries, Persimmon,Tofu, cherry tomatoes etc are all available off late. I have seen Kale like leaves(called a different name) but haven't tried it yet. I'm using the regular Bangalore greens brought to my door step and they come in varieties and the red leaves are also available so I hardly go looking for greens that I used in the US.

Something that I really miss is good quality YEAST!! I don't seem to be getting the Fleischmann's quality here.

Laks:
Where are you buying cream cheese in Bangalore (so I know for the future)?

I like cream cheese with minced veg in it as a spread for bagels. My mom used to love sandwiches of cream cheese with sliced green olives in it (good sandwich for travel as it keeps pretty well). You can make a cream cheese filling for Danish or other pastry (little cinnamon, some raisins mixed in). If you mix equal parts of cream cheese and butter together and then mix in flour/maida to make a pie crust, you can use this to make little jam tarts. Just put in little baking moulds and put in the jam and bake in a low oven. Put cream cheese in celery stalks for appetizer tray. I make a cheese cake in the double boiler that is maleable when hot....a cheese cake you can pour over fresh fruit.

A non-culinary story about cream cheese from my life: My dad was a veterinarian and he had one client from Europe who was one of those out of the box thinkers. Her elderly mother had developed gangrene in her legs and was recommended for amputation. The daughter was determined to save her mom so she did some research and found some information on the use of cream cheese. She packed her Mom's legs in cream cheese and kept changing it. After going through 70 pounds of it, her mom's legs were cured.

Tina,

Thats a very interesting story abt gangrene and cream cheese. My mom also has gangrene but I'm sure cream cheese is going to be hard to find in Chennai even if we want to try it out.

SS

Smartsoul:
May I ask is she diabetic and the location of her gangrene?

Originally Posted by tashidelek2002

Laks:
Where are you buying cream cheese in Bangalore (so I know for the future)?

tashidelek2002(are you Tina) - I can get it at my neighborhood one stop shop for all my emergency needs! Otherwise it is available in all the hyper marts(spar, spencer's hyper to name two).
Thanks for listing all the uses of cream cheese.

Btw, that is one interesting story about a use of cream cheese.


SS - It may be available in Chennai(Spencer's hyper mart may have it - isn't it there in Chennai?).

Regards,
L