Monday, March 16, 2015

Food Discovery: Foodshopping in a Turkish Shop Just around the Corner of my Home






Lovely Food Shop, a Turkish food shop,  a mini grocery, a Discounter, a term used in Germany for groceries offering quality but cheap food items. My new discovery, ADR (Alan Daima Razi) Discount, where I found  almost every ingredients I wanted to cook... delicious delicacies from Turkey and Arabic country, the dried spices, dried and fresh herbs most especially my favorite Coriander, Schnittlauch (Spring Onions), Lauch/Porree (Leeks), Petersilie (2 kinds)  and Mint,  different kinds Turkish sausages, different varieties of canned and dried beans, Turkish cheeses, sweet and savory snacks, different varieties of green and black olives from big to small sizes, different kinds of flours, Couscous, Bulgur, Semolina, Noodles and vegetables and fruits which are my favorites, too. I saw 3 varieties of onions, one variety looks like small marbles, 2 kinds of Zucchini (green and yellow), different varieties of Paprika from non-spicy to so spicy. In the freezer sections are frozen Falafel and meat (Halal). They have different kinds of flatbreads, too, plus the famous Simit of Turkey. The most wonderful part, is that this lovely food shop is just walking distance from my house. So now, anytime I want to cook my favorite foods, I only need to come here, as often as I like. It is indeed "small is beautiful".

It is a pity I can not ask the friendly saleslady if I can make some photos inside the shop, but I intend to frequent this shop as much as I like, just to make me feel so good.Seeing foods from other countries is a thrill for me.  It  almost show me the culture of Turkey with all the foods I saw here. When I saw Simit, it was like I am transported to Turkey and see street vendors selling Simit. 

I almost forgot, the saleslady is so efficient, so accomodating and friendly, too as I expected from a Turkish. She answered all my queries about which variety of Paprika (pepper) are spicy (Scharf) and all other questions I wanted to ask, if Tzasiki is available in their shop, for example.  

I met so many Turkish in Germany, I may not know them personally, but those I met on the streets or mostly in Imbiss (small eateries) and foodshops owned by them have always been friendly. I wish that one day, I can be closer to some of them so I can finally feel at home in my new community. 

Returning home, I was so excited to make the photos of what I bought and I used the fresh Mint at once to marinate the chicken pieces I wanted to cook.

You will see below, few of the food I bought just for testing. 




These not so spicy Paprika is called Carliston. I bought this in a pack for making my first Mulaku Badji , a popular Indian street food. The saleslady is right, this is the best variety of Paprika for me for testing.




Rinderschinken means beef ham sliced very thinly. I like them with newly-baked German Brötchen. Next time, I will try them with the flatbread.




Savory snack - Roasted Yellow Chickpeas. They also have one which is colored white. I will buy it next time.

This is how the Roasted Yellow Chickpeas look like. It is easy to chew but crispy and unsalted. I think it is a good substitute for croutons as toppings for salad.




My best discovery that day, was the fresh Mint, bunches and bunches of fresh mint in the fresh vegetable section of the shop.


Fresh Mint, I could not get over it, finding very fresh Mint and Coriander in this small shop. I love Mint and I intend to make Lentil soup with mint which I tasted in one of my favorite Turkish Mini Restaurant where I formerly resided.



I made 3 photos of the fresh Mint because I was really so happy with my new food discovery for just 0.99 euros cents per bunch.



I had to keep the receipt as my remembrance of my life in Germany. I know I will be frequenting this shop anytime I like and get the thrill of being transported into another wonderland called Turkey. 


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