Tejal India Grocery

In many ways, Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu God, is a perfect metaphor for the Tejal India Grocery in Thornton.  First of all, you must look beyond the outward appearance. Ganesha’s elephant head, and plump human-body with multiple arms does not fit the expectation of a deity; just as the dark strip-mall with minimal signage belie the sensory wonders within this little store.

When I shop in our local chain supermarket, the only time I feel my nose is engaged is when I’m in the produce section. And depending on the season, even that can be minimal. In the Tejal India Grocery, I had this desire to smell everything. As soon as you walk in, your nose wakes up, like a four-year old from a nap, ready to hit the park. What to smell first? The incense or soap? The fresh curry leaves or mint? Regardless of the teas and spices being factory sealed, the plastic bags could not hold back their aroma. Even items that I know have little odor, like the bags of rice, my nose wanted to suck it in.

 

The small aisles were so densely packed with items, I found myself wandering back and forth, noticing all the things I had missed just five minutes earlier. The backroom storage seems to be spilling out into odd corners and high shelves. If it wasn’t the exotic items that caught my eye, like banana powder, orange blossom water or whole turmeric, it was the beautiful packaging. Labels with elephants, hibiscus flowers, and gorgeous dark-haired children were selling everything from cookies to noodles.

The sheer plethora of foodstuffs made me realize just how little I knew about India cuisine. Go beyond the mango chutney, Tejal India Grocery has coconut, mint or hot chili chutney. I had never heard of Toor Dal, Ponni rice, or Rooh Afza, but they were occupying such large amounts of shelf space, that one could only assume that they must be popular. After a bit of research back home, I learned Toor Dal is also known as “Pigeon Peas,” Ponni rice is popular in Southern India, typically eaten at breakfast and Rooh Afza is syrup used to flavor drinks, especially milk over ice. (Or you can make your own Fruit Punch.) If you are an Indian food novice like me, do not be intimidated. There are lots of prepackaged curry mixtures to choose from.

While the dry goods are overwhelming, there is a good amount of fresh and frozen items as well. Naan bread, multiple flavors of samoas and ice cream lines the freezer shelves, with a separate freezer dedicated to fish. In the refrigerated section, there was mango lassi, various sweets and some produce including peppers.

On this Monday afternoon, most people coming into the store were returning their DVD-rentals of the latest Bollywood films, while I marveled at the bags of whole garam masala.  For a “grocery,” this place goes well beyond foodstuffs. Here you could pick up saris, jewelry, henna paste, music CD’s, even cricket bats. Near the statues of Ganesha, there were jars of Holi Colors, the powdered pigments used in Hindu religious ceremonies, especially the during the Spring festivals.

As I gathered my purchases, I could only image how welcoming this store would be for an East Indian, looking for that elusive ingredient for their mother’s famous dish. Remover of obstacles, indeed. 

Tejal IndiaGrocery

10351 Grant Street, Unit #6

Thornton, Colorado