Doing a big Indian style party and was looking for any pointers. Help, as always, is very appreciated.
Not sure exactly what you want to buy in bulk, but I’m Indian, and i get all my indian groceries from Valley Produce in Simi Valley. A couple specialty items I use, I have to go to Indian Sweets and Spices in Canoga Park.
Not sure if you know, but some Smart and Finals carry Nanak brand paneer and Gopi indian yogurt. I buy both items from there as they are a little cheaper than from the above mentioned stores.
Restaurant Depot sells some indian spices, as well as 50lbs bags of rice, 50lbs of onions etc but you didn’t mention what you need or how much, so I’m not sure if that would help you.
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Based on his username I expect bulk to mean about 6oz at a time.
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I don’t know what quantity your looking for, but there are a handful of SE Asian markets on 3rd St in Little Bangladesh/Ktown (between Western & Vermont). Bangla Bazar & Swadesh are the two closest to me. They have some items (like rice) in large quantities, lots of grocery items, spices and halal meats.
I’m looking for paneer, different chutneys and naan specifically for this party but was also wondering in general if there was an Indian equivalent to some thing like LAX-C for Thai food.
Dude I use the metric system obviously.
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S&F for paneer, or make your own. It’s easy to make.
Chutneys are usually made fresh. I dont know where you can buy readymade chutneys.
Naan - TJs frozen naan are good. Naan are also very easy to make on a pizza stone or on the grill.
I assume you are a caterer/chef? Why buy items that are usually made fresh? You might as well order them from a restaurant.
I would love to make everything fresh, however being a chef isn’t just about cooking, it’s about running a business, and the business I run is a low cost high volume type deal, so in addition to this party I will have 5-6 other parties (30-200ppl each) on the same day with different menus, and they all have to be cooked by a staff of about 4.
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Are you saying Smart and Final sells paneer??? B/c that would kind of be vaguely life changing.
May I suggest you stop using tweezers?
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Can’t… put…tweezers…down…
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What @tweezerchef is doing isn’t uncommon amongst some caterers. Sometimes to be able to provide international flair, some chefs outsource those items from other establishments. The party our friend threw for his wife last year had some Filipino selections that went over well with the Filipino crowd…but the wily chef was unwilling to share her secrets as to where she got the goods from.
Yes, they sell the Nanak brand paneer (which is the one I prefer anyway). Only some locations have it. There are some applications I like to use homemade paneer, and others where I like to use the denser, store bought paneer. In store, they only sell the 14oz block, but it’s cheaper than buying the same product at the Indian store.
Valley Produce sells both the 14oz block and the 2.5-3lb block. I want to say it’s around $15.99.
Pretty sure it is. You can be a chef and not a business owner. You happen to be both, but they are independent of one another.
Unless you plan on making your own chutneys, which is sounds like you don’t plan to do, you’ll have to see if you can get a restaurant to sell them to you. Indian chutneys are usually made and eaten fresh because they contain fresh ingredients (mint, coriander, green chillis, etc)
I guess everyone has a different definition of the word chef, for me personally it is some one with the job title of “chef”. Any chef under this definition has to take part in running a business, even a personal or private chef. I think if you talk to any professional chef running a successful and profitable business they would tell you that the business side of cheffing takes up at least 25% of their time. Anyhow I think that it is a semantics discussion that we could have a whole separate topic about (and if you go on the food related boards on Reddit there are plenty). I guess I was under the incorrect assumption that most of the cheaper Indian restaurants were using canned chutneys. I’m not an expert on Indian food in any way shape or form but I guess I was also under the assumption that making chutneys was more time consuming and difficult then making a salsa, but if not I will go ahead and probably make them myself. Moreso I was just interested to see if there were any big or wholesale markets for Indian products comparable to the many Asian markets in LA and restaurant depot, guess not.
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A lot of the Indian specialty markets sell things like pulses and grains and spices in large quantities. Also worth checking out Lax-C aka the Thai Costco. They have pan-asian products, not just Thai, so they may indeed carry items from South Asia.
Love LAX-C, do you know off hand if the have paneer and naan?
I don’t, sorry, but this LA Weekly blurb says they do carry Indian products:
Samosa House West has a market attached. Might be a good shout if you’re in the area: Samosa House - Groceries at Bharat Bazaar
Thanks for the tip. I will check it out
not that i buy them myself but most indian groceries carry readymade coriander/mint chutney in large jars. hell, you can even buy it on amazon. ditto for tamarind chutney.