Kusha Pari Rice
Saturday, June 17th, 2006
Jackson Heights, New York. We went out to Queens to the heavily Indian neighborhood of Jackson Heights for a great Indian dinner and afterwards we strolled around and into various ethnic grocery stores. Besides huge bags of turmeric and cumin that cost next to nothing there were bags of rice from various countries other than the US. My wife and I try to buy basmati rice from Indian producers when we can; we don’t approve of US agribusiness trying to patent this food staple that asians have been eating for thousands of years.
Lal Qilla (Red Fort) is supposed to be a very good brand. I’m not a big rice eater so I can’t tell one from the other.
You are right about the price of spices. I wince when I pass through the condiments aisle at Walmart/Publix. A small bottle of any given spice seems to be priced at at least 20 times the price in even the most expensive Indian store, where you can buy ten times the amount in the bottle for at most half the price of the bottle. Wonder why everyone doesn’t buy spices at Indian stores. Of course, some thing are hard to find, like some of the stuff that goes into Italian seasoning, but still…
Carthik: Italian seasoning at an Indian store… I can see why it might be hard ;).
However, I think what this represents is the fact that Americans don’t use as much spice in their food (not necessarily hot, just spice) as Indians and pretty much all Asians. Actually, pretty much everywhere else in the world except the UK. Makes me wish Indians (from India) settled this country, then we’d have a great batch of US original foods.
However, between imigration and globalization it’s happening anyway which is fine by me.
With all that talk about food, spices and prices, one would almost forget that this is a beautiful picture. I love it just as much as I love good Indian food.
Thanks David, I loved the bright red stenciled letters on the burlap, it was a great contrast on top of the stacked bags. Ethnic groceries are a photographer’s delight. Or, any grocery that’s different from what you’re used to.
What makes this particular picture stand out is the excellent cropping.
Thanks David. It was a narrow aisle so there was a limit to how far back I could get with my 35mm lens on my 1.6 cropped 20D and when I framed it I realized that was okay as I wanted just the bags, nothing else. There were other bags (many brands piled side by side) but the red on burlap was nice. Glad you like it. It prints nicely too.
Hi, Khusha pari and all other are all copies of the original Pari brand that is owned by Sachdeva & Sons Pvt Ltd. it’s the best brand avaiable right now, no wonder everyone likes to copy their name…. try it and you will not try anything else
Where do we get this rice Vaneet? Can I buy it at Indian groceries in New York when I go visit?
Hi,
Yes pari rice is avaiable in most of the Indian stores.
Sorry about the late response. :)
Vaneet: No problem, better late than never. We eat Indian basmati rice although I’ve never bought this brand.