I don’t know when it happened, but Patel’s market must have undergone a major renovation recently. I was there years ago and I remember it being dark and kind of grimy. But now the place is larger, brighter, and very clean. Its beautiful, actually!
We must have walked around in awe for an hour. I wish I hired a guide to bring me around. The array of spices and condiments was mind-boggling. Take any dish or component of a dish you’ve ever had in an Indian restaurant and they must have had 10 or 15 varieties of each.
Ended up with some spice mixes for sauces, naan, samosas, and crispy Indian snacks including one which I will turn into one of my favorite appetizers, bhel puri. Though frozen, the samosas and naan were restaurant quality!
Killer prices too-- puts Shop Rite to shame (example: limes were 10 cents each). They are having an anniversary special. Various items around the store are Buy One/Get One: the box of samosas was $3.99 (Shop Rite is usually $4.99 and the quality is inferior) and got one free. Same with some of the snacks. The enormous bag of naan was $5.99.
We shop at Patel in Edison…or is it Iselin? That part of Oak Tree Road is confusing because the community is laid out like a grand concourse at this point.
The low prices on produce is what got my curiosity peaked years back. Better prices on bulk rices, ghee, paneer, ice cream, pickled foods and marinates. I stick with the delis and sweet shops for breads, snacks and confections because they are made fresh daily and I can freeze if I need to.
If you ask the Mgr for help, on a less hectic week day, he will not only advise you but proudly assist your meal planning purchases.
Rather than buy the handy packaged prepared frozen foods I recently started going to the buffet up the road and getting a variety of fresh foods packaged for later home use. Samosa, biryani, etc. https://www.rasoi123.com/order-menu-food/
Patel has a nice array of baking ingredients but I tend to let the professional ladoo makers work their magic. I can make a decent butter chicken and saag paneer but I have a long way to go on skills.
The Patel Brothers in Sayreville is the one that used to be on Old Road (just off Route 9) a little bit south in Old Bridge. (That store is now vacant.) Their current location had been gutted to the steel girders and rebuilt.
