37-27 74th St. in Jackson Heights, near the 74th St.—Roosevelt Ave. subway stop

For the afficionado of South Asian cooking, Patel brothers is an endless source of inspiration. Shop here regularly, and your spice cabinet will be better stocked than the one at Tabla. Other highlights include a well-stocked selection of Asian vegetables (including bitter kerala gourd and several kinds of leafy greens not usually found in American supermarkets) and an extensive array of subcontinental frozen and prepared foods.

They also sell "do it yourself" chaat kits, with crunchy disks, puffed rice, peanuts, chutnies and spices in separate packages for easy at-home assembly. Add a few chickpeas and 2 spoonfulls of thinned yoghurt, and you've got a great meal in seconds.

Speaking of yoghurt, I am particularly loyal to Patel Bros because they sell one of my all-time favorite Indian products. (And believe me, the list of contenders is long.) It is "Natural Dahi," a whole-milk yoghurt that is thick, creamy, and not as sour as most American yoghurts. It reminds me of when I lived in Delhi and made my own yoghurt once a week. (I had a lot of time on my hands.)

Patel Bros is also a great place to stock up on lentils and other dried beans, dried fruits (figs, dates, raisins...) and nuts (cashews, almonds, etc.), all sold under the inexpensive "Swad" brand. Another specialty is jaggery, a solid raw sugar that tastes like sugar cane.

The store is entirely vegetarian, but with some boneless chicken thighs from Pacific Foods, you can make one of my favorite, ambitious-tasting but surprisingly easy Indian curries. — January 2006

Creamy chicken with raisins and mint
(Adapted from "Cuisines of India," by Sanjeev Chandra.)

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil; 2 onions; 2 cloves garlic; 1 inch ginger; 2 small green chillies; 1 handful unroasted almonds; 1 TB whole fennel seeds; 1 TB cumin; 1 ts turmeric; 1 ts ground coriander; 1/2 ts ground cardamom; 1/2 ts ground cinnamon; 1 cup plain whole yoghurt; 1 cup canned whole tomatoes; 2-3 lb boneless chicken; 2 fistfuls of raisins; salt to taste (about 1 ts) 1 fistful fresh mint leaves; fresh cream (opt.)

Directions:
Stir-fry chopped onions, garlic, ginger and chillies in vegetable oil in a large pan, until lightly browned. Turn off heat. Whiz almonds and fennel seeds in a spice or coffee grinder. Transfer both mixtures to a blender. Blend with spices, yoghurt and tomatoes until the mix reaches a pleasing, pinkish state.

Chop the chicken into kabab-sized pieces. (You can brown the pieces in a separate pan with a bit of oil if you feel truly ambitious — it will improve the flavor slightly.)

Add the pink mixture back into the large pan and simmer on medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5-10 minutes, until it darkens and thickens slightly. Add the chicken and the raisins. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (you can go longer if using dark meat) until the sauce has reduced a bit and the chicken is cooked through. There should be plenty of sauce to coat the meat. Stir in a few tablespoons of cream if desired. Serve over rice, sprinkled with chopped mint leaves. It's sure to impress!