Thana Markets
For 30 years, Thana Markets has been a go-to spot for shoppers looking for South Asian groceries in downtown Ottawa. Thayaparan Kandiah was a regular customer before he began working at the shop in 2000, and in 2008, he took over from the original owner.
“I think this was the first Indian grocery store in Ottawa,” Tharsika Thayaparan says. Tharsika, Thayaparan’s wife, began working at the shop in 2011 after immigrating from Sri Lanka. “I finished my studies, and I came here... so this was my first job,” she says with a laugh.
Along with the learning curve that accompanies a new job, Tharsika had to learn how to cook. In Sri Lanka, her mother took care of all the cooking. “I didn’t have any experience,” Tharsika explains, noting that even staples, such as idli and dosa, she hadn’t made for herself until she was living in Ottawa. As she became more familiar with all the products in Thana Markets, she began taking ingredients home to cook along with recipe videos on YouTube.
“Now I’m an expert,” she says proudly. Her favourite dishes to make are Sri Lankan-style fried rice and chicken biryani, and she can deftly guide shoppers who are looking to up their own home cooking game. Her first piece of advice is to start with good spices. “Without spices, we can’t cook anything. They are the main ingredients.”
Thana Markets’ tight aisles are packed with products from South Asia — predominantly India and Sri Lanka — as well as some items from the Caribbean and East Africa. A wide range of spices, pulses, flours and rice are stacked on the shelves; all the staples to keep a pantry well stocked. There are jars upon jars of curry mixes, chutneys, sambal, Indian sauces, preserves and pickles (chilis, dates, mango, lololikka (coffee plum) and Indian gooseberry to name but a few). There’s an array of Indian snack mixes to choose from, along with pre-made mixes for dosas and hoppers and a frozen section with ready-to-go meals (to avoid “cooking emergencies” Tharsika jokes).
The fresh produce section includes overflowing crates of okra, small aubergines and coconuts. There are also fresh curry leaves, pandan and lemongrass. Tharsika eagerly awaits the Indian mango season each spring, and is proud to carry a variety of other “tropical-weather fruits” such as papaya, mangosteen and rambutan.
On Fridays and Saturdays, Thana Markets’ fridge is full of cuts of meat, as well as fish and seafood from the Indian Ocean. Fridays are also when Thana Markets has string hoppers to go along with the rest of its fresh Sri Lankan “short eats” selection (savoury pastries, such as samosas and rotis with a variety of fillings). These go fast with shoppers in the know.
Tharsika notes that she often meets newcomers from the South Asian diaspora who are looking for a taste of home when they first arrive in Ottawa. This resonates with her. Pointing to the crowded shelves, Tharsika smiles as she says she can get everything she needs from the shop, “I never really feel like I am out of my motherland.”
Thana Markets
386 Bank St., Ottawa
facebook.com/thanamarketsottawa | 613.567.2963
On the shelves and in the fridge
Thana Markets is jam-packed with sauces, pickles, dry goods and other pantry items, ready-to-eat foods, sweets, imported produce, rice, spices and specialty foods primarily from India and Sri Lanka as well as the Carribean and East Africa.
Fresh produce when available: okra, small aubergine, pandan, curry leaves, lemongrass, mango, papaya, coconuts, mangosteen and rambutan.
Meat and seafood available on Fridays and Saturdays can include: goat, chicken, oxtail, King fish, anchovies and sardines, red snapper, mackerel and crab.
Ready-to-eat foods and sweets can include: badam ladoo, jalebi, gulab jamun, mango burfi, rotis and curries.
