The price of things....and curries

Today I decided to check out this outdoor fruit and vegetable market. The rain had decided to stay away today and it was sunny and a gorgeous 30 degrees, so I thought let's see what kind of prices I can get. Now in Indian cooking tomatoes and onions are an every day staple. They are used to make the masala's or curries. Now the curry powder from home does NOT exist here. The curries here are made using onions (usually ground into a paste with chili's and ginger) then tomatoes are added along with chili powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander and sometimes garam masala (which translates to hot or warm spice- which is a deep brown in colour and is a mix of spices including cinnamon and cloves. There are so many variants and you can also roast mustard seeds and coriander seeds to make some nice curries too, to add to the onion to make a paste.

So I drove a few km's to the outdoor market, and wow. I will have a hard time going to an actual grocery store to buy my fruit and vegetables now. Although the prices there are still good, this was almost ridiculous. Plus buying straight from the farmer, you get much fresher produce and you are skipping the middle man, so essentially it helps the Indian farmers.

The list and prices:
1/2 kilo of onions (approx 8)- 7 rupees ($.16)
1/2 kilo potatoes (about 5)- 10 rupees
3 medium apples- 20 rupees ($.48)
1 pineapple-20 rupees
bunch of bananas (10 rupees)
2 bunches of spinach-5 rupees ($.07)
1/2 kilo tomatoes (approx 8 small ones) 5 rupees
2 handfuls green chilies (3 rupees)

Total cost: 80 rupees ($1.91CDN)

Yes, the standard of living is different here, but my point is, that you can save a lot of money, buy fresher things, support the local farmer for a much lower cost than going to a grocery store. I would pay triple that amount at the local grocery store.
If you have the chance try and do this at home too. I know Ottawa has some amazing fresh markets, so take some time out of your day drive, walk, bike, or blade to a local farmers market every once in a while and have fun buying fresh things while supporting your local farmer. Sometimes it's just worth the time, and you'll feel good about it and taste the difference in your food.