For those who love to make their own Indian food, there is no shortage of great online Indian grocery stores. While a handful of neighborhoods in large cities, such as New York’s Murray Hill, have a good selection of Indian grocery stores, the majority of people in the United States live in areas that are quite far from authentic Indian food and ingredients, but they can shop just as easily, if not more easily, for food through several online Indian groceries.
The following are the five best online Indian groceries, along with reviews and shipping information for each.
www.indianblend.com
Indianblend says it has been in business since 2005 and has over 20,000 customers. Indianblend offers a wide array of Indian food and ingredients ranging from all of the staples (chutney, curry, lentils, and spices) to fresh breads and vegetables and even religious items, cookware and baby food. Indianblend guarantees all orders will be shipped within 24 hours and that all items listed on its webpage are in stock, or they will ship a comparable product at a reduced price. Overall the pricing here is very reasonable and standard.
Free shipping is offered for orders of $80 or more, with standard delivery via US Ground. They will quote prices for international delivery. Indianblend has online checkout, but supports the entire process with live customer service center reps.
http://store.indianfoodsco.com
Indianfoodsco is part of the larger company, Ethnicfoodsco specializes in authentic ethnic food, including Indian. With a very well designed and intuitive web site, shopping is fast and easy for the experienced Indian food chef, but also helpful for the novice, with great descriptions of each spice and type of food to help those learning to cook great Indian food. They also offer trained customer service representatives to help not only with the order itself, but also in selecting the right ingredients.
All of the standard Indian food staples can be found here, in addition to lotions, creams, drinks and cookware. They offer great fresh bread and vegetables.
Indianfoodsco offers next day delivery for orders placed before 1:00PM Central Time on weekedays (no delivery or shipping on weekends). Indianfoodsco ships only to the continental United States.
www.indiaauthentic.com/
Indiaauthentic offers what is probably the widest selection and range of Indian food of any online grocery store; it truly is like an Indian food superstore. They ship to the entire United States and offer free shipping on orders of $50 or more. The website design is helpful, with engines to narrow down your food choice by selecting categories and sub-categories. Orders can be placed online, via phone or fax. This is the perfect place for those cooking Indian food frequently and for those with precise preferences on types and brands of spices, vegetables and sauces.
www.patelbrothersusa.com
This New York area Indian food grocery has been in business since the early 1970’s. They have a fairly basic website, but know their Indian food and obviously know how to run the business, as it’s successful and stood the test of time. They will ship to any part of the United States. Shipping is not discounted, in fact, it costs more the heavier the package, but they have very competitive pricing to begin with and discount the food itself, up to 10% for large orders.
They ship the same day as the order is received. They offer all of the staples, with an amazingly wide variety of selections per food category (you will be surprised to see how many different types of rice, for example, are available).
Indianfoodstore offers all of the basics for great Indian food cooking. All the spices are here, with a decent selection of brands. The website is laid out well, though is really designed for those who already know exactly what they want, and does not really offer a lot in terms of guidance or description. They offer free shipping for orders of $79 or more. They ship mostly USPS Ground, but sometimes Fedex. If you need express delivery, they can arrange that if you call, for an added cost.
This is a good source for canned vegetables and solid variety of sauces and spices.
