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If you're seeking out a hard-to-find taste of home or just broadening your food culture, 

But how easy is it for people seeking out ingredients and spices from overseas in Minnesota? There's no better person to ask than 

Born and raised in India, Iyer creates his James Beard Award-winning Indian dishes right here in the Twin Cities.

What do you love about shopping at ethnic markets?

Use the audio player above to hear Iyer's chat with All Things Considered host Tom Crann, and see a recipe from Iyer below.

1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds (removed from the green or white cardamom pods) 

2 dried red cayenne chiles (like chile de arbol), stems discarded 

1 cinnamon stick (about 3 inches in length), broken up into smaller pieces (see Extra Credit) 

1. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. While you are waiting for that to happen, quickly combine the coriander and cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom seeds, bay leaves, chiles, and cinnamon stick in a small heatproof bowl.  

2. Once the skillet is hot (when you hold the palm of your hand close to the bottom of the skillet you will feel the heat), usually after 2 to 4 minutes, sprinkle in the spice mixture. Toast the spices, shaking the skillet every few  seconds,  until  the  coriander  and  cumin  turn  reddish  brown, the  cloves,  peppercorns,  and  cardamom  turn slightly ash black, the cinnamon and bay leaves appear brittle and crinkly, the chiles have blackened in spots, and the mixture is highly fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. 

3. Immediately transfer the nutty-smelling spice blend back to the small bowl to cool. (The longer the spices sit in the hot skillet, the more likely it is that they will burn, making them bitter and unpalatable.) If you don't allow the  spices  to  cool,  the  ground  blend  will  acquire  unwanted  moisture  from  the  heat,  making  the  final  blend slightly " cakey."  Once the spice blend is  cool to the  touch,  place it in a spice  grinder (or coffee  grinder) and grind it to the consistency of finely ground black pepper.  

4.  Store  the  spice  blend  in  a  tightly  sealed  container,  away  from  excess  light,  heat,  and  humidity,  for  up  to  3 months.

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If you're seeking out a hard-to-find taste of home or just broadening your food culture, ethnic grocery stores are essential.

Appetites: Finding those elusive international ingredients and spices

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