I love to shop…for food.  Even if I don’t buy much, I like to browse and see what’s available in case I ever want to make an exotic dish.

We Tucsonans are fortunate to have our fair share of grocery stores, specialty stores, health food stores, ethnic markets, and farmers markets.

Speaking of exotic dishes, last night my friend Ditte invited a few people to her new abode for an Indian dinner. People who feed me get extra points.

I was greatly impressed by Ditte’s culinary talents. The menu started with spinach and paneer samosas, pappadum, and an assortment of bottled and homemade chutneys.

The meal featured roast leg of lamb pulled off the bone, rice, salad, raita, sambar, and cauliflower, and homemade limoncello cake for dessert.

In case you’re not familiar with Indian food, here’s a bit of a primer: Paneer is similar to farmer cheese. Samosas, traditionally sold on the streets in India, are fried triangular pastries stuffed with vegetables. Made from lentil flour, pappadum resembles a puffy tortilla when fried. Raita, a condiment made with rich yogurt as the base, is used to tone down spiciness. According to Ditte, sambar is a generic word for vegetable stews using different spices and other ingredients in South India.

Not all at once and not all for this meal, Ditte shopped at India Dukaan for the samosas, frozen grated coconut, and curry leaf. The lamb came from the Tucson CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) as a half share from her friend Juliette. Black chickpeas for the sambar were purchased at Caravan Imports; jalapenos, spices, and pappadum from 17th Street Market; arugula and lettuce from the Food Conspiracy Co-op; sugar from Safeway; yogurt, saffron, and ground almonds from Trader Joe’s; and tomatoes from the Santa Cruz River Farmers Market.

Bottles of wine brought by guests came from Dos Cabezas tasting room in Sonoita, RumRunner, and CataVinos.

This meal and its many ingredients got me thinking about the wealth of choices available here. As I start to write To Market to Food Market, I will be checking out the choices along with what’s seasonal at farmers markets. Do you have a favorite market? Is your market hosting an event or do you have any market news? Are you looking for a special ingredient? Please send your feedback, suggestions, and questions to eat.tucson@yahoo.com