Lately, I’ve been trying to incorporate Middle Eastern and Indian dishes into my repertoire at home, and the recipes often call for hard-to-find ingredients. Amchoor powder? Tamarind concentrate? I’ve never gone home disappointed from the world’s greatest spice shop/exotic grocery/deli, Kalustyan’s.

Located in New York’s “Curry Hill,” Kalustyan’s stocks an astounding array of spices and sauces, coffees and cheeses, olives, dried fruits and nuts and prepared dishes and desserts. The experience begins on the street, with an incredible, spicy aroma that wafts from the entrance and draws you inside à la Pepé Le Pew.

If you can make it past the selection of Indian, Middle Eastern, African and Asian cookbooks behind the counter, or the honey-soaked baklava displayed within it, head back to the newly-expanded spice selection.  Dozens of varieties of popular spices like paprika are displayed alongside a vast assortment of more mysterious and unusual items.

Before you go, head upstairs to the deli for the best budget lunch in the city- HUGE pita sandwiches garnished with tahini, hot sauce, and pickled vegetables that run about $5.

The place is such a wonderland that it can’t possibly be described in one post. For more information and an impressive online shop, check out http://www.kalustyans.com.