Indian food in Vancouver: a guide to the Punjabi Market area

The Punjabi Market is not a market hall. It is a stretch of Main Street in South Vancouver, starting around East 49th Avenue, lined with South Asian restaurants, sweet shops, grocers, spice stores and clothing shops. It has been a centre of the city's Punjabi and wider South Asian community for decades, and it is one of the best places in Vancouver to eat Indian food.

Where is the Punjabi Market in Vancouver?

On Main Street, from around East 49th Avenue southward, in South Vancouver. It is a few blocks long, so it is easy to walk in an hour or two. Buses run along Main Street from downtown and Mount Pleasant. The surrounding area, and nearby Fraser Street, has more South Asian businesses too.

What should you eat at the Punjabi Market?

Try	What it is
Samosas	Fried pastries, usually filled with spiced potato and peas
Pakoras	Vegetables fried in a chickpea batter
Chaat	Tangy, crunchy snacks with chutneys, yogurt and spices
Thali	A tray with several small dishes, rice and bread
Butter chicken and paneer dishes	Rich, mild curries, good for first-timers
Dal and chana masala	Lentil and chickpea dishes, filling and vegetarian
Mithai	Indian sweets, sold by weight

Ask the sweet shop for a mixed box. It is the best way to try several kinds and work out your favourite.

How do you buy Indian sweets?

Indian sweet shops sell mithai by weight from a glass counter. Popular choices include gulab jamun (soft dough balls in syrup), jalebi (crisp, syrupy spirals), barfi (milk-based fudge, often with nuts) and ladoo (round sweets made from flour or lentils). Point, ask what each one is, and buy a small mixed box. Sweets are central to celebrations, so expect the shops to be extra busy around festivals such as Diwali and Vaisakhi.

Is the Punjabi Market good for vegetarians?

Excellent. Many dishes in Punjabi and wider Indian cooking are vegetarian by design, built on lentils, chickpeas, paneer and vegetables. If you are vegan, ask about ghee (clarified butter), cream and yogurt, which are common in curries and breads.

How spicy is the food at the Punjabi Market?

It varies by dish and by restaurant. Many places will adjust the heat if you ask for mild, medium or hot. Butter chicken and korma-style dishes tend to be mild; vindaloo and some vegetable curries can be very hot. A mango lassi, a yogurt drink, helps cool things down.

What is the difference between naan, roti and paratha?

• Naan is a soft, leavened bread baked against the wall of a tandoor oven, often brushed with butter or garlic.
• Roti (also called chapati) is a thin, unleavened whole wheat flatbread, cooked on a griddle. It is the everyday bread in many Punjabi homes.
• Paratha is a layered, pan-fried flatbread, sometimes stuffed with spiced potato (aloo paratha) or other fillings.

Order a mix for the table and use them to scoop up curries.

How has the Punjabi Market changed?

Like many older shopping streets, the Punjabi Market has seen businesses close and others open as rents, families and shopping habits have changed. A community collective now works to support and revitalize the area. Many longtime businesses remain, and newer cafés and restaurants have arrived, so the neighbourhood is a mix of old and new.

What else can you buy at the Punjabi Market?

• Spices, in larger quantities and lower prices than many supermarkets.
• Fresh produce used in South Asian cooking, such as curry leaves, okra and fresh chilies.
• Snacks such as namkeen (savoury mixes) to take home.
• Clothing and jewellery, especially for weddings and celebrations.

How do you plan a visit to the Punjabi Market?

1. Go hungry, at lunchtime. Many places offer good-value lunch plates.
2. Start with snacks, such as samosas and chaat, then a sit-down meal.
3. End at a sweet shop for a box to take home.
4. Allow time to browse the grocers and spice shops.

At a sit-down restaurant with a server, tip 15 to 20 percent of the pre-tax bill. At a counter or sweet shop, tipping is optional.

Where else can you find Indian food in Metro Vancouver?

Surrey, south of the Fraser River, has a very large South Asian community and a huge choice of restaurants and sweet shops. It is farther from downtown, but worth the trip if you have a car or time for transit.

Mosey is built around rating dishes, not just places. At a sweet shop, that might mean remembering which barfi was the best you have had, and passing that on.

More guides to read next:

• Holiday dining in Vancouver: the Christmas Market, festive menus and booking tips
• Sushi and izakaya in Vancouver: how to eat Japanese food like a local
• Eating in Vancouver's Chinatown: what to know before you go

More in the Canadian food guides and the ranked lists of places.