Finding shawarma and kabob ingredients across Toronto

Where can you get good, fresh pita bread, Arab-style pickles and pomegranate molasses in downtown Toronto?

Most Arab stores in the city can be found on Lawrence Avenue in Wexford/Maryvale in Scarborough, but if you live in downtown Toronto and don’t want the hassle of a long commute, you still have options nearby.

So, if you’re a lover of Arab and Persian food trying to make your own shawarma at home, or a diaspora kid craving this one specific chocolate from back home (for me, it’s the kind of Kinder eggs I had back in Iraq), this list is for you.

Even though these picks cater to specific ethnic cuisines, you’ll also find most basics, such as rice, stocked — sometimes cheaper than your typical chain grocery store.

Petra Avenue Market

Petra Avenue Market is an Arab grocery store, bakery and butcher located at 150 Dundas St. W. From spices to candy, the place is stocked with items that transported me back home. 

You can find Puck Cheese, dried apricot paste, Iraqi amba and Najaf pickles covered in date syrup. If you’re also looking for some halal meat, Petra has its own butcher, and even a bakery in the back selling mana’eesh — a Levantine flatbread topped with cheese, meat or za’atar. Petra is the perfect one-stop shop for your shawarma wrap and the savory appetizers. Check my full review of its shelves here.

Super Parsian

Super Parsian is an Iranian grocery store located at 125 Queen St. E. It stocks different brands and flavours of syrups and molasses. From Vimto (a fruity soft drink) to four different flavours of Rani (canned juice with fruit chunks), this ethnic food business has all the popular South West Asian and North African drinks. It even has little jars of saffron sitting in a glass case and a small package of sholeh zard — a saffron rice pudding. 

Super Parsian offers the perfect place to get what you need to make a yummy, flavourful kabob koobideh, saffron rice or even ghormeh sabzi.

Rabba Fine Foods

The Rabba location at 695 Bay St., has labneh (a strained yoghurt spread), a few Ayran (yogurt drink) flavours, tahini and its own Palestinian za’atar blend. Founded by a Palestinian-Canadian named Jack Rabba in 1967, the business has since expanded a lot — it’s become a chain that’s accessible across Toronto. Though it has fewer options than the other stores on this list, it’s still a good place to check out for the basics.

Kabul Farms Supermarket

Kabul Farms Supermarket is an Afghan grocery store located in Regent Park. The location at 230 Parliament St. has huge bags of rice, a variety of flatbreads, fresh produce, a halal butcher, all the dried spices you could think of — plus, a small kitchenware section. It’s also become a chain so it’s pretty accessible across the Greater Toronto Area. 

From meat to spices, paired with the perfect bread, Kabul has got you covered in making the perfect Afghan dishes — or even shawarma. 

I found many gems in all four stores, yet I’m still on the hunt for the Kinder eggs — specifically the kind where the toy is in one half and a chocolate hazelnut spread is in the other. So, if any of you know where they are, please let me know.